BEIJING - China's top taxation watchdog on Saturday urged local authorities to crack down on export tax refund fraud to help maintain economic order.

Taxation authorities nationwide gave 594.6 billion yuan ($94.38 billion) in tax rebates to export enterprises during the first seven months of 2012, up 14 percent year on year, according to a State Administration of Taxation statement.

The growth rate was higher than the country's export growth, which slowed to 7.8 percent during the January-July period due to sluggish external demand.

The administration asked local authorities to make full use of the export tax refund regime to boost the country's foreign trade, the statement said.

Taxation departments should scrutinize whether applied companies are qualified for export tax rebates and they should also severely crack down on refund fraud, according to the statement.