Q&A: Provisions on Internet Platform Enterprises' Tax-Related Information Reporting

司法部 税务总局负责人就《互联网平台企业涉税信息报送规定》答记者问

Source (Chinese): STA Policy Database — 政策解读 (June 20, 2025)

English translation: Independent translation. Not an official government translation.

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Q1: What is the background for formulating the Provisions?

Answer: The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the development of the platform economy, emphasizing the need to grasp the development patterns of the platform economy and establish and improve its governance system. The Decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed improving the normalized regulatory system for the platform economy and establishing a tax system conducive to high-quality development, social fairness, and market unification. In recent years, China's platform economy has developed rapidly, playing a positive role in optimizing resource allocation, promoting industrial upgrading, and expanding market space. The identity information and income information of platform-based operators and workers recorded by internet platform enterprises are an important foundation for tax supervision. However, unlike traditional economic forms, the platform economy is characterized by high mobility and strong virtualization, leaving tax supervision without effective information. Moreover, current laws and administrative regulations lack specific provisions on internet platform enterprises' tax-related information reporting, preventing tax authorities from timely and comprehensively obtaining relevant tax-related information. It was therefore necessary to formulate a dedicated administrative regulation to establish and improve the tax-related information reporting system for internet platform enterprises, enhance the effectiveness of tax services and administration, protect taxpayers' lawful rights and interests, create a fair and unified tax environment between online and offline businesses, and promote the standardized and healthy development of the platform economy.

Q2: What is the significance of formulating this administrative regulation?

Answer: The issuance of the Provisions is of great significance for improving the platform economy governance mechanism, regulating the tax order of the platform economy, and promoting its standardized, healthy, and sustainable development.

First, it promotes tax rule of law and fairness. The Provisions will promote lawful tax filing by platform-based operators and workers, creating a fair and unified tax environment between online and offline businesses. Pilot programs conducted by the STA in some provinces and cities have demonstrated that the tax burden of the vast majority of platform-based operators and workers will not increase as a result of information reporting, while operators who had been concealing income will see their tax burden return to normal levels — this is the proper meaning of tax fairness.

Second, it promotes the standardized, healthy, and sustainable development of the platform economy. The Provisions will help advance collaborative governance across departments, promote timely and effective supervision of improper business practices within platforms, more promptly identify "involutionary" competition, fake "order-brushing" schemes designed to fraudulently obtain traffic, and other improper business activities, and promote compliant operations, orderly competition, and healthy development among all types of internet business entities — better safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of platform-based operators, workers, and consumers. Compliant and trustworthy enterprises, especially small and micro enterprises, will gain more development opportunities in a fair market environment.

Q3: What are the content and timeline requirements for internet platform enterprises' tax-related information reporting?

Answer: Internet platform enterprises report tax-related information on a quarterly basis. They must, within the month following the end of each quarter, report to their competent tax authority the identity information and the previous quarter's income information of their platform-based operators and workers, in accordance with the specific categories and content of identity information and income information prescribed by the tax department under the State Council.

Under this requirement, after the Provisions take effect, internet platform enterprises will first report the identity information and income information of their platform-based operators and workers in October of this year. To better implement the Provisions, the STA is expediting the formulation of supporting announcements to detail the specific arrangements for the first reporting, and will conduct "point-to-point" coordination with internet platform enterprises to provide policy interpretation and training guidance, helping internet platform enterprises smoothly complete their first tax-related information reporting in October.

Q4: What tax-related information is exempt from reporting, and why?

Answer: The Provisions exempt the following tax-related information from reporting:

1. Income information of workers engaged in delivery, transportation, domestic services, and other convenience labor activities on internet platforms. The main consideration is that, based on pilot experience, the income of these workers is basically tax-exempt due to various tax preferential policies they lawfully enjoy, and they are very numerous. Exempting their income information from reporting reduces the reporting burden on platform enterprises.

2. Tax-related information of platform-based operators and workers from before the Provisions took effect. In accordance with the principle that laws do not apply retroactively, such information is not required to be reported.

Q5: What provisions has the Provisions made to reduce the reporting burden on internet platform enterprises?

Answer: First, tax-related information that internet platform enterprises have already reported when handling withholding declarations, proxy declarations, and other tax-related matters for platform-based operators and workers in accordance with regulations does not need to be reported again. Second, income information of workers engaged in delivery, transportation, domestic services, and other convenience labor activities on internet platforms is exempt from reporting. Third, the departments of industry and information technology, human resources and social security, transportation, market supervision, and cyberspace administration shall strengthen tax-related information sharing with tax authorities. Tax-related information that can be obtained through information sharing shall not be required to be reported again by internet platform enterprises. Fourth, tax authorities shall provide secure and reliable tax-related information reporting channels, actively apply modern information technology to provide direct-connection reporting, upload-import, and other interface services, and provide policy interpretation and Q&A consultation services.

Q6: What provisions has the Provisions made to safeguard the security of tax-related information?

Answer: First, internet platform enterprises shall store the tax-related information of platform-based operators and workers in a standardized manner in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions. Second, tax authorities shall maintain the confidentiality of obtained tax-related information in accordance with the law, establish a tax-related information security management system in accordance with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant state provisions, fulfill data security protection responsibilities, and safeguard the security of tax-related information. Over the years, the tax authority has continuously strengthened the confidentiality of taxpayer information and has established a comprehensive system, mechanism, and technical framework to effectively protect taxpayer data security. After tax-related information is reported, the tax authority will, in accordance with the above requirements of the Provisions, further improve the tax-related information data security management system, and adopt encryption, access control, and other measures for the collected information of platform-based operators and workers to effectively safeguard the security and confidentiality of the information.

Q7: What impact will the implementation of the Provisions have on the tax burden of relevant taxpayers?

Answer: The implementation of the Provisions will not have a significant impact on the tax burden of platform enterprises and the vast majority of platform-based operators and workers.

1. Internet platform enterprises only need to fulfill the procedural obligation of reporting tax-related information in accordance with the law — their own tax burden will not change.

2. The tax burden of the vast majority of compliant platform-based operators and workers will not change.

3. The tax burden of the many small and micro enterprises and low-income workers on platforms will not change because they can enjoy tax preferential policies. For example, merchants with monthly sales not exceeding RMB 100,000 can enjoy VAT exemption, and platform workers with annual comprehensive income not exceeding RMB 120,000, after enjoying various deductions, essentially do not need to pay individual income tax.

However, some platform-based operators and workers who previously concealed income will pay taxes in accordance with the law based on the tax-related information reported by platform enterprises, and their tax burden will return to normal levels.

Q8: How will the tax authority ensure the effective implementation of the Provisions?

Answer: After the Provisions take effect, the tax authority will focus on three areas of work:

First, expedite the improvement of supporting systems. The STA will promptly formulate supporting announcements to detail the specific reporting entities, categories and content, reporting requirements and standards, and further clarify "who reports, what to report, and how to report" from a practical operations perspective.

Second, complete information system upgrades. Further optimize and improve information system functions, complete direct-connection reporting, upload-import, and other system interface preparation work, and provide internet platform enterprises with fast, efficient, secure, and reliable reporting channels.

Third, organize extensive training and guidance. Provide internet platform enterprises with policy interpretation and Q&A consultation services, and concurrently develop data direct-connection access guides, operation manuals, and other supporting documents to guide internet platform enterprises in smoothly reporting tax-related information.

All of the above work will be completed before October of this year — that is, before platform enterprises are required to first report the identity information and income information of their platform-based operators and workers under the Provisions — to ensure the smooth implementation and effective results of the Provisions.