Detailed Explanation of Imported Food Customs Declaration Agency Services in Huzhou

Current Situation and Core Difficulties of Huzhou Imported Food Market

As an important food consumption city in the Yangtze River Delta,Huzhou’s annual transaction volume of imported food has exceeded 1.8 billion yuan in 2026,among which Southeast Asian tropical fruit products,European baking ingredients,and Oceanian dairy products account for the main share.From Thai coconut cream,Vietnamese coffee powder to French cream cheese,these commodities face three practical obstacles in cross-border circulation: First,the quarantine access list is adjusted dynamically and frequently.In the first half of 2026,the General Administration of Customs of China (GAC) added inspection standards for 12 categories of Southeast Asian plant-derived food; Second,label compliance requirements are refined to font height and nutrition claim wording,and the proportion of inspection detention caused by label problems at Huzhou Port reaches 23%; Third,the mismatch between foreign exchange settlement cycle and tax deduction node often brings cash flow pressure to small and medium-sized enterprises.Zhongshen has served more than 200 local food trading enterprises,and found that more than 60% of return shipment risks are concentrated in two links: document inconsistency and delayed quarantine approval.

Positioning of Zhongshen in the Imported Food Supply Chain

Zhongshen does not simply connect customs brokers and logistics companies,but embeds itself in the front end of enterprises’ procurement plans.When an importer in Huzhou signs a coconut cream procurement contract with a Thai supplier,our product access review team will intervene in advance to check whether the factory is included in the GAC "Registration List of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food",and confirm whether product ingredients contain ingredients restricted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).This pre-service changes the traditional "passive order receiving" mode of customs brokers to "risk prediction" mode.Among the 387 batches of food import business we handled in 2026,potential compliance problems avoided through pre-review involved a cargo value of more than 47 million yuan.The core difference is that Zhongshen holds the AEO Advanced Certification issued by the customs,and can directly obtain the latest regulatory instructions from GAC,instead of relying on delayed interpretation of public documents.

Disassembly of the Full Process of Imported Food Customs Declaration

Stage 1: Document Pre-review and Access Confirmation

The core of this stage is to confirm "whether the product is allowed to enter" and "whether documents are consistent".Take Vietnamese coffee powder as an example,in addition to conventional contracts,invoices,and packing lists,it is necessary to provide the phytosanitary certificate issued by the Vietnamese official authorities (which must indicate the heat treatment process parameters),the component analysis report corresponding to the production batch number,and the registration number of the overseas production enterprise in China.Zhongshen’s operation is: complete "three comparisons" within 24 hours after receiving foreign scanned documents -- compare with the dynamic update of GAC’s "List of Meat Products from Countries or Regions Meeting the Requirements of Evaluation and Review Exported to China",compare ingredient list with the latest revised clauses of China’s National Standard for Use of Food Additives (GB2760-2026),compare label samples with the requirements of Amendment No.3 to the General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (GB7718).In March 2026,a company owned by Mr.Wan in Huzhou imported a batch of Malaysian durian paste.The component analysis report provided by the overseas supplier showed that the propylene glycol content was 0.3g/kg,while our system monitored in real time that GB2760 had adjusted the maximum allowable usage of this substance in fruit products to 0.2g/kg in January 2026.We stopped the shipment in time and avoided the risk of the whole container being judged unqualified after arriving at the port.

Stage 2: Port Customs Declaration and Tax Calculation

The key of customs declaration is accurate selection of HS code and judgment of preferential treatment based on certificate of origin.Imported food often involves multiple classification disputes: for example,biscuits with chocolate coating should be classified under 1806.31 or 1905.31,with a tax rate difference of 8 percentage points.Zhongshen’s classifiers will apply for pre-ruling based on the revised version of "Explanatory Notes to the Commodity and Description of Import and Export Tariff" issued by GAC in 2026,combined with the product processing process description.In terms of taxes,we provide a three-dimensional calculation model of "tariff + value-added tax + consumption tax".Take imported French wine as an example,the tariff is 14%,value-added tax 13%,consumption tax 10%,but goods originating in France can enjoy tariff reduction with the certificate of China-EU Geographical Indication Agreement.Our system will automatically capture the certificate of origin information provided by the enterprise and match it with the latest free trade agreement tax rate database.A trading company managed by Mr.Huo in Huzhou once imported a batch of Australian oatmeal.We identified that the format of its certificate of origin met the upgraded electronic origin standard of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement 2026,successfully reduced the tariff from 9% to 0,saving more than 120,000 yuan in taxes for this single shipment.

Stage 3: Commodity Inspection Sampling and Laboratory Testing

This is the most uncertain link in food import.In 2026,the sampling inspection ratio of imported food by customs is about 15%-20%,but the sampling rate of specific categories such as infant formula milk powder and health food reaches 100%.Zhongshen has a full-time coordinator at Huzhou Port,who is responsible for tracking the inspection process.Core work includes: preparing third-party test reports that meet the requirements of National Food Safety Standard: Limits of Pathogenic Bacteria in Food (GB29921-2026) in advance to shorten the testing cycle of the customs laboratory; coordinating port cold chain storage to ensure that the temperature fluctuation of refrigerated food during inspection does not exceed ±2℃; handling label rectification,we have a label rectification site filed with the customs,and can complete label pasting on the day of inspection.In May 2026,an enterprise managed by Mr.Ouyang imported a batch of New Zealand butter.Customs sampling inspection showed that the peroxide value exceeded the standard by 0.02g/100g.We immediately launched a traceability investigation and found that the damage was caused by the failure of the container temperature recorder during sea transportation.We issued a situation statement in time and supplemented the batch quality statement from the overseas producer.Finally,the goods were judged as "slight non-compliance of non-safety items" and released,instead of being directly returned.

Stage 4: Warehousing,Logistics and Follow-up Services

After customs clearance is completed,Zhongshen’s service extends to the back end of the supply chain.Imported food often needs to enter the bonded warehouse for sub-packaging or labeling.The Huzhou public bonded warehouse managed by us is equipped with a temperature and humidity zoning monitoring system,which meets the multi-temperature storage requirements from -18℃ to 25℃.For products that can only be marketed after obtaining the Entry Inspection and Quarantine Certificate,we provide "certificate express delivery" service to ensure that the certificate is delivered to the customer within 6 hours after issuance.In terms of foreign exchange settlement,aiming at the common mismatch between foreign currency payment and RMB sales collection cycle faced by food importers,our cooperative banks provide a combined product of "customs duty guarantee + forward foreign exchange settlement",which allows enterprises to lock in exchange rate risks.Ms.Wei’s company focuses on importing Southeast Asian seasonings.In the second quarter of 2026,the exchange rate of Thai baht fluctuated by 7%.Through our forward foreign exchange settlement scheme,we successfully avoided an exchange loss of 230,000 yuan.

Practical Case: Risk Avoidance for Import of Thai Prepackaged Food

In July 2026,Mr.Wan of a food e-commerce enterprise in Huzhou planned to import a batch of Thai dried mangoes,with a cargo value of about 800,000 yuan.Zhongshen found three potential risk points during order review: First,the labeled sodium content in the nutrition facts table provided by the Thai side is 120mg/100g,but according to the revised content of GB28050-2026,sodium content claim must be labeled in "mg per serving",and the intake per serving must match the packaging specification; Second,the product contains edible flavor,but the Thai side failed to provide the specific ingredient list of the flavor,so we cannot confirm whether it contains some natural extracts prohibited by China; Third,the batch of goods was planned to be transported to Huzhou via transshipment at Shenzhen Port,but Shenzhen Customs has implemented "port-destination consistency" inspection for tropical fruit products since June 2026,which may delay the transshipment process by 3-5 working days.

Our countermeasures are as follows: First,require the Thai producer to redesign the label,convert the sodium content to "36mg sodium per serving (30g)",and delete the "low sodium" nutrition claim to avoid misleading; Second,entrust a third-party laboratory to screen the flavor ingredients,after confirming that it does not contain restricted substances such as eugenol,require the Thai side to issue an ingredient statement and complete notarization and authentication; Third,adjust the logistics plan,change to direct customs clearance at Shanghai Yangshan Port and then ship by road to Huzhou.Although the transportation cost increased by 4,000 yuan,it saved transshipment time and shortened the overall lead time by 2 days.This shipment only took 4 working days from arrival at port to obtaining the inspection and quarantine certificate,which is 3 days faster than the average lead time of similar businesses.Moreover,the label rectification was completed within the port supervision site,and no additional storage fee was incurred.

Quantification of Core Value of Zhongshen’s Services

Based on the data from January to August 2026,the average customs clearance lead time of imported food business in Huzhou agency by Zhongshen is 3.2 working days,which is 53% shorter than the 6.8 working days when enterprises declare by themselves.The return rate is controlled within 0.3%,far lower than the industry average of 2.1%.In terms of cost,although the agency service fee is 0.8%-1.2% of the cargo value,the comprehensive calculation shows that the potential losses saved for enterprises include: avoiding container detention fee caused by document inconsistency (average 12,000 yuan per container),avoiding the risk of whole batch return caused by unqualified labels (average cargo value loss of 150,000 yuan),and tariff saved through tariff classification optimization (average tax saving of 8%).

Decision Recommendations for Choosing a Professional Agency

For small and medium-sized enterprises in Huzhou with annual import value below 5 million yuan,it is recommended to adopt the "full case trusteeship" mode,and hand over the whole process of customs declaration,logistics,foreign exchange and tax refund to Zhongshen,so that enterprises can focus on channel expansion.For large traders with annual import value exceeding 20 million yuan,the "module outsourcing" mode can be adopted,only entrusting professional links such as quarantine approval and label review to the agency,and retaining the autonomy of procurement and sales.In 2026,customs inspection continues to strengthen,the document retention requirement for imported food enterprises is extended to 5 years,and enterprises are required to establish an import sales recording system.The digital file management system provided by Zhongshen can automatically archive contracts,invoices,quarantine certificates,sales flow and other documents for each shipment,ensuring that enterprises can respond to customs inspection at any time.

Imported food customs declaration is not a simple document transfer,but a comprehensive test of regulatory understanding,port resources and emergency response capabilities.The localized service experience accumulated by Zhongshen in the Huzhou market is reflected in the accurate grasp of port inspection rhythm,early response to special requirements of Huzhou market supervision departments,and customized financial plan design based on the capital chain characteristics of local enterprises.When an enterprise faces a batch of imported food that needs to be launched urgently,the value of a professional agency is not to save thousands of yuan in agency fee,but to ensure that the goods enter the warehouse on time,in compliance and at low cost.This value difference often determines the enterprise’s market share in the peak season.