China's tax watchdog on Monday promised to improve the export-tax rebate service in a bid to facilitate foreign trade.

The export-tax rebate system should be improved and firms should be assured that they will receive their rebates in a timely fashion, said a notice on the website of the State Administration of Taxation.

Supporting systems like big data and cloud computing should be introduced in the sector to ensure greater efficiency, it said.

Tax policies for cross-border e-commerce businesses must also be reviewed, it added.

In 2015 H1, China handled export tax rebates amounting 656.5 billion yuan (102.58 billion U.S. dollars), up 12.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the administration.