Full Process Analysis and Precautions for Herbal Supplements Import Customs Clearance

Since 2026,domestic consumers’ demand for overseas herbal supplements has continued to grow,with import volume of categories such as bird’s nest,probiotics and deep-sea fish oil increasing by 18% year-on-year.However,herbal supplements import customs clearance is not a simple "cargo clearance" process.It is a key node in the foreign trade chain connecting international transportation and domestic sales,involving multiple links such as qualification review,compliance inspection and tariff calculation.Any error in any step may lead to delayed delivery at best,or cargo return or fine at worst.Recently,many enterprises have reported that their customs clearance cycle has been extended to more than 15 days due to unfamiliarity with the updated regulatory rules for imported herbal supplements in 2026.Combined with Zhongshen’s 20 years of industry experience,this article systematically sorts out the core process of herbal supplements import customs clearance to help enterprises accurately avoid pitfalls.

1.Preparations before herbal supplements import customs clearance: Qualification and document review (Objective: Ensure compliant access)

Preparation work before customs clearance directly determines whether the subsequent process is smooth.If qualifications or documents are missing,the cargo may be directly detained by the customs after arrival at the port.The core of this stage is to "check compliance risks in advance" to avoid the situation where cargo cannot be cleared after arrival.

1.1 Enterprise qualification review: Avoid the risk of "declaration without qualification"

Enterprises importing herbal supplements in 2026 are required to have two core qualifications: first,the Registration Form of Foreign Trade Operator,and second,the Filing Certificate for Health Food Importers for health food category herbal supplements.Many enterprises mistakenly believe that they can import as long as they have foreign trade operation rights,but actually ignore the special filing requirements for health food.Last year,a trading company in Shanghai had 300 kilograms of bird’s nest returned by the customs due to lack of filing certificate,with a loss of over RMB 200,000.

Role of Zhongshen: The service team will provide customers with the List of Qualifications for Herbal Supplements Import 10 working days in advance,and assist in checking the existing qualifications of the enterprise.If the customer lacks the filing certificate,they can entrust Zhongshen to connect with the filing window of Shanghai Customs,and handle the whole process of document submission and review on their behalf,with the fastest filing completed in 3 working days.

1.2 Cargo access confirmation: Eliminate the risk of "entry prohibition"

In 2026,China has made two updates to the access catalogue for imported herbal supplements: first,12 new origins of deep-sea fish oil (Norway,Iceland,etc.) have been added,and second,some probiotic strains have been included in the "Allowed Import List".However,the bird’s nest imported by some enterprises still fails to obtain the registration of overseas production enterprises,resulting in the cargo being detained by the customs.

Common problems: Some enterprises confuse the access standards of "ordinary food" and "health food",and declare health food as ordinary food,resulting in declaration failure.

Role of Zhongshen: We will check the HS code of the cargo and the access catalogue in advance.If the cargo is health food,we will assist the customer to confirm whether the overseas production enterprise is in the registration list of the General Administration of Customs.If it is not registered,we can provide guidance on the registration process to avoid the situation that the cargo cannot be declared after arrival at the port.

2.Core customs clearance process after cargo arrival at port: Declaration and inspection (Objective: Efficient clearance + compliant release)

Customs clearance declaration shall be completed within 14 days after the cargo arrives at the port (delayed declaration fee will be charged if the time limit is exceeded,and the delayed declaration fee is levied at 0.5‰ per day in 2026).This stage is the "key window period" for customs clearance,and the accuracy of declaration and inspection efficiency directly affect the clearance speed.

2.1 Declaration link: Accurate filling is the key to customs clearance

The core of declaration is to accurately fill in information such as HS code,component content and origin.Among them,wrong HS code is the most common declaration problem.For example,if bird’s nest (HS code 04100090) is incorrectly filled as ordinary food (04040000),the tariff will increase from 10% to 20%,and the inspection will be delayed.

Role of Zhongshen: The customs declaration team is familiar with the latest HS code adjustment in 2026,and will accurately match the code according to the composition and form of the cargo.At the same time,we adopt the "pre-declaration" mode,submit the draft declaration 3 days before the cargo arrives at the port,check the information in advance,and reduce on-site declaration errors.

2.2 Inspection link: Differences in inspection priorities for different herbal supplements

In 2026,the customs inspection of herbal supplements is divided into "routine inspection" and "special inspection",and the inspection priorities of different categories are different.The following table shows the comparison of inspection requirements for common herbal supplements:

Role of Zhongshen: We will inform customers of the inspection priorities of each category in advance,and assist in preparing third-party test reports required for inspection (such as SGS component test reports).If the inspection shows suspected non-conformity,we will contact the customs technical center for recheck at the first time to avoid direct return of cargo.

2.3 Tariff and value-added tax payment: Accurate calculation to avoid overpayment

In 2026,herbal supplements under some free trade agreements can enjoy tariff reduction and exemption.For example,the tariff on Malaysian bird’s nest under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement is reduced from 10% to 5%.However,many enterprises fail to enjoy preferential tariffs due to unfamiliarity with the origin rules of free trade agreements.

Role of Zhongshen: The tariff calculation team will judge whether the cargo meets the preferential tariff conditions according to the origin of the cargo and the free trade agreement.We assist customers in preparing certificates of origin (such as FORM E) to ensure the implementation of tariff reduction and exemption,saving customers an average of 15% of tariff costs.

3.Follow-up services after customs clearance: Warehousing and distribution (Objective: Connect with domestic sales)

After customs clearance and release,the cargo needs to be stored in a warehouse that meets regulatory requirements before being distributed to domestic customers.In 2026,the customs requires that health food category herbal supplements be stored in "bonded warehouses" or "supervised warehouses",and ordinary herbal supplements can be stored in ordinary warehouses,but temperature records are required (for example,probiotics need to be stored in an environment of 2-8℃).

• Role of Zhongshen 1: Warehousing management: We have 3 warehouses in Shanghai that meet customs supervision requirements,2 of which are constant temperature warehouses (2-8℃),which can meet the storage needs of herbal supplements such as probiotics and bird’s nest.At the same time,we provide 24-hour monitoring and temperature recording,and send regular warehousing reports to customers.
• Role of Zhongshen 2: Domestic distribution: We cooperate with logistics providers such as SF Express and Deppon to provide "door-to-door" distribution services.For herbal supplements that require cold chain transportation,we use full-process temperature-controlled containers to ensure that the cargo meets storage requirements during transportation.

3.1 Common problems after customs clearance: Label rectification and return processing

Some herbal supplements need to undergo label rectification after customs clearance because their Chinese labels do not meet the requirements (such as no marked health function and component content).In 2026,the customs requires that label rectification be completed in a supervised warehouse,and rectification records be provided.

Role of Zhongshen: We review Chinese labels in advance to avoid rectification after customs clearance.If rectification is required,we can assist customers to complete label printing and pasting in the supervised warehouse,with the whole process under customs supervision.After rectification,the cargo can be directly distributed without re-declaration.

From pre-preparation to warehousing and distribution,herbal supplements import customs clearance involves 12 key nodes,and each node may cause delays due to compliance issues.Since 2026,Zhongshen has assisted more than 300 enterprises in completing herbal supplements import customs clearance,and the average clearance cycle is 40% shorter than the industry average (industry average 12 days,Zhongshen average 7.2 days).

If you have recent demand for herbal supplements import,you may contact Supervisor Chen from Zhongshen.He will provide a customized customs clearance solution according to your cargo category and origin.From qualification review to final distribution,the whole process is followed up by a professional team to help you avoid compliance risks and improve import efficiency.