Analysis on Core Features and Practical Key Points of Overseas Transit Trade

Core Pain Points of Overseas Transit Trade and Agency Solutions

I.Document Compliance Risk: Errors and Omissions Easily Occur in Tripartite Document Requirements

Manager Cui of a foreign trade enterprise in Shanghai once encountered the following problem: in 2025,he undertook an electronic product order transiting from Southeast Asia to Europe.Due to inconsistent goods description between the certificate of origin issued by the transit country and the invoice from the exporting country,the goods were detained by European customs for 3 weeks,and finally a penalty of 120,000 euros for order breach was paid.When many enterprises operate transit trade on their own,errors and omissions often occur due to unfamiliarity with the document requirements of the transit country.For example,goods transited to the EU need to provide an additional statement of CE certification issued by the transit country,but some enterprises only submit the basic certification from the exporting country,resulting in customs clearance obstruction; some enterprises also omit the transit goods declaration form required by the transit country,which must clearly indicate the transit trade contract number,otherwise it cannot pass the customs review.

The root cause of such pain points is that transit trade involves three parties: exporter,transit trader and importer,and document compliance standards vary greatly among different countries.EU customs require that document information be 100% consistent with the actual attributes of goods,while some Southeast Asian countries require consular authentication documents.The internal document clerks of Chinese enterprises lack cross-regional review experience,and blind areas are prone to occur when judging only by a single standard.

In response to this pain point,the document team of Zhongshen will communicate with the customs requirements of the transit country in advance,and formulate an exclusive document compliance checklist for different trade routes.For example,for goods transited to the EU,the checklist includes: invoice from the exporting country (with the remark of "transit trade"),transit declaration form of the transit country,additional statement of EU CE certification,and bill of lading (showing the warehousing information of the transit country).Before submission,documents are cross-checked by 2 specialists,and the error and omission rate of transit trade documents processed in the past 3 years is only 0.2%.

II.Capital Circulation Efficiency: Long Cycle and High Risk of Foreign Exchange Receipt,Payment and Settlement

Mr.Bi,the head of a garment foreign trade enterprise in Shenzhen,once reported that when handling an order transiting from Bangladesh to the US in 2026,after the foreign exchange was received,the bank review took 10 days due to inconsistency between capital flow and goods flow (goods did not enter China).During this period,the US dollar exchange rate fluctuated,and the profit was 8% less than expected when settling the exchange.Some enterprises also failed to provide the corresponding tripartite contract for transit trade,resulting in the return of foreign exchange receipts and payments by the bank,and the order capital chain was once tight.

The root cause of the pain point is that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China has stricter capital review for transit trade,requiring materials such as tripartite trade contract,copy of bill of lading,and customs declaration form of the transit country.When enterprises operate on their own,they often fail to pass the bank review due to unclear contract terms (not specifying the nature of transit trade); at the same time,they lack exchange rate hedging tools and cannot lock profits in time.

Zhongshen provides one-stop foreign exchange receipt and payment service: assist enterprises to improve the tripartite contract in advance (specify transit trade terms and capital receipt and payment paths),connect with the bank’s green channel,and complete the review within 24 hours after the foreign exchange is received.For exchange rate fluctuations,a forward foreign exchange settlement scheme is provided: after signing the transit contract,enterprises can lock the exchange rate after 3 months to avoid exchange rate losses.Since 2026,we have helped more than 120 enterprises shorten the foreign exchange receipt and payment cycle to within 3 days,and the settlement loss rate has been reduced by 60%.

III.Logistics Connection Difficulties: Difficult Tracking and Poor Connection of Warehousing and Transportation in Transit Countries

The team of Ms.Bao from an electronic enterprise in Zhejiang handled a chip order transiting from South Korea to the Middle East in 2026.During the storage of the goods in a Singapore warehouse,the label fell off,so the goods could not correspond to the importer’s order,and the delivery was delayed for 1 week.Some enterprises also choose low-cost but slow service providers due to scattered freight forwarder resources in transit countries,resulting in high port detention fees after the goods arrive at the port.

The root cause of the pain point is that transit trade goods do not directly enter China,so it is difficult for enterprises to track the storage and transportation status in the transit country in real time; freight forwarder resources in transit countries are scattered,and reliable local partners are lacking; some transit country customs have strict inspection standards for transit goods,and enterprises cannot predict the inspection time in advance.

Zhongshen has established a local warehousing cooperation network in 12 major transit countries around the world (Singapore,the United Arab Emirates,the Netherlands,Panama,etc.),and provides a real-time logistics tracking system: enterprises can check the storage location and transportation trajectory of goods through the Zhongshen client.For the inspection in transit countries,we communicate with local customs in advance to prepare documents,and the inspection response time is shortened to 4 hours.Since 2026,the logistics delay rate of transit trade is only 1.5%,and the port detention fee has been reduced by 40%.

IV.Export Tax Refund Process: Difficult Policy Understanding and Long Declaration Cycle

The team of Manager Wen from a machinery enterprise in Guangzhou handled transit trade in 2025,and mistakenly declared tax refund for transit trade goods as general trade goods.After being returned by the tax authority,the re-declaration took 2 months,which almost affected the tax refund quota of subsequent orders.Some enterprises also failed to provide the corresponding certificate of transfer of goods ownership for transit trade,resulting in the rejection of the tax refund application.

The root cause of the pain point is that the export tax refund policy for transit trade is different from that for general trade (for example,some transit trade goods need to provide sales invoices from the transit country); the financial personnel of enterprises are not familiar with the policy and lack practical experience; the tax authority has stricter review on tax refund for transit trade,requiring complete proof of capital flow,document flow and goods flow.

The tax refund team of Zhongshen updates the transit trade tax refund policy in real time (2026 latest guidelines),and formulates a tax refund declaration checklist for enterprises,including: tripartite trade contract,foreign exchange receipt and payment vouchers,customs declaration form of the transit country,and certificate of transfer of goods ownership.Through the tax refund green channel,the declaration cycle is shortened to within 15 days,and the pass rate of transit trade tax refund in the past 2 years has reached 99.5%.

Core Advantages of Zhongshen’s Transit Trade Agency Services

• Cross-regional document review: covering document requirements of 12 major transit countries,cross review ensures compliance
• Green channel for foreign exchange receipt and payment: connect with exclusive bank channels,complete foreign exchange review within 24 hours
• Global logistics tracking: local warehousing cooperation in 12 transit countries,real-time view of goods trajectory
• Accurate interpretation of tax refund policies: real-time policy update,declaration cycle shortened to 15 days

Since 2026,Zhongshen has provided transit trade agency services for more than 300 foreign trade enterprises,covering major transit countries such as Singapore,the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands,helping enterprises solve pain points such as document errors and omissions,capital delay,logistics connection and tax refund difficulties.With more than 20 years of experience in foreign trade agency,Zhongshen’s team can quickly respond to enterprise needs and provide full-process solutions,allowing enterprises to focus on market expansion without worrying about compliance and process issues.