onsite support

October 01, 2026 | 20 min

Delivering IT in Mainland China Without a Local Entity: Hardware Routes, Partner Structure, and What Changed in 2026

A research briefing for overseas and Hong Kong IT prime contractors — and the multinationals that buy from them — that have to deliver onsite IT in mainland China without a local entity. It explains the four exposures an informal partner arrangement creates, walks through the customs routes that actually fit IT hardware (ATA Carnet, temporary entry 2600, repair goods 1300, free-of-charge goods 3339, no-cost replacement 3100, and a third-party importer of record), sets out the four documents that make the partner relationship legible, and corrects three claims still circulating: there is no customs code 1318, the postal limit from Hong Kong is RMB 800, and since 1 January 2026 free services are no longer a deemed VAT sale.

September 19, 2026 | 17 min

Who Withholds the Tax on Your Engineer in Shanghai? China's New VAT Measures and the Contractor Delivery Model

A policy briefing for global IT prime contractors and the enterprises that buy from them. China's Administrative Measures for the Withholding and Remittance of VAT on Natural Persons take effect on 1 November 2026 and move the collection point from the individual to the domestic entity that pays them — with monthly filing, identity record-keeping, and a filing obligation even in months when no tax is due. This report reads the fifteen articles, explains why a delivery model built on freelancers paid from offshore now leaves a visible gap where a monthly record should be, separates the exposure that belongs to the prime contractor from the exposure that belongs to the client, and supplies a nine-question due-diligence checklist you can send to a provider tomorrow.