Tax Authorities Recovered RMB 180.6 Billion in H1 2026, Internet Platform Tax Reporting Nearly Full
In the first half of 2026, China's tax authorities recovered RMB 180.6 billion in tax losses, up 20.8% year-on-year. Enforcement actions included penalties for over 3,200 enterprises for improper tax benefits, 32,400 for false invoicing, and 500 illegal intermediaries. The crackdown on the "invoice economy" reduced invoice amounts by 37.7% and raised tax content per invoice by 13.7%. A total of 1.29 million shell companies were identified, with nearly 700,000 deregistered. Internet platform tax reporting achieved near full coverage, with 9,692 platforms reporting in Q1 2026, up 39% from October 2025, and reporting timeliness improved.
In the first half of 2026, China's tax authorities investigated and handled various types of tax-related illegal activities nationwide, recovering tax losses of RMB 180.6 billion, up 20.8% year-on-year. Among these, they identified over 3,200 enterprises that had obtained or improperly enjoyed tax benefits, recovering RMB 12 billion through audits. They investigated 32,400 enterprises suspected of false invoicing and tax fraud, recovering RMB 4.6 billion in lost export tax refunds. They also penalized over 500 illegal tax intermediaries that had helped clients evade taxes through malicious planning and collusion, and applied measures such as listing them as untrustworthy tax service entities.
Tax authorities achieved phased results in rectifying tax issues related to the "invoice economy." In the first half of the year, enterprises identified as having invoice economy problems saw their invoice amounts decline by 37.7% year-on-year. As the "water" was squeezed out of these invoices, the national "tax content" per RMB 100 of invoices increased by 13.7% compared to 2025. In addition, authorities identified 1.29 million "shell" enterprises, pushed for the deregistration of nearly 700,000 of them, and took regulatory guidance measures for the remaining approximately 600,000, thereby making the business entity data more solid.
Since the implementation of the "Regulations on the Reporting of Tax-Related Information by Internet Platform Enterprises," the proactiveness, timeliness, and accuracy of platform reporting have continuously improved. In the first quarter of 2026, 9,692 platforms reported tax-related information, an increase of 39% compared to the first reporting in October 2025, basically achieving full coverage. During the Q1 reporting period, over 70% of platforms completed reporting by April 20, up 6 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. The Q2 reporting is ongoing, and as of July 20, 80% of platforms had already completed reporting. In Q1, the number of platform operators and employees reported increased by 21% and 19% respectively compared to the first reporting, and the matching of information from major platforms continued to improve.