Korea Customs Service Expands Tax Administration Support to Include Social Enterprises

This year, the scope of tax administration support will be expanded. Tax support measures will also be implemented to help companies respond to the new global trade order. These efforts aim to improve the liquidity of small and medium-sized import and export businesses that are facing increased management burdens due to changes in the international trade environment.

The Korea Customs Service announced its "2026 Tax Administration Support Plan" on January 29, highlighting these initiatives. First, this year’s support will be extended to include groups of businesses linked to national policy tasks, such as social enterprises, companies certified for disaster and accident safety, and family-friendly companies related to overcoming low birth rates.

Korea Customs Service

Newly eligible companies for tax administration support include 1,075 workplaces certified for risk assessment (certified by the Ministry of Employment and Labor), 296 companies recognized for excellence in disaster reduction (certified by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), 1,056 family-friendly certified companies (certified by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family), and 3,766 social enterprises (certified by the Ministry of Employment and Labor), totaling 6,193 companies.

Previously, the Korea Customs Service provided tax support to a total of 2,215 companies last year, supporting liquidity worth 1.1675 trillion won in total.

One representative case involved extending the tax payment deadlines for corporations located in special disaster areas and supporting companies that had temporarily defaulted on 50 million won in taxes due to liquidity shortages by allowing installment payments and customs clearance, thereby helping them fully pay off their arrears and normalize operations.

Tax administration support will also be provided to help companies respond to the newly reorganized global trade order. The main focus is to offer special tax support to companies and industries struggling with international developments, such as U.S. customs policy (with companies exporting high-tariff items to the U.S. selected by the authorities) and the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Additionally, comprehensive and tailored customs administration support will be provided for companies located in disaster-affected and industrial crisis response areas. The process for applying for extensions on payment deadlines and installment payments-which previously required visiting customs offices in person or submitting requests via email-will be improved so that it can be handled in a one-stop manner through the electronic customs system (UNI-PASS) starting this year.

The Korea Customs Service is also planning to support small businesses or bonded transport operators with low import records by abolishing the two-year import performance requirement when granting extensions or installment payments for administrative fines imposed under the Customs Act.

Lee Myunggu, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, stated, "We will enhance the effectiveness of our support by making it faster and broader so that disaster-affected, crisis-hit, and financially vulnerable companies can truly feel the benefits." He also urged, "Companies facing financial difficulties are encouraged to apply for tax administration support at any time through customs offices or the Korea Customs Service’s electronic customs system."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.