On August 13, the Ministry of Finance issued the "Announcement on Clarifying VAT Policies for Courier Services and Others."
The document states that taxpayers with qualifications for online platform road freight transportation (hereinafter referred to as network freight) who engage in network freight operations, purchase and deliver finished oil, natural gas, electricity, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, methanol, and other types of vehicle fuels (energy) to actual carriers, and pay for road, bridge, and gate passage fees, can deduct the input VAT from the output VAT if they meet the following conditions:
Finished oil, natural gas, electricity, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, methanol, and other types of vehicle fuels (energy) and the paid road, bridge, and gate passage fees should be used for the transportation services completed by the actual carriers commissioned by the taxpayers engaged in network freight.
The obtained VAT deduction vouchers comply with current regulations.
The policy is as follows:
Announcement on Clarifying VAT Policies for Courier Services and Others
Announcement No. 5 of 2025 by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation
The VAT policies for courier services and others are hereby announced as follows:
1. The income obtained by courier companies providing courier services shall be subject to VAT under the category of "collection and delivery services."
Courier companies, as mentioned in this announcement, refer to enterprises operating courier businesses within the territory and legally obtaining permits for such operations, their branches registered with postal authorities, and the end-point outlets of these enterprises or branches also registered with postal authorities. End-point outlets refer to business locations providing end-point courier services.
Courier services, as defined in this announcement, refer to business activities involving the collection, sorting, transportation, and delivery of parcels within a promised time frame, excluding cases where courier companies only provide transportation services. End-point services include the aforementioned collection and delivery services. Parcels refer to letters, packages, printed materials, and other items delivered by courier companies. Collection services involve the acceptance of consignments, order placement, inspection, packaging, and sealing by courier companies. Sorting services involve the classification and dispatching of parcels by courier companies. Delivery services involve the delivery of parcels to the agreed address or recipient by courier companies.
2. Taxpayers with qualifications for online platform road freight transportation (hereinafter referred to as network freight) who engage in network freight operations, purchase and deliver finished oil, natural gas, electricity, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, methanol, and other types of vehicle fuels (energy) to actual carriers, and pay for road, bridge, and gate passage fees, can deduct the input VAT from the output VAT if they meet the following conditions:
(1) Finished oil, natural gas, electricity, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, methanol, and other types of vehicle fuels (energy) and the paid road, bridge, and gate passage fees should be used for the transportation services completed by the actual carriers commissioned by the taxpayers engaged in network freight.
(II) The VAT deduction vouchers obtained comply with the current regulations.
The term "online freight operation" as referred to in this announcement means that taxpayers, relying on internet platforms to integrate and allocate transportation resources, enter into transportation contracts with shippers as carriers, entrust actual carriers to complete road freight transportation, and undertake the responsibilities of carriers in road freight transportation business activities. This does not include providing information intermediary and transaction matching services for shippers and actual carriers. An actual carrier refers to an operator who actually engages in road freight transportation upon the commission by an online freight operator.
III. This announcement shall come into effect from the date of its issuance. For matters that have occurred but have not been handled, they shall be executed according to the provisions of this announcement; matters that have already been handled will not be adjusted.
This is hereby announced.
Ministry of Finance State Administration of Taxation
Aug 2025
Source: Ministry of Finance
