Do Production Enterprises Face Customs Clearance Barriers When Exporting to Europe? How to Choose an Agent Solution

Market Background and Common Challenges for Production Enterprises Exporting to Europe

In the first quarter of 2026,Mr.Zhuang from a Shanghai-based kitchenware production enterprise encountered trouble: a batch of stainless steel pots shipped to Germany was requested to supplement documents at Hamburg Port for failing to provide the latest "Food Contact Material Compliance Statement (LFGB 2025 Version)",the original 3-day customs clearance process was extended to 12 days,which directly affected order delivery to downstream distributors.This is not an isolated case — according to the 2026 mid-term survey of Shanghai Foreign Trade Association,62% of light industrial production enterprises have encountered customs clearance delays or cargo return when exporting to Europe due to unfamiliarity with local policies.

In 2026,the demand for Chinese products in the European market shows a divergent trend: products such as new energy photovoltaic modules and smart home appliances,which align with Europe’s "carbon neutrality" goal,recorded an 18% year-on-year growth in export volume; while traditional products such as light industrial goods and textiles face much stricter environmental and safety certification requirements.Many production enterprises report that European policies update frequently,documentation requirements are complex,and export tax refund procedures are cumbersome,which is difficult to cope with by their own teams alone.

Core Value of Zhongshen’s Export Agency Services

Zhongshen has been deeply rooted in the European market for over 15 years,all team members hold EU customs declaration qualifications,and can accurately adapt to the latest 2026 European trade policies.For the LFGB statement issue encountered by Mr.Zhuang,Zhongshen’s compliance team helped him supplement the qualified third-party test report within 3 days,avoiding cargo return.According to statistics,in the first half of 2026,among the European export enterprises served by Zhongshen,98% of the cargo achieved "zero-delay customs clearance",and the average export tax refund time was shortened to within 25 days.

Breakdown of Zhongshen’s Export Agency Service Modules (Take European Market as Example)

1.Document Review and Compliance Management

The requirements for export documents in the European market are much stricter than those in other regions.In 2026,the EU added a mandatory requirement for "Product Carbon Footprint Statement (PCF)",covering 8 product categories including light industrial goods,electronics,and chemicals.If the statement is not provided,the cargo will be directly detained by customs.

• Europe-specific policy barrier: PCF statement must be issued by an EU-recognized third-party institution,and must include carbon emission data covering the full life cycle of the product;
• Zhongshen’s solution: We have established direct connection channels with 3 authoritative carbon footprint certification institutions in the EU,and can complete the review and supplement of PCF statements within 72 hours; we have also established a "document pre-review mechanism" to complete the compliance inspection of all documents 3 days before cargo loading,avoiding customs clearance delays caused by non-conforming documents.

2.European Customs Clearance and Port Control

In 2026,the EU implemented the "Intelligent Customs Clearance System (ICS2)" at core ports including Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Hamburg (Germany),requiring all declaration data to be submitted 24 hours before cargo loading,and the data must be compared in real time with the EU database.If the data is incorrect,the system will automatically trigger "high-risk screening",extending the customs clearance time to 7-15 days.

3.Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment and Exchange Rate Risk Control

In 2026,the fluctuation range of Euro against RMB expanded to 6.2-6.8,and some production enterprises suffered a profit loss of more than 10% due to failing to lock the exchange rate in time.Most European customers adopt Letter of Credit (L/C) for payment; if documents are inconsistent,the bank will refuse payment.

• Europe-specific risk: L/C requires "strict consistency of documents",even a punctuation error may lead to payment refusal;
• Zhongshen’s solution: 1.Provide "L/C pre-review service",complete the review within 24 hours after the customer receives the L/C,point out discrepancies and provide modification suggestions; 2.Connect with bank’s foreign exchange hedging tools to help enterprises lock exchange rate and avoid losses from exchange rate fluctuation; 3.Adopt "T+3" foreign exchange receipt and payment mode,which is 2 working days faster than the traditional mode.

4.Full-process Acceleration of Export Tax Refund

In 2026,the State Taxation Administration of China simplified the export tax refund process,but due to complex documentation for exports to the European market,the tax refund time for some production enterprises still reaches 3-4 months.Zhongshen launched the "document pre-collection + pre-tax audit" service targeting the pain points of export tax refund for the European market.

General Manager Miao from a Shanghai-based photovoltaic module production enterprise had a 3-month tax refund period for his European exports in 2025.After entrusting Zhongshen in 2026,the tax refund time was shortened to 25 days.This is because Zhongshen electronically collects documents including export customs declarations,VAT invoices and bills of lading in advance,and connects with the tax authority’s "intelligent export tax refund review system",realizing "automatic data matching and automatic audit approval".

How Does Zhongshen’s Agency Service Improve Customs Clearance Efficiency and Tax Refund Speed

Based on 20 years of service experience in the European market,Zhongshen summarized two core methods:

• 1.Policy pre-update mechanism: Update the latest trade policies of various European countries before the 5th of every month,and formulate "enterprise operation guidelines" for new policies.For example,after the EU implemented the PCF statement requirement in 2026,we pushed the guideline to cooperative enterprises 1 month in advance to help them prepare materials early;
• 2.Digital system support: Independently developed "full-process management system for foreign trade agency",realizing full digital management of document review,customs clearance declaration,and tax refund tracking.For example,the system can automatically identify errors in documents,which is 60% more efficient than manual review,and the error rate is reduced to below 0.1%.

Customized Services Adapt to Different Products and Target Countries

No matter your products are light industrial goods,electronics or new energy,and no matter your target country is Europe,Southeast Asia or North America,Zhongshen can provide customized agency services according to your needs.For example,for the Southeast Asian market,we focus on the processing of RCEP certificate of origin to help enterprises enjoy tariff reductions; for the North American market,we focus on reviewing FDA certification requirements to avoid return shipments caused by non-compliant certification.

Ms.Xiang from a Shanghai-based furniture production enterprise shortened her customs clearance time from the original 7 days to 3 days,and tax refund time to 20 days after entrusting Zhongshen for export to the US in 2026,and her annual profit increased by 12%.If you also want to break export barriers and improve export efficiency,you can contact Zhongshen,we will provide you with one-on-one customized solutions.