Check marketplace fee invoices against the underlying mainland China business transactions

Establish the scope each invoice is meant to cover

Record the purchaser, issuer, invoice type and identifying details, description, amount and tax. Then locate the corresponding marketplace statement, fee details and service period. The invoice date, service date and settlement deduction date may differ; a shared calendar month is not enough to establish a match.

For example, one invoice might cover similar services for two shops, or only part of a single shop’s statement. Confirm whether the shops have the same actual purchasing entity and how the platform identifies invoiced charges. Sharing a brand does not justify combining different legal entities’ expenses.

If the issuer, contracting party, platform display name or receiving account differs, investigate the actual agency, collection or other arrangement and retain evidence explaining the relationship. Different names alone establish neither illegality nor a correct invoicing arrangement.

Map invoices to charges without forcing a one-to-one match

Start from the underlying expense detail. Identify which charges each invoice covers and make the relationship readable in the other direction too. Combined or partial invoicing requires a record of covered and uncovered portions; copying the whole invoice amount into every shop creates an error.

Keep unexplained differences visible rather than altering source statements to make totals agree. In particular, a net withdrawal amount does not identify every fee: it may also include refunds, deposits, adjustments for other periods or amounts of a different nature.

Distinguish duplicate documents from duplicate expenses

The same invoice can appear as its original electronic file, a scanned printout, an email attachment and a platform download. Use the applicable invoice identifiers to determine whether these are the same document, while preserving the original and acquisition record. Different filenames do not establish different invoices; identical amounts do not establish duplication either.

A separate problem occurs when the business records a fee from a platform statement and then records it again on receipt of the invoice, or includes the same service in both shop details and a head-office summary. Check the existing accounting record and coverage of the expense, not just filenames. Where treatment already exists, link the additional evidence or have the responsible finance professional determine the correction instead of adding the expense again.

Follow credits, replacement invoices and refunds to their final status

Keep the original invoice, relevant red-letter documents, replacement invoices and associated refunds or fee adjustments linked. Establish each document’s current status, the applicable correction procedure and what actually changed in the transaction before assessing the accounting or filing effect.

A replacement invoice does not necessarily mean another service was purchased. Nor does a newly received document prove that a refund has reached the business. Confirm separately whether the charge was reduced, how the invoice was adjusted, whether cash was returned and how the earlier record should be connected. Do not delete the original to hide the correction trail or treat both original and replacement as two valid expenses without checking.

Reach separate enterprise income tax and VAT conclusions

For entities subject to enterprise income tax, Articles 4 and 7 of State Taxation Administration Announcement 2018 No. 28 require authentic, lawful and relevant deduction evidence, supported by retained contracts, expenditure and payment records. Article 12 excludes noncompliant invoices and other noncompliant external vouchers as deduction evidence. Receipt of an invoice does not establish that the expense satisfies all deduction conditions. These enterprise income tax rules do not substitute for individual income tax analysis for other business forms.

VAT requires a separate assessment. Article 16 of the VAT Law, effective January 1, 2026, sets the statutory basis for deduction documents; Article 22 specifies non-deductible input tax categories. Assess the taxation method, document, actual use and applicable rules. Invoice verification alone does not establish input VAT deductibility, and non-deductible input VAT does not itself settle the enterprise income tax outcome.

The cited originals were checked on November 4, 2026. Apply the rules relevant to the transaction period, entity and facts. Overseas platforms, foreign service providers and cross-border payments require separate analysis of documentation and tax obligations, rather than automatic application of a domestic invoicing workflow.

Hand over actionable findings, not just attachments

The result should distinguish invoices matched to existing charges, possible duplicates, scope or amount differences, items awaiting the issuer’s explanation and questions requiring professional judgment. Keep the relevant evidence, responsible person and next action for each unresolved item. A single “complete” status should not conceal these differences.

A useful request is: “Review the marketplace fee invoices received this month against their statements. Identify the relationships, duplicates and unexplained differences, preserving links to expenses already recorded. List missing conditions for tax decisions separately rather than assuming VAT deductibility.” This is a specific reconciliation objective, not permission to automate every accounting and tax conclusion.

CaiGeek is an AI financial assistant for mainland China SMEs. Professional work depends on actual evidence, available capabilities and review by finance personnel. Explore the tax and compliance examples, carry unresolved items into the month-end evidence handover, or contact CaiGeek about software or separately agreed financial services.