How to Prepare for the 2025 Internet Platform Tax Reporting Requirements

1. Review the Policy

On June 13, 2025, the State Council approved the Regulations on Internet Platform Enterprises' Tax Information Reporting , which took effect on June 20, 2025. The regulations consist of 14 articles covering reporting obligations, content, and deadlines. The first reporting window is October 2025. Platforms must report, on a quarterly basis, the identity and income information of operators and workers, except for exempt categories such as delivery, transportation, and household services that enjoy tax incentives or are not required to pay tax.

2. Why the Regulation Exists

The core purpose is to standardise supervision and support the healthy development of the platform economy . It aims to improve tax service efficiency, protect taxpayers' rights, and create a fair, unified tax environment.

2.1 Regulatory Aspect

Close tax‑collection loopholes caused by the decentralised, cross‑regional nature of platforms.

Create a fair environment by unifying online and offline tax rules.

Establish a full‑chain supervision system from pre‑ to post‑reporting.

2.2 Support Aspect

Maintain tax incentives for small‑scale platform merchants.

Provide targeted subsidies for e‑retail, cross‑border e‑commerce, and industrial internet.

Reduce compliance costs through unified data standards and simplified reporting.

2.3 Social Aspect

Protect new‑type employment workers (delivery riders, ride‑hailing drivers, etc.) with injury insurance and social‑security measures.

Promote social fairness and high‑quality economic development.

3. Affected Entities

The regulation distinguishes three主体: the platform enterprise itself, operators inside the platform, and flexible‑employment workers. Specific examples include:

E‑commerce platforms (e.g., Taobao, JD) – must report merchant identity and income.

Live‑streaming platforms (e.g., Douyin, Kuaishou) – must report anchors and related parties.

Logistics platforms (e.g., Manbang, Huolala) – must report freight operators.

Flexible‑employment platforms – must report gig workers.

Service platforms (education, medical, travel, consulting, design, gaming, etc.) – must report service providers.

Aggregation platforms and mini‑programs – must report their own identity information.

Foreign platforms providing profit‑making services in China – must designate a domestic agent and report the same data.

4. How Enterprises Should Respond

4.1 Identify Your Subject Type

Platform enterprise – the reporting obligor.

Platform operator – data subject whose information is reported.

Flexible‑employment worker – data subject who may need to self‑declare.

Cross‑border/foreign entity – special reporting subject.

4.2 Build the Reporting System

By October 31, 2025, platforms must complete three checklists and 12 automated processes covering merchant onboarding, contract signing, product listing, order processing, invoicing, logistics verification, subsidy distribution, data reporting, anomaly monitoring, user complaints, external audit, and crisis drills.

Key technical modules:

Identity Information Reporting – collect and validate basic platform data, enterprise data, and operator/worker data.

Income Information Reporting – quarterly collection of income, tax pre‑payment, and validation.

Relationship Reporting – link service institutions with live‑streamers, foreign operators, etc.

Tax‑Related Information Reporting – for live‑streaming and cross‑border transactions.

Result Query – view success/failure of submissions and re‑submit if needed.

The system architecture includes:

Data‑collection layer (acquisition, cleaning, validation).

Core‑business layer (identity, income, relationship, tax modules).

Analytics layer (statistics, dashboards).

Support layer (system management, tax‑bureau interface).

5. Implementation Recommendations

5.1 Data Acquisition

Develop standardised APIs, database connectors, or file‑import mechanisms to automatically pull transaction, payment, and user‑management data from platform subsystems. For foreign platforms, design cross‑border data channels that comply with data‑security and personal‑information‑protection laws.

5.2 Data Storage

Maintain a dynamic archive of operator/worker profiles, integrating identity, qualification, transaction, and tax records. Encrypt sensitive tax data and enforce role‑based access control to meet security standards.

5.3 Automated Reporting

Generate standardised quarterly reports according to the regulation format, provide preview, export, and one‑click online submission to the tax authority. Track submission status, send automatic reminders for overdue reports, and retain historical records for audit.

5.4 Visual Governance Dashboard

Provide macro‑level views for regulators (platform count, industry distribution, total taxable amount, compliance rate) and micro‑level risk profiles for individual platforms (data completeness, historical violations, compliance score). Visualise trends such as platform revenue vs. tax payment.

6. Conclusion

Compliance with the 2025 tax‑information reporting regulation is a prerequisite for platform enterprises to operate legally, reduce risk, and unlock data‑driven advantages. Treat the policy as an opportunity to invest in system capabilities, turn compliance costs into valuable data assets, and achieve sustainable, high‑quality growth.