Full Process Analysis and Risk Avoidance Key Points of Customs Brokerage for Imported Cleaning Products at Shanghai Port

Market Background and Customs Clearance Difficulties of Imported Cleaning Products

In the first quarter of 2026,the number of batches of imported cleaning products at Shanghai Port increased by 23% year-on-year,with EU brands accounting for more than 40%.The ingredient list of such products often includes 30 to 50 chemical substances,with complex combinations of surfactants,flavors and preservatives.Earlier this year,the company of Ms.You imported a batch of heavy kitchen grease cleaner from Germany.Because the CAS number of a surfactant in the ingredient list had a similar description to that in the Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals,the port required further technical explanation,and the goods were detained in the port area for 11 full working days.This situation is not isolated.Cleaning product imports face three practical barriers: ambiguous hazard determination of ingredients,cumbersome conversion of labels to meet national standards,and inconsistent inspection standards at ports.Some enterprises attempt to declare on their own,but end up being directly transferred to the customs anti-smuggling department for destination inspection due to non-standard filling of transport information in Section 14 of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS),resulting in far greater losses than expected.

Core Value of Zhongshen in Cleaning Product Import Agency

Zhongshen has accumulated more than 20 years of experience in handling import declaration of cleaning products,and its core advantage is to move compliance review forward to the contract signing stage.In the subsequent import project Ms.You cooperated on,Zhongshen identified that one of the preservatives was a restricted substance in the Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics when the supplier provided the preliminary version of the ingredient list.Although cleaners are not cosmetics,port regulatory authorities often enforce regulations by referring to this standard.The agency team asked the German side to provide toxicological endpoint data of the ingredient in advance and prepared a Chinese explanation letter,and the goods were released smoothly after arrival.This predictive capability is based on two foundations: first,continuous tracking of law enforcement standards at major ports such as Shanghai,Ningbo and Shenzhen,and second,long-term cooperative relations with laboratories and toxicological assessment institutions.Agency service is not just simple document transfer,but a systematic connection between the importer’s quality control system and customs regulatory requirements.

Full Process Breakdown of Customs Brokerage for Imported Cleaning Products

Document Pre-Audit Stage: Pre-Review of Ingredient Compliance

Document pre-audit determines the smoothness of subsequent customs clearance,and Zhongshen invests 40% of the total project workload in this stage.According to the experience shared by Ms.You,three substantive tasks need to be completed in the pre-audit stage:

• First,cross-reference the ingredient list with the Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals.We not only check CAS numbers,but also review the GHS classification of chemicals to confirm whether they are listed substances in the Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals.The 2026 new edition of the catalogue adds detailed requirements for mixture management.For some cleaners,even if no individual ingredient is listed,if the overall flash point and corrosivity of the mixture reach the threshold,they still need to be managed as hazardous chemicals.
• Second,review the compliance of label samples with mandatory national standards.According to GB/T 36970-2021 Instructions for Use of Consumer Products - Labels for Detergent Products and GB 15258-2009 Rules for Preparation of Chemical Safety Labels,we check whether the Chinese label completely marks ingredients,net content,implementation standard,production date,shelf life,manufacturer address and hazard warnings.Ms.You once encountered a case where the original EU label used graphic warning symbols,but the Chinese label did not convert them into text warnings,so the port required rectification.
• Third,verify all 16 items of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) one by one.Focus on Section 2 Hazard Identification,Section 8 Exposure Control/Personal Protection,and Section 14 Transport Information.Zhongshen found that about 30% of SDS provided by EU suppliers do not fill in the transport information section in accordance with IMDG rules,resulting in the port being unable to determine the packaging category.

Port Customs Declaration Stage: Accurate Matching of Declaration Elements

Incorrect filling of declaration forms is the top reason for rejection of cleaning product import declarations.Zhongshen’s operating specification requires completing the pre-classification opinion of HS code before declaration.Take concentrated laundry detergent as an example,it may be classified under 34022000 (synthetic detergent powder for retail packaging) or 34025000 (other synthetic detergents).The tariff rates of the two differ by 2 percentage points,and their regulatory conditions are different.In 2026,customs has strengthened the inspection of classification accuracy.A batch of Ms.You’s goods was questioned by customs for under-reporting the price because the declared HS code did not reflect the "concentrated" characteristic,and customs required a concentration multiple certificate issued by the brand owner.Zhongshen clearly noted "concentrated type,diluted at 1:10 for use" in the "specification and model" column of declaration elements,and attached the brand’s technical parameter sheet,avoiding price questioning.In addition,special attention should be paid to royalty issues in price declaration.If the imported cleaner formula involves patent licensing fees paid by domestic enterprises,this part of the fee should be included in the customs value,otherwise it may trigger subsequent audits.

Commodity Inspection Stage: Consistency Check of Label and Actual Goods

Cleaning products are legally inspected commodities,and the port inspection rate is about 8-12%.Zhongshen keeps the client’s inspection rate below 5% through the pre-audit mechanism.Inspection focuses on three core risk points: first,ingredient consistency: the port laboratory will test restricted substances such as methanol,formaldehyde and heavy metals against SDS; second,label compliance: check whether the Chinese label is consistent with the filed sample; third,packaging suitability: check whether food-grade packaging materials are used.A batch of imported floor cleaner from Ms.You was sampled for inspection during inspection,and the laboratory report showed that the pH value had a deviation of 0.5 from that marked on SDS,so the port required a batch difference explanation.Zhongshen quickly contacted the German factory to issue a certificate of the fluctuation range of production process parameters,and submitted the COA (Certificate of Analysis) of this batch of products,and obtained release permission within three working days.This response speed depends on the normalized communication mechanism between the agency and testing institutions,and ordinary enterprises usually need more than ten working days to handle it by themselves.

Practical Case: Risk Avoidance for Imported Concentrated Laundry Detergent from EU

In March 2026,Ms.You’s company planned to import a batch of concentrated laundry detergent from Belgium,with a value of 120,000 euros,and planned to distribute to the Yangtze River Delta region after customs clearance at Shanghai Port.After accepting the order,Zhongshen launched the pre-audit procedure and found that the product formula contains Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) with a concentration of 0.008%.According to the Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics,the limit of MIT in leave-on products is 0.01%,and there is no limit for rinse-off products.Although laundry detergent is a rinse-off product,the port may refer to stricter standards.The agency team asked the Belgian supplier to provide a toxicological assessment report of the ingredient and prepared a Chinese explanation letter,clarifying the product’s use scenario and the degradation path of MIT.At the same time,the expression "super concentrated" in the draft Chinese label did not mark the specific concentration multiple,which did not meet the requirements of the advertising law.Zhongshen guided the modification to "concentrated type,recommended dilution ratio 1:10".After the goods arrived at the port,the port customs sampled 3% of the goods for inspection,and the laboratory focused on testing the consistency of MIT content with SDS.Thanks to sufficient preparation in advance,after the test report was released,Zhongshen submitted the toxicological assessment report simultaneously.Customs recognized its safety and completed commodity inspection and release within three working days.The entire project from arrival to pickup took six working days,11 working days shorter than Ms.You’s previous self-operation of similar goods,saving a total of about 23,000 RMB in port storage fees and container detention fees.

Long-term Value of Professional Agency Service

Importing cleaning products is not a one-time transaction,but continuous supply chain compliance management.Zhongshen has built an imported product database for Ms.You’s company,recording the ingredient file,historical inspection records and port feedback of each product.When the EU updated the CLP regulation in June 2026 and added new substance classifications,the agency team actively screened the client’s imported product list and gave early warning of new requirements that two cleaners may involve.This proactive service avoids the embarrassment of encountering new regulation enforcement after the goods arrive at the port.From the cost perspective,although paying agency fees increases explicit expenditure,the hidden costs avoided include: daily port charges of thousands of RMB caused by goods detention,loss of return or destruction caused by non-compliant ingredients,extra packaging costs caused by label rectification,and opportunity cost of missing the peak sales season due to long inspection cycles.According to Ms.You’s calculation,in the first half of 2026,through the agency service,the comprehensive cost of the import link of her company decreased by 18%,and the new product launch cycle was shortened by 25 days.For enterprises with more than 10 import batches per year,the value of professional agency has extended from pure customs clearance to the supply chain strategy level.