Who Imports, Who Pays Foreign Exchange Agency Service Full Process Analysis and Compliance Operation Key Points

Regulatory Background and Operational Difficulties of Importing Food from Australia

In 2026,domestic demand for high-quality Australian food continues to rise,with steady growth in imports of dairy products,beef and mutton,seafood and other products.Ms.Yan runs a trading company that signed an order for a batch of Australian infant formula at the beginning of the year,with a total value of over USD 500,000.In accordance with the basic principle of "Who Imports,Who Pays Foreign Exchange",she needs to ensure that every foreign exchange payment strictly matches the import customs declaration form,which puts extremely high requirements on the company’s document management and compliance operations.

Importing Australian food involves a multi-layered regulatory system.In addition to regular customs declaration,it also includes access review by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,label management by the State Administration for Market Regulation,and payment verification by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.The actual difficulties faced by Ms.Yan are concentrated in three aspects: First,there are a wide variety of documents,including certificate of origin,sanitary certificate,composition analysis report,and overseas production enterprise registration number,etc.Any non-compliant document may cause goods to be detained at the port; Second,the payment timing and customs declaration progress need to be accurately coordinated.Advance payment may face the risk of cargo ownership,while delayed payment will affect the company’s credit rating; Finally,there is uncertainty in the commodity inspection link,with varying sampling and testing cycles,and enterprises need to bear storage costs and capital occupation costs.

Zhongshen’s Service Positioning Under the "Who Imports,Who Pays Foreign Exchange" Model

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in foreign trade agency services for more than 20 years,and has a systematic understanding of the operational logic of "Who Imports,Who Pays Foreign Exchange".Under this model,the agency company is not only a customs broker,but also an extension of the enterprise’s compliance management department.Zhongshen’s services run through three dimensions: In the document preparation stage,assist enterprises to establish a document system matching the payment vouchers; In the customs declaration execution stage,ensure that the declaration elements are completely consistent with the payment information; In the subsequent supervision stage,respond to emergencies such as commodity inspection sampling and label rectification,and ensure the cargo ownership and capital safety of enterprises.

For the import of Australian food,Zhongshen has established a special service team that is familiar with the export certification system of the Australian Department of Agriculture,Fisheries and Forestry,and understands the inspection priorities of different domestic ports for different products.This professionalism is reflected in detail handling: For example,the vitamin addition standards for Australian dairy products differ from those in China,so formula compliance comparison needs to be carried out in advance; When beef and mutton products involve halal certification,the registration information of the slaughterhouse must be completely consistent with the supplier name in the payment contract.

Stage-by-Stage Breakdown of the Import Agency Full Process

Document Pre-examination and Payment Preparation Stage

In Ms.Yan’s case,Zhongshen started the document pre-examination work two weeks before the official customs declaration.The core task of this stage is to build a complete payment evidence chain.The required basic documents include: commercial invoice,packing list,bill of lading,certificate of origin,sanitary certificate issued by the Australian supplier,and for infant formula,formula registration certificate and third-party test report of nutritional components are also required.

Zhongshen’s key operation point is cross-verification of document information.In 2026,the State Administration of Foreign Exchange upgraded its monitoring system,which can automatically compare customs declaration data with bank payment records.Any slight difference will trigger an alert.Zhongshen uses an internal verification checklist to check more than 20 key items,ensuring that the payment path is clearly traceable.In addition,in view of the particularity of Australian agricultural products,Zhongshen assisted Ms.Yan to complete the registration information filing of overseas production enterprises in China,which is a prerequisite for payment review.Products from unfiled enterprises cannot obtain quarantine access,and may face the risk of return even after payment is completed.

Port Customs Declaration and Tariff Verification Stage

After the goods arrive at Shanghai Yangshan Port,Zhongshen’s customs declaration team declares to the customs based on the pre-examined documents.The principle of "Who Imports,Who Pays Foreign Exchange" requires that the logical relationship between the operating unit,payment unit and consignee on the customs declaration form is clear.As the import agent,Zhongshen accurately reflects the dual-title structure on the customs declaration form,ensuring that the import data in the customs system can be smoothly pushed to the foreign exchange monitoring system.

HS code classification is the technical focus of this stage.For Australian milk powder,the customs declaration number may vary depending on factors such as fat content,whether sugar or spices are added,etc.Zhongshen uses its historical case database to quickly lock in the optimal classification plan,which not only ensures compliance,but also reasonably controls the tax burden,with a maximum tariff rate difference of 15 percentage points.After the customs declaration form is submitted,the customs will decide whether to conduct inspection based on risk parameters.Zhongshen has prepared goods samples and manufacturer qualification documents in advance to respond to possible unpacking inspections.

The accuracy of payment information is crucial at this stage.Zhongshen marks the payment contract number in the remarks column of the customs declaration form,which facilitates quick retrieval of original vouchers for subsequent foreign exchange verification.In 2026,the data sharing mechanism between the customs and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange has been further improved,and the customs declaration release information directly triggers the write-off of payment quota,eliminating the need for enterprises to repeatedly submit paper materials.

Commodity Inspection Sampling and Conformity Assessment Stage

The import of Australian food must go through port inspection and quarantine.Zhongshen submitted the label samples and Chinese translations to the Food Section of Yangshan Customs under Shanghai Customs in advance for pre-examination.In 2026,the label review for infant formula is particularly strict,requiring that the formula registration number,applicable age,and preparation method are clearly marked,and functional claims such as "closest to breast milk" are not allowed.

After commodity inspection officials collect on-site samples,the samples are sent to the laboratory for testing,which usually takes 7 to 10 working days.Zhongshen’s experience is to prepare rectification plans in advance.For example,once a batch of Australian cheese was found to have non-compliant label content,Zhongshen had contacted the printing factory to make compliant labels before the goods arrived at the port,and pasted them immediately after sampling was completed,saving at least three days of rectification time.

The final confirmation of payment liability occurs at this stage.Only after obtaining the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Certificate can the enterprise officially sell the goods,and the payment obligation is fully established at this point.Zhongshen assisted Ms.Yan in completing the final payment within five working days after obtaining the certificate,ensuring timely and accurate foreign exchange declaration.

Risk Avoidance Experience in Actual Cases

Ms.Yan’s batch of infant formula encountered an emergency during the commodity inspection link.The laboratory found that the vitamin D3 content of a certain batch was slightly higher than the label indication.Although the content was still within the safety range,it was considered non-compliant with label requirements.According to the standard process,the goods would need to be returned or destroyed,which would result in losses for the over USD 500,000 goods payment and foreign exchange remittance.

Zhongshen quickly activated the emergency plan.First,it obtained the batch production records and factory inspection reports of the Australian manufacturer to prove that the content deviation was a normal fluctuation during the production process,not a quality issue.Second,it submitted the Technical Label Rectification Application to the customs,explaining the cause of the deviation and rectification measures.Finally,it coordinated the manufacturer to issue an official explanatory letter to explain the label printing error.After three rounds of technical communication,the customs agreed to allow the corrected labels to be pasted on-site at the port,and the goods were finally released smoothly.

The enlightenment of this case is that in the responsibility chain of "Who Imports,Who Pays Foreign Exchange",the professional response ability of the agency company directly determines the capital risk of the enterprise.If handled improperly,the enterprise will not only bear the goods loss,but also may be listed as a concerned enterprise by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange due to the mismatch between payment information and customs declaration data,affecting all subsequent import businesses.

During this process,Zhongshen also assisted Ms.Yan in organizing a complete payment explanation file,including contracts,invoices,bills of lading,quarantine certificates,rectification records,etc.forming a closed-loop evidence chain.This file played a key role in the random inspection by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange that year,and the inspectors granted a compliance rating based on the standardized and well-founded payment operations.

Summary of the Core Value of Zhongshen’s Professional Agency

Looking back at Ms.Yan’s case,Zhongshen’s professionalism is reflected in three aspects.First is process integration capability,which connects three originally separate links of customs declaration,commodity inspection and payment into a standardized operation process,reducing communication costs and error rates for enterprises that do not need to connect with multiple service institutions separately.Second is risk prediction capability,based on the case database accumulated over 20 years,it can identify high-frequency risk points in the import of Australian food in advance,and include potential problems into the control scope before payment.Finally is compliance guarantee capability.

In 2026,the foreign trade supervision environment continues to tighten,and the data of the customs,foreign exchange administration and tax authorities are interconnected.Any flaw in any link may be amplified.Zhongshen ensures that every payment is traceable and every customs declaration is compliant through systematic document management and traceable operations,building a solid compliance firewall for enterprises.

For import enterprises like Ms.Yan,choosing Zhongshen as the "Who Imports,Who Pays Foreign Exchange" agent essentially exchanges professional service fees for risk premium and efficiency improvement.The cycle from loading goods in Australia to selling them on the domestic market has been shortened by one-third,and capital occupation costs have decreased.More importantly,enterprises can focus on channel expansion and marketing,leaving complex compliance matters to professional teams.

• Focus on verifying the validity of the overseas production enterprise’s registration number in China for Australian suppliers during the document pre-examination stage
• Ensure that the amount of the payment contract matches the declared value on the customs declaration form within a 5% deviation range during the customs declaration stage,otherwise foreign exchange verification will be triggered
• During commodity inspection sampling,enterprises can apply to temporarily store goods in eligible bonded warehouses to reduce port detention fees
• After obtaining the quarantine certificate,complete the information filling in the enterprise report module of the foreign exchange monitoring system within 15 working days
• It is recommended to establish an import file for Australian products,including payment receipts,customs declaration forms,and quarantine certificates for each batch,for follow-up inspections