From January 1, 2019, the e-commerce law of the people's Republic of China, which has been publicly consulted for many times, will be formally implemented. So what will be the impact of the implementation of the new e-commerce law? Let's have a look.
This is the first comprehensive law in the field of e-commerce in China, involving the main body of e-commerce, business behavior, contract, express logistics, e-payment and other aspects, making clear and specific provisions on the more typical issues in the development of e-commerce.
According to the e-commerce law, e-commerce operators will be subject to strict supervision in the future, and will face a fine of up to 2 million yuan in case of violation.
When the law was just passed, an article called "goodbye, shopping on behalf! Goodbye, wechat business!" was wildly spread on the Internet.
'I can't sell overseas baby milk powder after buying it on behalf of others. Baby's rations will be cut off.'
'it's taxable to do a small business on behalf of the buyer. It won't last long.'
'the shopping in the circle of friends has been dizzy' & hellip; & hellip;
For a while, various interpretations and 'rumors' of e-commerce law began to spread on the Internet. Recently, many famous overseas flagship stores have closed down!
What's the matter with e-commerce law? Will agent purchase really withdraw from the stage of history?
Is the e-commerce law governing personal purchasing?
The e-commerce law, to be implemented in early 2019, clearly defines the type of 'e-commerce operators' such as purchasing agents:
Among them, 'personal purchasing on behalf of others' is in line with several major requirements of' selling goods through Internet and other information networks' providing services' and 'operation', and is included in the category of 'e-commerce operators'.
The direct understanding is that: online shopping on Taobao, Jingdong and other e-commerce platforms, wechat businesses in wechat circle of friends, and bloggers selling things on live platforms all belong to e-commerce operators.
This also means that the general business scale is larger, the frequency is higher occupation buys on behalf of others, should register as the market main body, obtains the related permission, and needs to pay the individual income tax, the value-added tax and so on tax according to law.
For personal purchasing, the most direct impact is that the management cost and tax cost will rise directly.
How to deal with e-commerce law?
1. Registration required
Article 10 of the electricity business law clearly stipulates that e-commerce operators shall register market entities according to law. However, with the exception of those who sell their own agricultural and sideline products and household handicraft products, and who use their own skills to engage in labor service activities and sporadic small amount transactions that do not need to be licensed according to law, and who do not need to register according to laws and administrative regulations.
In the past, there was no need for business registration to open an online shop on behalf of Taobao, and the "wechat business" in the circle of friends was the zero threshold.
But in the future, in addition to the special circumstances stipulated by law, we must register for business license according to law! Otherwise, we will face a fine of up to 10000 yuan!
On December 4, the website of the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the opinions on the registration of e-commerce operators, indicating that it is allowed to register online business sites as business sites. This is believed to reduce the cost of individual online store operators, which is conducive to the development of the network economy.
The e-commerce law also provides for several situations in which registration of market entities is not required, and the opinions does not provide for specific provisions. According to the experts interviewed, it is believed that there will be specific policies in the near future.
2. Tax must be paid according to law
In the past, both agency purchases and wechat businesses were conducted in the circle of friends or through the introduction of acquaintances. They did not need a business license or pay taxes.
However, in the future, this situation will change. According to Article 11 of the e-commerce law, e-commerce operators shall perform their tax payment obligations and enjoy tax preferences in accordance with the law.
Can't you sell infant milk powder without Chinese label?
For many New Zealand agents, infant formula is a very important commodity. Previously, some media said that the e-commerce law clearly stipulated: 'infant formula milk powder without Chinese label, not produced by the factory certified by CNCA and without formula registration certificate shall not be sold on the Internet platform. '
This has worried many New Zealand agents and many domestic treasure mothers about their baby's rations.
In fact, the original text of the e-commerce law does not contain such keywords as "milk powder", "Chinese label" and "certification"; however, Article 26 stipulates that when e-commerce operators engage in cross-border e-commerce, they shall abide by the laws, administrative regulations and relevant provisions of the state on the supervision and Administration of import and export.
In this regard, some people in the industry have also interpreted that this provision seems normal, but in fact it may affect most cross-border milk powder. According to the current national regulations, all infant formula needs to be registered by the General Administration of market supervision and administration, but overseas milk powder is produced and sold overseas in accordance with local laws and regulations, most of which are not specifically registered for the Chinese market. Moreover, the premise of obtaining the formula registration is that the milk powder production factory must first pass the factory certification of the relevant Chinese management organization.
Will overseas purchases disappear?
As soon as the e-commerce law came out, overseas purchasing on behalf of others was full of sorrow and glory. Some people even called the e-commerce law "purchasing on behalf of others". However, if we study the legal provisions carefully, we can find that the gap between the two is very obvious.
In the e-commerce law, there are four provisions and two paragraphs of text remarks related to cross-border e-commerce. The four provisions are Article 26, Article 71, Article 72 and Article 73 respectively. The two remarks are: 'the State supports small and micro enterprises to engage in cross-border E-commerce', 'the state promotes the establishment of cross-border e-commerce dispute resolution mechanisms with different countries and regions. '
It can be seen from here that only a small part of the provisions of this legislation are related to cross-border e-commerce, reflecting the main tone of encouragement and support, and the main purpose of legislation is to regulate the development of China's e-commerce industry.
In fact, the biggest group affected by overseas purchasing is individual purchasing. Zhou Hanhua, executive vice president of network and Information Law Research Association of China law society, said:
In essence, the cost of overseas purchasing is relatively low, which results in demand. This normal market behavior has its rationality.
However, to engage in cross-border e-commerce, we should have complied with the laws, administrative regulations and relevant national regulations on import and export supervision and management. Even if individuals bring goods into China from abroad, they also need to comply with the relevant regulations of customs, entry and exit, duty-free shops, etc.
Therefore, the legal risk of overseas purchasing agents engaging in cross-border purchasing is certain and the tax risk is real.
Then, after the implementation of the e-commerce law, what will be the options for individuals engaged in overseas purchasing?
Dong Yizhi, a special researcher of e-commerce research center and a lawyer of Yida law firm, said:
At present, it seems that they will either transform into small and micro enterprises engaged in cross-border e-commerce, or occasionally purchase on a small scale.
He analyzed that at present, the profit point of purchasing agents lies in the exemption of customs duties and consumption taxes, which is related to the lack of clear basis for law enforcement and the insufficient degree of law enforcement in the past. Now the legislation has been clear and there is no technical obstacle in the implementation. Once the cost goes up, the advantages of purchasing agents will no longer exist.
That is to say, overseas purchasing will not disappear, but will only increase the price. In the new price system and regulatory system, if the individual purchasing agent does not grow up, it may be difficult to compete with large-scale purchasing agent.
What will the new rules bring to consumers?
1. The chance of buying fake goods is small
After the implementation of the electricity business law, it will not be so easy to buy goods on behalf of others and sell fake and inferior goods in wechat friends circle. As regulation becomes more stringent, our chances of buying fake and shoddy goods will become less and less.
2. The e-commerce platform shall bear the "joint and several" liability
If there is a problem with the seller's products on the platform, such as milk powder is fake, red wine is fake, cosmetics is fake, etc., then the platform must also bear the responsibility. In this way, I will buy things on the e-commerce platform in the future, which will be more reassuring and more secure.
3. It is strictly prohibited to "brush good comments" and "delete bad comments"
E-commerce operators shall not conduct false or misleading business publicity by means of fictitious transactions or user evaluation, so as to deceive or mislead consumers.
Simply put, it is forbidden to "brush good comments" and "delete bad comments", otherwise, it will face a fine of up to 500000 yuan!
4. Do not refuse to return the deposit without reason
According to the provisions of the electricity business law, if an e-commerce operator collects a deposit from a consumer in accordance with the agreement, it shall clearly indicate the way and procedure of returning the deposit, and shall not set unreasonable conditions for returning the deposit.
If a consumer applies for refund of the deposit and meets the conditions for refund of the deposit, the e-commerce operator shall return the deposit in a timely manner.
In addition, the e-commerce law also involves a lot of issues such as "big data killing" and "difficulty in refunding the deposit of shared bicycle". It can be said that in the future, there will be laws for consumers to protect their rights and interests.