Full Process of Imported Food Customs Clearance: In-depth Breakdown of Core Businesses of Import Agency Companies

I.Practical Dilemmas of Imported Food Customs Clearance and Entry Points of Agency Services

In the first quarter of 2026,the inspection rate of imported food at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port increased by 8.3% year-on-year,mainly focusing on two dimensions: label compliance and access qualification review.Taking pre-packaged beverages as an example,the return rate of coconut water,fruit juice and other products imported from ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Vietnam reached 15% due to the format of the Chinese label nutrition fact table not complying with the new GB 28050-2026 standard.Olive oil and dairy products imported from Europe face stricter verification of China registration numbers,and some batches are detained in full containers because production enterprises fail to update registration information on time.

The trading company run by Mr.You specializes in Southeast Asian specialty food.At the end of 2025,a batch of Thai coconut water worth RMB 1.2 million was required to be rectified by the port due to label problems,and the detention time exceeded two weeks.The commonality of such problems is that enterprises are often familiar with overseas procurement channels,but lack systematic tracking of the dynamic updates of domestic regulatory policies.Zhongshen’s import agency service precisely targets this information asymmetry,dismantling the customs clearance process into predictable and intervenable standardized modules.

II.Document Pre-review Stage: Pre-check of Access Qualification and Compliance

The core documents for imported food include certificate of origin,health certificate,component analysis report,production date certificate,and China registration number filing voucher.Announcement No.18 of the General Administration of Customs in 2026 clarifies that all imported pre-packaged food must complete Chinese label filing before shipment,and the consistency between the filed pattern and the actual printed version of the arriving goods must reach more than 95%.Zhongshen’s operation logic at this stage is to intervene in the document review and label design links before the supplier delivers the goods.

In specific implementation,the agency team will check whether the product ingredient list contains risk ingredients listed in the *Catalogue of Prohibited Imported Animal-derived Products*,and confirm whether the rounding intervals of the five core indicators in the nutrition fact table,namely energy,protein,fat,carbohydrates and sodium,comply with the new regulations.For plant-derived beverages such as Thai coconut water,it is also necessary to additionally check whether they involve the 18 risk level classifications specified in the *Provisions on the Administration of Registration of Overseas Production Enterprises of Imported Food*.Mr.You’s batch of coconut water was found in Zhongshen’s pre-review link that the "NRV%" value on the label was rounded to one decimal place,while the new standard requires integer digits,so the correction was completed before shipment,avoiding rectification costs after arrival at the port.

III.International Transportation and Port Arrival Connection: Temperature Control and Time Management

Food import has extremely strict temperature control requirements for the transportation process.In 2026,Shanghai Port implemented full-process temperature traceability verification for cold chain food,requiring the temperature data of containers in all links of sea transportation and land transportation to be uploaded to the *China Imported Food Cold Chain Traceability Platform*,and data disconnection for more than 2 hours will trigger manual inspection.The service value of Zhongshen at this stage is reflected in the design of transportation schemes and the precise matching of port arrival time windows.

The agency team will select shipping companies with real-time temperature control monitoring according to product characteristics,and clarify the responsibility definition for temperature abnormalities in the bill of lading clauses.For dairy products such as cheese and butter imported from Europe,refrigerated containers with sea transportation temperature controlled at 0-4℃ are usually selected,and the shipping company is required to provide automatic push of temperature logs every 4 hours.3 days before arrival at the port,Zhongshen’s customs declaration system will enter the estimated time of arrival (ETA) in advance,and coordinate with the terminal to arrange priority berthing and cold power connection,minimizing the waiting time for container power connection in the port area.The average efficiency improvement of this link can reduce the stay time of cold chain food in the port area from the conventional 48 hours to less than 18 hours.

IV.Port Customs Declaration and Commodity Inspection: Inspection Response and Sampling Strategy

The core challenge in the customs declaration link lies in the accuracy of commodity code classification and declaration elements.In 2026,the General Administration of Customs refined and adjusted the HS codes for imported food,for example,"coconut water" was separately listed from the original "other non-alcoholic beverages" category,and a new subheading 2202.91 was added,requiring additional declaration of "whether sugar or other sweetening substances are added".Zhongshen’s customs declaration team will confirm the pre-classification before declaration to avoid document modification and inspection caused by code errors.

Sampling inspection in the commodity inspection link is the biggest uncertainty factor for imported food customs clearance.Zhongshen’s experience is to actively communicate with the port laboratory on the sampling scheme according to the product risk level and historical inspection data.For the Thai coconut water imported by Mr.You,since products of the same production enterprise and the same formula have passed more than 3 inspections smoothly in the past 12 months,the agency team applied for the facilitation measure of "reduced sampling proportion" in accordance with Article 27 of the *Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Food Safety*,reducing the original 6 samples per container to 2,and shortening the inspection cycle from 7 working days to 3 working days.

V.Label Rectification and Final Release: Post-stage Risk Control

Even after passing the pre-review,about 5% of batches will still be judged as unqualified in the port inspection link.The most common label problems in 2026 include: font height less than 1.8 mm,nutrition fact table not using "box table" format,and allergen prompt information not marked in bold font.Zhongshen has a special label rectification warehouse in Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone,equipped with automatic labeling machines and label printing equipment,which can complete the rectification without the goods leaving the supervision area.

The standardized operation of the rectification process is: after the port inspection department issues the *Label Rectification Notice*,the agency team immediately moves the goods to the rectification warehouse and starts the printing of new labels simultaneously.For font height problems,partial covering and pasting is adopted; for format problems,the full version is replaced.After the rectification is completed,the on-site customs officer will verify on site,and the goods will be released directly after passing the inspection.The whole process is usually controlled within 24 hours.Compared with the traditional mode of returning to the enterprise’s own warehouse for rectification and then transporting back to the port,the time cost is reduced by 70%,and the temperature control risk of secondary transportation is avoided.

VI.Foreign Exchange Settlement and Tax Compliance: Back-end Service Closed Loop

Import agency services are not limited to the customs clearance link.In 2026,the State Administration of Foreign Exchange implemented a stricter principle of "who exports receives foreign exchange,who imports pays foreign exchange",but in actual business,many trading companies adopt the structure of offshore company procurement and domestic company sales,resulting in inconsistency between the foreign exchange payer and the import operating unit.With its foreign exchange settlement qualification,Zhongshen provides agency foreign exchange payment service,that is,the operating unit pays RMB to Zhongshen,and then Zhongshen pays foreign exchange abroad in its own name,solving the problem of subject mismatch.

On the tax side,the special VAT payment certificate for the import link is the core voucher for deduction in the downstream sales link.Zhongshen’s financial system will automatically match the customs declaration form,tax receipt and procurement invoice within 24 hours after the goods are released,and generate a complete input tax deduction ledger.For some foods that meet the *List of Retail Imported Commodities for Cross-border E-commerce*,the agency team will also assist customers to apply for the preferential policy of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive tax,which can reduce the tax rate from 13% for general trade to 9.1%.

VII.Practical Case: Full-process Agency Record of a Batch of Italian Olive Oil

In February 2026,Mr.You planned to import a batch of extra virgin olive oil from Piedmont,Italy,totaling 2 20-foot containers,with a value of about 350,000 euros.Zhongshen’s intervention started from the supplier’s production link:

• Document pre-review stage: It was found that the health certificate provided by the Italian production enterprise did not indicate the acidity value,and according to the new regulations on olive oil import in 2026,the acidity value must be clearly indicated in the official certificate.The agency team immediately coordinated the Italian exporter to apply for a reissued certificate from the local health department,avoiding the risk of being unable to declare after arrival at the port.
• Label review stage: The "monounsaturated fatty acid" in the original label nutrition fact table was marked as "78g/100g",but GB 28050-2026 requires that such values for olive oil must be marked per "15ml per serving".Zhongshen’s designer team redesigned the Chinese label and completed the filing in the customs label filing system in advance.
• Port arrival and customs declaration stage: The batch of olive oil adopted the "direct quay pickup" mode,that is,after the ship berths,the containers do not enter the port yard,but are directly picked up by the trailer arranged by Zhongshen from the ship side and transported to the free trade zone warehouse.This measure reduces the port waiting time of at least 3 days under the traditional mode to 6 hours.
• Commodity inspection and sampling stage: As the product was imported for the first time,the port laboratory required full-project testing,including 23 indicators such as heavy metals,plasticizers and benzopyrene.Zhongshen made an appointment for the testing period with the laboratory in advance and arranged a special person to follow up,shortening the inspection cycle from the conventional 10 working days to 5 working days.
• Release and delivery stage: The goods are labeled and repacked in the free trade zone warehouse.After Mr.You’s downstream customers place orders,Zhongshen provides "batch-by-batch customs declaration" service,that is,the whole batch of goods enters the zone at one time,and exits the zone in multiple times according to the actual sales orders,reducing Mr.You’s capital occupation cost.

The total time from the departure of the whole batch of goods from Italy to the final delivery to Mr.You’s warehouse in Shanghai is 32 days,which is 28% shorter than the industry average cycle of 45 days.Most importantly,all links have zero return and zero fine,and the compliance cost is controlled within 1.2% of the goods value.

VIII.Hidden Value of Agency Services: Risk Isolation and Policy Early Warning

The biggest risk of imported food trade lies in sudden policy changes.In April 2026,the General Administration of Customs suddenly issued an announcement to include a Thai coconut water production enterprise into the "risk early warning" list and suspend its registration qualification.Among Zhongshen’s customers,3 trading companies have goods in transit involving this brand,with a total value of more than RMB 6 million.The agency team launched the emergency mechanism on the day the announcement was issued: for goods that have arrived at the port,coordinate the terminal to handle the return procedures; for orders that have not been shipped,immediately notify the customer to suspend procurement and assist in claiming compensation from the Thai supplier.

This risk isolation capability stems from Zhongshen’s daily policy monitoring mechanism.The agency team tracks the policy updates on the official websites of the General Administration of Customs,State Administration for Market Regulation,Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other departments every day,and generates *Weekly Report on Imported Food Policy Dynamics* to push to customers every week.For major policy adjustments,online interpretation meetings will also be organized to help customers understand policy boundaries and response strategies.Mr.You said that this proactive policy early warning is equivalent to buying a "compliance insurance" for his trading business,enabling him to adjust the procurement plan in advance and avoid policy risks turning into actual losses.

IX.Trend Evolution of Import Agency Services in 2026

With the advancement of the construction of Shanghai "Silk Road E-commerce" Cooperation Pilot Zone,imported food agency services are upgrading towards digitalization and integration.The "Smart Trade Connect" system launched by Zhongshen in 2026 has realized API connection with the General Administration of Customs Single Window,terminal system and laboratory system,and customers can view the cargo status,inspection progress and tax details in real time.The system also has an embedded AI label review function,which can automatically identify the text height and format specifications in label pictures,with an accuracy rate of 95%.

Another trend is the integration of "agency + distribution".Zhongshen is piloting bonded warehousing and channel distribution services for small and medium-sized trade customers,that is,after the goods enter the zone,the agency company is not only responsible for customs clearance,but also uses its downstream customer resources to help customers quickly distribute to supermarkets and e-commerce platforms in the Yangtze River Delta region.This mode extends the end point of traditional agency services from "goods release" to "sales completion",truly realizing full-process outsourcing.

X.How Professional Agencies Restructure the Imported Food Value Chain

The profit margin of imported food trade is constantly squeezed by compliance costs and efficiency losses.Zhongshen’s practice shows that the value of professional agencies does not lie in replacing enterprises to complete customs declaration actions,but in transforming uncontrollable customs clearance links into predictable and optimizable cost units through process standardization,risk pre-positioning and information transparency.For medium-sized enterprises with more than 20 import batches per year,the comprehensive cost (including time cost,capital occupation,risk loss) can usually be reduced by 15%-20% after adopting agency services.

After one year of cooperation,Mr.You calculated: during the period of independent operation,the average additional cost per batch of goods caused by various problems was about RMB 8,000,and after adopting Zhongshen’s agency service,this figure dropped to less than RMB 1,500.More importantly,he can focus on overseas supply chain development and domestic market expansion,instead of spending time on customs policy research and port coordination.This efficiency improvement brought by professional division of labor is the fundamental logic for the existence of import agency services in the highly compliant era of 2026.