Electric Product Export Agency Services: Solve Customs Clearance and Tax Refund Challenges

Electric Product Export to Southeast Asia: Market Opportunities and Practical Challenges

In the first half of 2026,the import value of electric products in Southeast Asia increased by 28% year-on-year.Driven by growing e-commerce penetration and demand for supporting manufacturing facilities,Indonesia and Vietnam have become core export markets for domestic electric products such as small home appliances,power banks,and power tools.A Pearl River Delta client exported 1,000 power banks to Indonesia at the beginning of this year,but was inspected by customs for failing to obtain SNI certification in advance.This not only incurred a detention fee of $300 per day,but also delayed the delivery schedule to local distributors.Such situations are common in electric product exports,and policy barriers,missing certifications,and complicated customs clearance procedures have deterred many foreign trade enterprises.

Core Service Value of Zhongshen for Electric Product Export to Southeast Asia

With over 20 years of experience in foreign trade agency,Zhongshen has developed a customized service system for electric product export to markets including Indonesia and Vietnam,which combines proactive policy research,pre-review of documents,and local resource docking.Last year,a client exporting power tools to Vietnam was inspected due to incorrect parameters on the energy efficiency label.Mr.Gao from Zhongshen immediately contacted the local cooperative customs broker in Vietnam,coordinated the client to resubmit the test report,and completed the label correction within 24 hours.The customs clearance was delayed by only 1 day,3 days less than the industry average delay time.

1.Document Preparation: Accurately Match Certification Requirements of the Two Countries

For electric product exports to Indonesia and Vietnam,the core document differences focus on battery safety and energy efficiency certifications.Mr.Hu from Zhongshen,who is in charge of document review,has sorted out the mandatory requirements of the two countries in advance:

• Indonesia: Lithium battery products must provide SNI certification (issued by an institution authorized by the Indonesian National Standardization Agency),UN38.3 transportation test report,and CoC type test report;
• Vietnam: Electric products must be labeled with EEI energy efficiency label (for small home appliances),lithium batteries must provide VCCI certification,and Form E certificate of origin (to enjoy tariff preferences under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement).

Zhongshen’s solution is that after the client signs the agency agreement,Mr.Hu’s team will immediately check the product parameters and contact authorized institutions such as SGS in Indonesia and VCCI in Vietnam.If the client does not have the required certifications,the team will assist in applying for them,avoiding customs clearance delays caused by missing documents.

2.Customs Clearance Operations: Address Key Pain Points of Customs Inspection in the Two Countries

The inspection rates of electric products by Indonesian and Vietnamese customs are 18% and 15% respectively,higher than the 8% rate for general cargo.The main reason is that lithium batteries are classified as Class 9 dangerous goods,requiring strict verification of transportation safety.Mr.Gao from Zhongshen is familiar with local customs clearance procedures and has summarized the key inspection risk points for the two countries:

3.Tax Refund Handling: Optimize Procedures for Both Countries to Speed Up Refund Arrival

The core of electric product export tax refund lies in document matching and foreign exchange verification.Mr.Nie from Zhongshen,who is in charge of the tax refund department,has optimized the handling procedures based on the differences in tax refund policies between Indonesia and Vietnam:

• Indonesia: For tax refund,bill of lading,packing list,special VAT invoice,and foreign exchange verification form are required.The tax review cycle is 15-20 days.Zhongshen uses the system to automatically match document information,reducing manual verification errors and shortening the review cycle to 10 days;
• Vietnam: Electronic customs declaration form,product test report,and foreign exchange arrival proof must be uploaded for tax refund.After the Vietnamese tax system was upgraded in 2026,Zhongshen has completed system docking and can directly upload electronic materials,shortening the refund arrival time from the original 25 days to 18 days.

In March this year,a client exported power banks to Indonesia and handled tax refund through Zhongshen,receiving the refund in only 12 days,8 days faster than the client’s self-handling process.Mr.Nie stated that the key to speeding up tax refund is to sort out the material list in advance to avoid multiple supplementary submissions.

Core Experience of Zhongshen in Boosting Electric Product Export Efficiency

With 20 years of experience in electric product export agency,Zhongshen has summarized three key points to improve efficiency:

• 1.Proactive Policy Research: Update the electric product policies of markets including Indonesia and Vietnam every month.For example,in 2026,Indonesia extended the validity period of lithium battery SNI certification from 2 years to 3 years,and Zhongshen has notified clients in advance to prepare renewal materials;
• 2.Local Resource Docking: We have cooperative agency offices in Jakarta,Indonesia and Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam,which can quickly handle emergency customs clearance issues.For example,when goods are inspected,local agents can arrive at the scene within 1 hour;
• 3.System Automation: We have developed a document pre-review system that automatically generates the required document list after inputting product parameters,reducing manual error rate by 30%.

Customized Services to Adapt to Different Product and Market Needs

There are many types of electric products (small home appliances,power tools,lithium batteries,etc.),and policies vary greatly across target countries.Zhongshen can provide customized agency services based on the client’s product type (for example,lithium batteries require special attention to the UN38.3 test report) and target country (for example,Malaysia requires SIRIM certification).For example,last year,a client exported electric bicycles to Vietnam,and Ms.Qu from Zhongshen assisted in applying for VCCI certification and Form E certificate of origin,not only enjoying a 5% tariff preference but also completing customs clearance 5 days ahead of schedule.

If you have demand for electric product export,you can contact the professional team of Zhongshen,which will develop a customized solution based on your products and target countries to solve certification,customs clearance and tax refund problems in the export process.