Sorting Out Process and Considerations of Entrusted Export Agency

Entrusting Export Agency: A Breakthrough for Small Household Appliances Trade to Europe

In Q1 2026,China’s export volume of small household appliances to the EU increased by 12.7% year-on-year,but many enterprises reported that policy barriers in the European market are continuously escalating.The EU’s newly revised Energy Label Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1100) requires all small household appliances to be marked with new energy efficiency grades.Meanwhile,RoHS 2.0 (2026 version) adds restrictions on phthalates.Numerous MSMEs have encountered customs clearance delay and cargo detention due to unfamiliarity with policy details.

Core Adaptive Value of Zhongshen’s Export Agency Service

In response to the EU’s latest trade policy in 2026,Zhongshen’s agency service is not a generalized process,but focuses on compliance design tailored for the small household appliance category.Supervisor Lin mentioned in an internal business review meeting that 3 Shanghai-based small household appliance enterprises were returned by EU customs last year due to non-compliant energy efficiency labels,while none of the clients entrusting Zhongshen had such problems,as they completed label compliance review in advance.

Disassembly of Core Service Modules and Response to European Market

Document Compliance Service - Adapt to EU New Energy Efficiency Label Requirements

The EU mandates that small household appliances must submit the electronic record number of energy efficiency label from 2026,and the record number must correspond one-to-one with the physical product label.Many enterprises have inconsistent documents and physical products due to failure to update the record system in time.Zhongshen’s solutions include:

• Complete electronic record review of energy efficiency labels for small household appliances 30 days in advance,and connect with the EU official energy efficiency database (EPREL)
• Establish a "double-check" mechanism for documents: the document team led by Supervisor Cao first verifies the validity of the record number,and the warehouse team then compares the physical label on site
• Provide connection service with energy efficiency testing institutions for customized small household appliances,to ensure test reports meet EU EN standards

Customs Clearance Service - Respond to New Restrictions of EU RoHS 2.0

In 2026,RoHS 2.0 adds restrictions on 4 phthalates including DEHP and BBP (concentration ≤0.1%),and EU customs will randomly sample goods for chemical testing.Zhongshen’s response measures are as follows:

Export Tax Refund Service - Adapt to China-EU Trade Data Synchronization

In 2026,the State Taxation Administration of China and EU customs have realized automatic synchronization of partial trade data,which requires that bill of lading information consistent with EU customs clearance data must be provided for export tax refund declaration.The optimization of Zhongshen’s tax refund service includes:

• Establish a "customs clearance-tax refund" data synchronization channel: after the customs clearance team completes European customs clearance,it synchronizes bill of lading data to the tax refund team within 1 hour
• Develop a batch declaration template for tax refund based on the characteristics of high-frequency and small-batch exports of small household appliances,reducing repeated data entry time
• Connect with the tax authority’s "smart tax refund" system,complete data pre-review in advance,and shorten tax refund arrival time from 15 working days to 7 working days

Practical Experience of Agency Service in Improving Customs Clearance and Tax Refund Efficiency

Last year,a Shanghai-based small household appliance enterprise entrusted Zhongshen to handle its export to Germany.It originally worried that energy efficiency label review would delay the schedule,but Zhongshen completed the record in advance.After the goods departed from Shanghai Port,it only took 3 days to complete customs clearance at Hamburg Port,Germany.In addition,for export tax refund,Zhongshen’s document team will complete pre-review of all tax refund documents 3 days before goods shipment,ensuring data is consistent with EU customs clearance data.Last year,the average tax refund arrival time of this enterprise was 8 working days faster than self-declaration.

General Manager Kong once encountered this situation: when he exported on his own,the RoHS test report did not meet EU requirements,and the goods were detained at Rotterdam Port,the Netherlands for 12 days.After entrusting Zhongshen,Supervisor Cao connected with the testing institution in advance.Not only did the report meet requirements,but he also helped apply for a priority customs clearance channel,and the goods completed clearance after only 2 days of detention.

Customized Service Meets Different Enterprise Needs

There are differences in policy requirements for different small household appliance categories (such as kitchen small appliances,personal care small appliances) and different destination countries in Europe (such as Germany,France,Italy).Zhongshen provides customized services according to clients’ specific conditions:

• For small household appliances exported to France,additionally provide French version energy efficiency label translation and record service
• For goods exported to Italy,prioritize local Italian customs brokers,leveraging their familiarity with local customs operations to improve efficiency
• For clients with annual export volume exceeding 5 million euros,provide a dedicated account manager (such as Supervisor Lin) to follow up the progress of each order throughout the whole process

If your enterprise is considering entrusting export agency to export to Europe or other regions,you can contact Supervisor Lin of Zhongshen to develop an exclusive foreign trade agency solution based on your product characteristics and target market.