Case of Imported Food Ingredient Agency: 3-Day Customs Clearance + Zero Fine Practice

Imported Raw Materials of Huwei Food: Transformation From "Stuck" to "Efficient Clearance"

1.Customer Dilemma: Three Major Blockages of Imported Raw Materials

Huwei Food is a medium-sized enterprise focusing on baking raw material production based in Shanghai.In 2026,it plans to increase the import volume of palm oil from Southeast Asia and whey powder from New Zealand by 30% — these two raw materials are core ingredients of its cookie products.However,when importing independently before,Mr.Lu,Purchasing Manager of Huwei Food,encountered three thorny problems:

• Low customs clearance efficiency: In 2025,palm oil was detained at the terminal for 45 days due to port congestion and incomplete documents,resulting in RMB 82,000 of container detention fee; whey powder was required to be rectified by customs because the Chinese label was not filed in advance,leading to 12-day delivery delay and half-day production line shutdown.
• High compliance risk: In 2025,the company was fined RMB 12,000 because the health certificate number of imported raw materials did not match the system filing.Although the materials were supplemented later,it still worried about falling into problems again.
• Disordered process connection: Foreign exchange receipt and payment required connection with 3 banks,tax refund documents were still rejected after repeated submissions.Only in 2025,120 extra hours were spent on process communication.

2.Service Process: Full-process Customized Solution by Zhongshen

In March 2026,Mr.Lu contacted Supervisor Liao of Zhongshen through an industry friend.After communication,Supervisor Liao led the team to issue a customized solution within 3 days,with core measures as follows:

1.Pre-compliance Audit: Avoid Label and Document Risks in Advance

Zhongshen’s document team reviewed the English label of whey powder 10 days in advance,compared it with the latest 2026 *Measures for the Administration of Labels of Imported Foods*,supplemented the "percentage of daily recommended intake" marking in the nutrition facts panel,and assisted in completing the filing of Chinese labels — this step directly avoided subsequent customs clearance rectification.For the palm oil health certificate,the team confirmed the consistency of the certificate number with the customs system in advance with the New Zealand exporter,ensuring "zero error" in documents.

2.Customs Clearance Optimization: Paperless Declaration + Port Linkage

Two days before the cargo arrives at the port,Zhongshen’s customs declaration team submitted all documents through the "single window",and used the "Imported Food Fast Clearance Channel" of Shanghai Port to complete the customs clearance of 20 tons of palm oil and 15 tons of whey powder in only 3 working days — compared with the previous 45 days of Huwei Food’s independent operation,the efficiency increased by 93%.It also coordinated the port for priority unloading to avoid container detention fees.

3.Warehousing and Logistics Connection: Pick up on Demand from Bonded Warehouse

Considering that Huwei Food only needs to pick up raw materials twice a month,Zhongshen arranged temporary storage of the goods in Shanghai Waigaoqiao Bonded Warehouse,providing "pick up on demand,immediate delivery" service — which not only avoids the cost of the enterprise building its own warehouse,but also reduces the risk of raw material backlog.

4.Synchronized Foreign Exchange and Tax Rebate: Process Compressed to 15 Days

In terms of foreign exchange receipt and payment,Zhongshen assisted Huwei Food to open a "foreign exchange waiting for verification account",realizing settlement within 24 hours after receiving foreign exchange; in the tax refund link,it sorted out customs declarations,value-added tax invoices and other materials in advance,submitted them through the "paperless tax refund declaration system",and received a tax refund of RMB 186,000 in only 15 days — while Huwei Food’s independent operation previously took 30 days.

3.Result Presentation: Practical Value Proved by Data

In May 2026,Huwei Food completed the import of the first batch of raw materials,and Zhongshen’s service brought clear value improvement.The specific comparison is as follows:

Mr.Lu feedback: "I used to handle import by myself,and I was overwhelmed just by dealing with documents.This time Zhongshen followed up the whole process,not only did I not spend extra time,but I also saved nearly RMB 100,000 of unnecessary expenses — now I can put more energy into product development."

4.Experience Summary: Pit Avoidance Guide for Imported Food Ingredients

The Zhongshen team extracted 3 experiences from this case for similar enterprises to reference:

• Conduct compliance pre-audit in advance: Connect with the agency 10-15 days before import,review labels,health certificates and other materials to avoid delays caused by inconsistent documents.
• Utilize the advantages of bonded warehouse: Enterprises that pick up goods on demand can choose bonded warehouse for temporary storage,which can reduce warehousing costs and raw material backlog.
• Choose full-process agency: Avoid splitting links to find different service providers.Full-process agency realizes seamless connection of documents,customs clearance,foreign exchange and tax refund,reducing communication costs.

Zhongshen has been focusing on foreign trade agency for more than 20 years,focusing on core links including customs declaration and inspection,international transportation,warehouse management,foreign exchange receipt and payment,foreign exchange settlement and purchase,and export tax rebate.It has provided imported raw material agency services for more than 1000 food enterprises.If you have import demand,you may refer to the experience of Huwei Food and choose a professional agency to increase speed and reduce cost for your business.