How Can Import Cross-Border E-commerce Agents Solve Infant Formula Customs Clearance Pain Points in 2026

Current Market Status and Customs Clearance Dilemma of Imported Infant Formula

In the first quarter of 2026,the import volume of infant formula at Shanghai Port increased by 23% year-on-year,while the number of returned and destroyed cases also rose by 17% in the same period.Behind this data lies a common dilemma for cross-border e-commerce importers: issues such as forged product registration numbers,non-compliant foreign language labels,and missing test items in inspection reports cause an average of 8.5 working days of cargo detention at ports.Mr.Cao,purchasing head of a cross-border e-commerce platform,once encountered a shipment of New Zealand infant formula: since the manufacturer was not included in the General Administration of Customs (GACC) registered overseas enterprise list,the entire container was detained at Yangshan Port for 23 days,eventually resulting in more than 400,000 RMB in container detention fees and warehousing losses.

The root cause of such problems is that imported infant formula is subject to three layers of legal frameworks: the Food Safety Law,the Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection,and cross-border e-commerce retail import regulatory policies.The new 2026 Measures for the Administration of Infant Formula Product Formula Registration requires that imported products must not only obtain formula registration from the State Administration for Market Regulation,their overseas manufacturing enterprises must also obtain GACC Registration from the General Administration of Customs,and the registration information must be fully consistent with the production factory code on the product label.Under this dual registration system,any information mismatch may lead to customs clearance failure.

Core Positioning of Zhongshen in the Import Supply Chain

Zhongshen has operated imported infant formula business since 2006,and has served 37 brands and more than 2,000 batches of products in total.We are not just a simple customs brokerage firm,but a risk control hub running through the front,middle and back end of the supply chain.Before customers formally place purchase orders,we will intervene in product compliance assessment,check the registration status of overseas manufacturers,the validity of formula registration certificates,and whether product label drafts meet Chinese standards.This pre-review mechanism intercepts potential risks at the procurement link,avoiding problems being discovered only after cargo arrives at the port.

In 2026,we built a digital compliance database that synchronizes official registration information from the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration for Market Regulation in real time.When the registration status of any overseas factory changes,the system will automatically send an early warning to notify relevant customers to suspend procurement.This system has helped three importers avoid the risk of cargo return caused by expired factory registration.In addition,we cooperate with testing institutions such as SGS and TÜV to complete full-item testing in accordance with Chinese national standards before shipment,ensuring that inspection reports meet port commodity inspection requirements.

Document Pre-Audit Stage: The Granularity of Compliance Review Determines Customs Clearance Outcome

Core Document List and Review Key Points

Document pre-audit for imported infant formula requires checking the consistency of more than 20 documents.The three most critical certificates are: Formula Registration Certificate,Overseas Manufacturer Registration Certificate,and Product Inspection Report.New 2026 regulatory requirements add two items: first,a quality and safety self-control system assessment report from the overseas factory is required; second,a description of product traceability code assignment rules needs to be submitted to ensure that every minimum sales unit can be traced within China.

Zhongshen’s pre-audit team checks word by word whether the ingredient list,nutrition facts table,consumption method and other information on the product’s Chinese label are fully consistent with the content recorded in the formula registration certificate.We once caught a subtle difference on a shipment of Dutch infant formula: the label used "μg" as the unit for vitamin B1,while the registration certificate stated "μg RE".Our reviewer found this discrepancy and required the foreign supplier to revise the label before shipment,avoiding port rectification or return.We also check whether the testing standard referenced in the inspection report is the currently effective GB 10765 or GB 10767,and whether all required and optional ingredients are covered in the testing items.

• Formula Registration Certificate: Check product name,registration number,validity period,manufacturer name
• Overseas Manufacturer Registration Certificate: Confirm GACC registration number,registered address,product scope
• Product Inspection Report: Review testing standard,testing items,test result judgment
• Chinese Label Draft: Compare consistency of ingredient list,nutrition facts table,warning statement with registration certificate
• Certificate of Origin: Verify whether origin information affects the application of tariff rates
• Trade Contract and Invoice: Confirm price terms,transaction mode,payment route

Risk Early Warning and Avoidance Strategies

In 2026,lactose raw material sources of infant formula from some countries were issued a risk warning by the General Administration of Customs.Zhongshen will additionally require suppliers to provide quarantine certificates and GMO testing reports for lactose raw materials during the pre-audit stage.For first-time cooperating overseas factories,we will entrust a third party to conduct on-site audit to assess whether their production quality management system meets Chinese regulatory requirements.Although this in-depth review increases preliminary workload,it reduces the port inspection failure rate from the industry average of 12% to less than 1.5% for our business.

Port Customs Declaration Stage: Balance Accuracy and Timeliness of Declaration Elements

The HS code for infant formula is 19011010,with a tariff rate of 5% and value-added tax of 13%.Under the 2026 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone policy,for goods within the single transaction limit of 5,000 RMB and annual limit of 26,000 RMB,tariff rate is temporarily set at 0%,and import link value-added tax is levied at 70% of the statutory taxable amount.However,in actual operation,many importers confuse the applicable scenarios of retail import and general trade,leading to declaration errors.

Zhongshen’s customs declaration team will select the most appropriate clearance path according to the customer’s sales model.For B2C retail imports,we achieve matching of order,payment slip and logistics slip through the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive service platform,ensuring that the declared price is consistent with the actual transaction price.For B2B general trade imports,we strictly review whether royalty and special relationship affect the transaction price in accordance with customs valuation principles.In 2026,customs strengthened the review of order splitting for large orders on cross-border e-commerce platforms,we established an order authenticity verification mechanism for customers in advance,and keep complete transaction track data for customs inspection.

In the declaration link,we pay special attention to the filling of product specifications.The stage of infant formula (0-6 months,6-12 months,12-36 months) must be declared accurately,because different stages correspond to different formula registration certificates.Once a shipment was determined as goods-document inconsistency by customs due to wrong stage declaration.Zhongshen communicated repeatedly with the customs classification department by submitting product physical photos,outer packaging design drafts and other certification materials,and finally it was identified as a declaration error instead of intentional misreporting,avoiding administrative penalties.

Commodity Inspection Stage: Full Process Management from Sampling Testing to Label Rectification

In 2026,port commodity inspection implements 100% on-site inspection and laboratory testing for imported infant formula.Inspection focuses include: whether labels meet the requirements of national standards GB 7718 and GB 10765,whether nutrition components are excessive or insufficient,and whether pollutants and mycotoxins exist.Zhongshen deploys full-time inspection coordinators on site to cooperate with customs inspection,feedback problems in real time and activate emergency plans.

Label rectification is the most common requirement in the commodity inspection link.Chinese national standards require that Chinese labels must be printed directly on the minimum sales packaging,and cannot be pasted additionally.Many importers are not aware of this regulation,leading to the need for packaging replacement after cargo arrives at the port.Zhongshen provides label pre-audit service,guiding foreign suppliers to design Chinese packaging that meets Chinese standards during overseas production.For cargo that really needs rectification,we have a label rectification warehouse in the bonded area,equipped with professional printing equipment and quality inspectors,and can complete rectification within 24 hours at the fastest,reducing cargo detention time.

Laboratory testing usually takes 7-10 working days.Zhongshen has established a green channel with port laboratories,and can apply for expedited testing for goods that need urgent market launch,with reports issued within 3 working days at the fastest.We also have an emergency response plan for unqualified testing: if a testing item shows a critical value,we immediately start the third-party re-inspection procedure; if the unqualified item involves safety indicators,we proactively apply for return to avoid greater losses caused by destruction.Among the batches we operated in 2026,98.5% passed the first inspection,and 80% of unqualified batches passed inspection and were released after rectification.

Extended Service Value of Warehousing,Distribution and Foreign Exchange Settlement

Customs clearance completion is only the first step.Zhongshen provides integrated bonded warehousing and domestic distribution services.We have a 3,000-square-meter constant temperature bonded warehouse in Shanghai Free Trade Zone,with temperature controlled below 25 degrees Celsius and humidity below 60%,which meets the storage requirements of infant formula.Through the WMS system,customers can check inventory status in real time and achieve drop shipping.In 2026,we handled an average of 3,000 delivery orders per day for a cross-border e-commerce platform,with a wrong delivery rate controlled below 0.01%.

In terms of foreign exchange receipt and payment,Zhongshen holds the qualification of trade foreign exchange receipts and payments enterprise directory registration issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange,and can handle outward payment for customers as an agent.RMB exchange rate fluctuation intensified in 2026,we provide exchange rate locking services to help customers avoid exchange rate risks.For settlement of cross-border e-commerce retail imports,we handle procedures in accordance with the customs declared price,ensuring that foreign exchange receipts and payments are consistent with the trade background and meet the compliance requirements of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.Mr.Cao’s company,through our agent payment service,shortened the foreign exchange settlement cycle from the original T+5 to T+1,greatly improving capital turnover efficiency.

Practical Case: Reversal from Return Crisis to Smooth Market Launch

In March 2026,Mr.Cao contacted Zhongshen urgently: a shipment of German imported infant formula worth 1.2 million RMB was detained by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Customs due to expired formula registration certificate,facing the risk of return.When the cargo was on the way,the original registration certificate just expired,and the new registration certificate was still under approval by the State Administration for Market Regulation.We sorted out the timeline immediately and found that the departure date of the cargo was before the certificate expired,but the arrival date was after expiration.

Zhongshen took three remedial measures: first,submit a situation explanation to the customs to prove that the certificate was valid when the cargo departed,and provide the acceptance notice of the new certificate; second,coordinate with the overseas manufacturer to issue a quality and safety commitment letter,promising that the product meets Chinese standards; third,apply to store the cargo in the bonded warehouse to wait for the approval of the new certificate.Meanwhile,we followed up the approval progress of the State Administration for Market Regulation every day,and submitted the new certificate to customs immediately on the day it was approved.Finally,the cargo cleared customs smoothly after 11 days of temporary storage in the bonded warehouse,avoiding return loss.Mr.Cao calculated later that if the cargo was returned,not only the payment for goods would be lost,but also nearly 300,000 RMB in additional costs such as round-trip freight and container detention fees would be incurred.

Long-term Value of Professional Agent Service

The compliance chain of imported infant formula is long and has many regulatory nodes.It is difficult for a single enterprise to fully grasp all policy details.With 20 years of experience accumulation,Zhongshen has formed a replicable risk prevention and control system.We decompose complex compliance requirements into executable operation checklists,convert policy changes into system early warnings,and convert post-arrival port problems into pre-purchase pre-review.This service model allows customers to focus their energy on brand building and channel expansion,instead of spending energy on cumbersome customs clearance procedures.

The 2026 regulatory trend shows that the General Administration of Customs is promoting classification management of imported food overseas manufacturers,and implements stricter port inspection for high-risk enterprises.Zhongshen has already established an overseas supplier evaluation system to help customers select manufacturers with good compliance records.Meanwhile,we are promoting the application of blockchain traceability systems to achieve full-chain traceability from overseas factories to domestic consumers,which will become the core competitiveness of cross-border e-commerce imports in the future.

Choosing a professional import agent is essentially purchasing risk avoidance capability and time value.For the infant formula projects operated by Zhongshen,the average customs clearance time is 3.2 working days faster than the industry average,the inspection rate is lower than 2%,and customers have zero losses caused by compliance issues.Behind these data is the role of systematic and professional operation procedures.For overseas brands that want to deepen the Chinese market,such a partner is indispensable.