City to pilot preferential stamp tax policy for offshore trade

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone including the zone's Lingang Special Area will pilot preferential policies on stamp tax for offshore trade.

From April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, enterprises registered in the free trade zone will be exempted from paying stamp tax on contracts of sales and purchases for offshore trade business, according to a notice released by the Shanghai Finance Bureau and the Shanghai Bureau of the State Taxation Administration on Sunday.

Offshore trade, or documentation processing trade, refers to a trade model in which the goods are transferred directly from the exporting country to the importing country without entering the border of a middle country where contracts, payments, logistics, insurances, financial arrangements, as well as other trading documents are processed.