China postpones e-commerce import taxes again

China has postponed stricter taxation on imported consumer goods bought online for another year – to the end of 2018 – in order to encourage consumption, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. The State Council on Wednesday decided to hold off on enacting the new tax regime designed to “regulate” foreign products purchased through cross-border e-commerce platforms, Caixin reports. The plan, which was first announced in April 2016, would make it tougher for people to avoid paying taxes – or obtain relatively low tax rates – on many consumer items such as healthcare products and cosmetics. The new tax regime was already postponed once before. In late 2016, the government announced that it would postpone enacting the rules until the end of 2017. Ministry of Commerce Spokesman Gao Feng said on Thursday that the decision was based on the fact that e-commerce imports have boosted supply and consumption in the domestic market.