Is it necessary to use a qualified company for export agency services? Which operations might involve regulatory violations? Interpretation of the latest policies in 2025

I.What Legal Qualifications Are Required for Export Agency?

According to the latest regulations issued by the General Administration of Customs of China in 2025,to legally engage in export agency business,one must simultaneously meet the following requirements:

• ValidEnterprisesneedtohavelegalimportandexportqualifications,including:
• Customs-registeredRegistrationCertificateoftheCustomsDeclarationUnit
• ForeignexchangeadministrationissuedTradeForeignExchangeReceiptsandPaymentsEnterpriseDirectoryRequiretheprovisionofataxpaymentcertificateandaspecialVATinvoice.
• SpecialcommoditiesalsorequirecorrespondingcategoryExportLicense

II.How Are Responsibilities Divided Between Agent and Principal?

From the General Administration of Customs’ Decree No.237 in 2018 to the current regulations in 2025,the following points should be paid special attention to in the agency relationship:

• Contractualsubjectresponsibilities:Documentsmustdisplaybothpartieslegalnames
• Qualitydispute:Overseasclaimsarebornebytheprincipalforproductliability
• Documentmanagement:Theagentmustmaintaincompletetradedocumentsforatleast5years

III.Which party handles it?

In 2025,the State Taxation Administration explicitly required that:

• Thetaxrefundapplicantmustbetheactualgoodsowner
• Theagencycompanyonlyassistsinhandlingtaxrefunddeclarationprocedures
• Completedocumentsmustbeprovidedincludingagencyagreement+specialVATinvoice

IV.What are the special regulations for foreign exchange receipts and payments?

According to Document No.13 of 2025 issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange:

• Agencycompaniesareprohibitedfromcollectingforeignexchangepaymentsonbehalf
• Foreignexchangemustbedepositedintotheprincipalsverificationaccount
• Cross-borderRMBsettlementrequiresprovidingauthenticitysupportingdocuments

V.Which operations may trigger customs alerts?

In 2025,the customs will focus on monitoring the following violations:

• Thesameagencycompanyfrequentlychangingprincipalswithinashortperiod
• Declaredpricesdeviatingfrommarketpricesbymorethan30%
• HScodeclassificationshowingsystematicerrors

VI.How to prevent agency export risks?

It is recommended that enterprises take the following measures:

• Signtripartitewitnessedagreement(principal,agent,bank)
• RequesttheagencytoprovideAnnualcomplianceauditreport
• Noteinthecustomsdeclarationremarkscolumnactualmanufacturerinformation

What are the evaluation criteria for selecting an agency company?

It is recommended to screen through four dimensions:

• Industryfocus:Whetherfamiliarwithspecificproductexportregulations
• Riskmanagementsystem:WhetherpossessingAEOcertificationqualification
• Technicalcapabilities:WhetherconnectedtotheSingleWindowsystem
• DisputeResolution:Customsadministrativepenaltyrecordsinthepastthreeyears

VIII.What Are the New Changes in Export Agency in 2025?

According to the latest developments from the Ministry of Commerce:

• PilotimplementedbytheGeneralAdministrationofCustomsin2024
• Expandself-declarationsystem:ThesixGulfcountriesincludingSaudiArabia,theUAE,andKuwait.
• StrengthenExporttradelinkagemechanism

(Note: This article is based on policy documents published before March 2025.Please refer to the latest regulations for actual operations.For specific cases,it is recommended to consult a professional trade lawyer.)