I received a Chinese tax risk notice. What now?
A tax risk notice (税收风险提示函) is the letter a Chinese tax bureau sends when its data reconciliation shows a gap between your declarations and what platform, invoice or bank data suggests. It is not a penalty and not an audit summons — it is an invitation to self-check within a deadline, and how you respond in that window largely determines what happens next.
Key terms: Golden Tax Phase IV refers to the fourth generation of China's tax administration infrastructure; Decree 810 refers to the Regulation on Internet Platform Enterprises' Reporting of Tax-Related Information (effective 2025-06-20); a "risk notice" refers to the letter a tax bureau sends asking you to self-check declared-versus-reported gaps.
The five-step response
- Step 1 · Verify the document — confirm the issuing authority, the periods and taxes named; beware fraud using "risk notice" letterhead;
- Step 2 · Self-check within the deadline — reconcile declarations against platform settlements, invoices and bank flows for the named periods;
- Step 3 · Quantify before you act — estimate back tax, daily surcharge (0.05%) and fine ranges; guessing breeds both over-payment and under-payment;
- Step 4 · Correct proactively — file amended declarations and pay what analysis supports; voluntary correction before escalation draws consistently lighter outcomes in published decisions;
- Step 5 · Document and respond — keep records of the reconciliation and submissions, and reply through the official channel by the deadline.
What not to do
- Do not ignore it — surcharges accrue daily and uncorrected notices escalate to audits;
- Do not over-confess — correct what your analysis supports, with evidence, not everything the letter vaguely suggests;
- Do not improvise complex explanations — where structures are involved, quantify first, then bring in a professional for the response itself.
Serious vs routine: how to tell
Routine notices name specific periods and taxes and invite self-check. Escalation signals include requests for books and records, interviews, or a transition from "notice" to "inspection" documents. The first costs attention; the second needs professional handling. A quantified view of your own exposure is what lets you tell them apart calmly.
What recipients ask in practice
The most common question is whether responding admits guilt — it does not; self-checking within the window is the designed process, and silence is the answer that escalates. The second is whether to fix everything that could conceivably be wrong anywhere — no: correct what the notice names and your reconciliation supports, and keep unrelated improvements as separate, deliberate filings. The third is who should write the response — you can draft it; where the amounts are material or the facts are structured, the response itself is professional work.
FAQ
Is a risk notice public?
No. Publication happens only with penalty decisions, which are a later stage.
Can I get an extension?
Deadlines are stated in the letter; extensions are possible but must be requested through the issuing authority before expiry, not after.
Shoushuibao's check engine runs these same comparisons on your own data — free triage in the WeChat mini-program; see FAQ and Pricing.
Run the free check: open WeChat, search the mini-program 守税宝 (ShouShuiBao). International inquiries: bd@intentengine.cn.