The central government and Inner Mongolia have been intensifying support policies for cross-border e-commerce in recent years. These initiatives cover talent development, platform strategy, tax reduction, customs facilitation, and export rebate optimization. This comprehensive policy package precisely targets common pain points for businesses, such as recruitment difficulties, high operational costs, complex customs procedures, and tight cash flow, to accelerate growth in Inner Mongolia's cross-border e-commerce sector.

A customs officer at Manzhouli Airport checks a small cross-border e-commerce parcel for inspection. In 2023, Inner Mongolia launched its "Talent Enclave" plan for cross-border e-commerce. The program aims to improve operational capabilities and market competitiveness for e-commerce firms through centralized training, field visits, and experience sharing. It is directed by the Inner Mongolia Department of Commerce and implemented by the Inner Mongolia E-Commerce Promotion Association.

In 2025, the State Council approved the establishment of the China (Erenhot) Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone. Inner Mongolia now hosts six such zones in Hohhot, Baotou, Chifeng, Ordos, Manzhouli, and Erenhot. These zones support businesses in using multiple export models like "9610, 9710, and 9810" to create a distribution corridor for goods heading to Russia and Mongolia.

The Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, the Ministry of Commerce, and the General Administration of Customs have announced that, starting October 1, 2018, e-commerce export enterprises in comprehensive pilot zones may benefit from VAT and consumption tax exemptions for goods exported without valid purchase invoices, provided certain conditions are met. First, the enterprise must be registered in the pilot zone and report the export date, product name, unit, quantity, unit price, and total value on the zone's online platform. Second, exports must go through customs clearance at the pilot zone's designated customs office. Third, the goods must not be among those explicitly excluded from export rebates by the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration per State Council decisions.

The Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Taxation Administration have announced a tax relief policy for returned cross-border e-commerce exports. For goods declared for export under customs supervision codes ("1210, 9610, 9710, 9810") between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027, that are returned in their original condition within six months due to slow sales or customer returns (excluding food items), import duties, VAT, and consumption tax are exempted. Any export duties already paid will be refunded, and VAT and consumption tax already levied will be handled according to rules for domestic sales returns. For goods under code "1210," the return must occur within six months of leaving the special customs supervision area or bonded logistics center (Type B).

The General Administration of Customs has announced that, starting April 1, 2026, it will roll out a cross-customs-district return model for cross-border e-commerce retail export goods nationwide. When overseas returns occur for these goods, businesses are no longer required to send them back to the original export customs office. Instead, they can flexibly choose any customs port across the country to process the return. According to the announcement, this model applies only to retail exports under the "9610" customs supervision code.

The General Administration of Customs has announced that, effective December 15, 2024, the prior registration requirement for overseas warehouses in cross-border e-commerce export ("9810" model) has been cancelled. Businesses no longer need to submit overseas warehouse qualification materials to customs in advance. They need only transmit booking note electronic data during customs declaration and take responsibility for its accuracy.

The State Taxation Administration has announced a "tax refund upon departure" policy for goods exported using the overseas warehouse model ("9810"). Once goods are declared and leave the country, enterprises can apply for a preliminary export tax refund without waiting for actual overseas sales to occur. They later adjust their tax calculations based on real sales data, which helps ease the cash flow pressure on companies expanding overseas. Inner Mongolia Daily reporter.