China's tax authorities launched the "TaxExpress" cross-border tax service brand in 2023, marking a shift in tax certainty services from an "ex post remedial" model to an "ex ante preventive" and "in-process companion" model, representing a distinctive and original contribution to international tax services.

First, institutionalised provision of knowledge products——addressing information asymmetry. A primary source of tax uncertainty is a lack of information——without understanding the host country's tax system, enterprises cannot anticipate their compliance costs. TaxExpress addresses this through the systematic development of knowledge products: it continuously publishes Country/Region Investment Tax Guides covering the main destinations for Chinese investment abroad, with annual updates; the Global Tax Newsletter tracks tax policy changes in various countries on a monthly basis; the Overseas Tax Case Database translates abstract rules into contextualised references; and the revised Going Global Tax Guide systematically organises tax-related matters to provide enterprises with clear guidance. This large-scale, high-frequency, systematic production of country-specific tax knowledge transforms fragmented and scattered information into searchable, predictable, and referenceable public knowledge, reducing tax uncertainty arising from information gaps at source. (Note: The specific number of guides is subject to the latest data published by the State Taxation Administration.)

Second, the Dedicated Project Manager system——bringing certainty services forward to the investment decision stage. For key cross-border enterprises and investment projects, TaxExpress assigns a dedicated "Project Lead" from the investment attraction stage onwards, proactively engaging with needs and analysing risks, rather than waiting for enterprises to encounter problems. To date, a large number of key projects nationwide have been assigned Dedicated Project Managers providing full-cycle one-to-one support. This mechanism advances the timing of tax certainty from "after a dispute arises" to "before an investment decision is made", enabling enterprises to obtain clear tax expectations at the structuring stage. At the same time, through institutionalised service procedures and quality controls, it ensures basic consistency in discretionary standards across different projects.

Third, country-specific tax counselling and multilingual advisory services——clearing uncertainty at the implementation level. TaxExpress collaborates with foreign tax authorities, Chinese embassies abroad, and overseas Chinese business associations to deliver country-specific tax counselling programmes, extending its service reach overseas. The 12366 Shanghai (International) Tax Service Centre provides multilingual tax and fee advisory services (including English, Japanese, Korean, and other major languages), eliminating compliance blind spots arising from language barriers.

Lessons learned: TaxExpress demonstrates that tax certainty services can move beyond the passive "dispute resolution" framework towards a proactive paradigm of "knowledge product provision plus proactive service outreach". For BRITACOM members, a priority could be to compile country-specific tax guides for the main destinations of their enterprises' overseas investment, establishing a regular "compilation-update-expansion" mechanism. At the same time, they could bring tax services forward to the investment decision stage, helping enterprises avoid tax risks at source through mechanisms such as "project liaison officers" and "pre-investment tax counselling".