Notes on Production Enterprises Entrusting Foreign Trade Agency to Export Self-produced Goods in 2026

Production Enterprises Entrusting Foreign Trade Agency to Export Self-produced Goods —— A Practical Guide Focusing on the EU Market

I.EU Market Background and Export Challenges in 2026

In 2026,the EU’s import demand for Chinese mechanical and electrical,light industrial self-produced goods increased by 12% year-on-year.However,with the implementation of the New EU Industrial Strategy,trade policy has shown three major new changes: First,CE certification has been updated to the 2026 version,and the requirements for product technical documents are refined to the component level; Second,the RoHS directive adds 10 new restricted substances,covering the packaging materials of electronic self-produced goods; Third,the origin verification of transshipment goods from Southeast Asia has been tightened,requiring full-chain proof of the raw material supply chain.Due to unfamiliarity with policy details,some production enterprises had 3 cases of cargo detention caused by inconsistent documents in the first half of the year.A home appliance factory in Eastern China where Ms.Shen works once delayed delivery to German customers by 10 days due to the lack of CE certification statement,resulting in a direct loss of nearly 200,000 RMB.

II.Core Value of Zhongshen’s Agency Service

Targeting the policy characteristics of the EU market,the core of Zhongshen’s agency service lies in "advance policy prediction + process node control".Supervisor Xu introduced that the team synchronizes the latest announcements from the EU Customs Administration and the European Committee for Standardization every week,sorts out product compliance lists for customers 3 months in advance,to avoid export risks caused by policy changes.At the same time,it integrates all process nodes of customs declaration,transportation and tax refund,reducing the communication cost of enterprises coordinating with multiple parties —— In the past,enterprises needed to contact freight forwarders,customs brokers and tax refund agents separately,now they only need to contact the exclusive account manager of Zhongshen to complete the whole process follow-up.

III.Service Module Decomposition and EU Market Response

1.Document Module: The First Barrier to EU Compliance

EU Customs’ requirements for document compliance are much higher than other regions,the core barrier lies in "multi-document joint verification" —— Commercial invoices need to carry CE certification number and RoHS declaration of conformity,the bill of lading must be completely consistent with the product description on the certificate of origin,and all documents require an electronic signature (e-signature format recognized by the EU) affixed with the enterprise’s official seal.In the first half of 2026,the number of cases of cargo detention by EU Customs due to inconsistent documents increased by 18% year-on-year,60% of which are concentrated on electronic self-produced goods.

Zhongshen’s response solutions include:

• Establish an EU document pre-review system,connect with EU Customs database,automatically verify the validity of CE numbers,RoHS statements,and the format compliance of electronic signatures;
• Equip dedicated document specialists (Mr.Wen),who separately review technical documents for mechanical and electrical products to ensure compliance with the requirements of the 2026 version of CE certification,avoiding detention of the entire batch of goods caused by "lack of certification for some components";
• Provide pre-filled certificate of origin templates,confirm product raw material sources with customers in advance (e.g.whether the product is fully self-produced),avoiding invalidation of certificate of origin caused by "raw materials containing overseas components".

2.Customs Clearance Module: Efficiency Improvement Under High Inspection Rate

In 2026,the EU’s inspection rate for Chinese electronic self-produced goods has increased to 15%,among which the inspection rate for lithium batteries reaches 22% due to the update of UN38.3 certification to version 6.Some enterprises failed to prepare inspection materials in advance (such as battery capacity test reports,transportation identification certificates),resulting in cargo detention for more than 7 days at the Port of Rotterdam,with daily storage costs exceeding 300 euros.

Zhongshen’s countermeasures are as follows:

• Launch pre-inspection channels at key EU ports (Rotterdam,Hamburg,Antwerp),submit product certification documents to local agents 3 working days in advance,and synchronize to the EU Customs system;
• For high-risk categories (lithium batteries,medical devices),arrange customs affairs specialists (Ms.Guan) to follow up the inspection progress throughout the whole process,feedback problems in real time and coordinate supplementary materials to avoid secondary inspection;
• Integrate international transportation and customs clearance nodes,synchronize bills of lading and waybills to the EU Customs system in advance,realize "customs clearance immediately upon arrival" and reduce on-site inspection time.

3.Tax Refund Module: Key Breakthrough in Data Synchronization

The tax agreement between China and the EU requires that export tax refund must be accompanied by electronic customs clearance receipt from EU Customs (associated with EORI number) and importer’s payment receipt,and all data must be fully consistent with the customs declaration form.In 2026,some production enterprises experienced a delay in data transmission,extending the tax refund cycle to more than 30 working days,which affected the enterprise’s capital turnover.

The advantages of Zhongshen’s tax refund service can be clearly presented through the following table:

IV.How Does Agency Service Improve Customs Clearance and Tax Refund Efficiency?

Supervisor Xu shared two practical cases in 2026: An electronic factory in Eastern China entrusted Zhongshen to export lithium batteries to Germany,the pre-inspection channel shortened the customs clearance time from 10 days to 4 days,and the tax refund cycle was shortened by 8 working days compared with self-declaration; A light industrial enterprise in Zhejiang exported furniture to France,the document pre-review found the error of CE certification number in advance,avoiding cargo detention.At the same time,through Zhongshen’s automatic matching system for foreign exchange and customs data,the tax refund funds arrived in advance.Overall,Zhongshen’s agency service increased customers’ customs clearance efficiency by 40% and tax refund speed by 35%.

V.Customized Services Adapt to Different Needs

In addition to the EU market,Zhongshen provides customized agency solutions according to different policy characteristics of Southeast Asia,the Middle East and other regions.For example,targeting the RCEP tariff preferential policy in Southeast Asia,it applies for FORM E certificate of origin for customers in advance to help enterprises enjoy tariff reduction; For the SGS certification requirements in the Middle East,it arranges specialists to assist in testing and sorting certification documents.Production enterprises can contact Zhongshen to customize exclusive export schemes according to their own product categories (mechanical and electrical,light industry,textile) and target markets,to reduce export risks caused by policy barriers.