Operation Difficulties and Solutions for Thailand Transshipment Trade
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
Core Pain Points and Solutions for Thailand Transshipment Trade
Pain Point 1: Customs clearance delay caused by document discrepancy,extra cost exceeds expectation
Mr.Hu from a Shanghai-based foreign trade company specializing in electronic accessories encountered trouble recently: a batch of goods his company shipped to Germany was transshipped via Thailand.The packing list submitted during China’s export customs declaration showed "electronic accessories with plastic shells",but the bill of lading at the Thai transit port was mistakenly written as "electronic accessories with metal shells".When clearing customs in the destination country,the customs required re-submission of supporting documents.This delay left the goods stranded at the Thai port for 10 days,resulting in an extra storage cost of 23,000 yuan alone.The delivery date agreed with the German customer was also missed,leading to a 5% deduction of the payment by the other party.
Mr.Hu’s experience is not an isolated case.After RCEP came into effect in 2026,Thailand’s position as an ASEAN transshipment hub has been further enhanced.However,transshipment trade involves documents from three parties: China export,Thailand transit,and destination country import.There are many data connection links with strict requirements,so enterprises are prone to problems such as inconsistent goods description and mismatched codes between bill of lading and customs declaration form when operating on their own.The root cause is that most foreign trade enterprises lack a dedicated transshipment document review team,fail to keep up with the latest updates of Thai customs’ document requirements,and cannot realize real-time matching and verification of the three parties’ documents.
In response to this pain point,the document team of Zhongshen will intervene for review 3 working days before the goods are shipped: first,check the consistency between China’s export customs declaration form and the packing list,then synchronously connect with the Thai transit agent to ensure that the goods information on the transit bill of lading fully matches that of the Chinese side,and finally send the full set of documents to the destination country’s customs clearance agent for pre-review in advance.Last year,a foreign trade company dealing in household goods operated Thailand transshipment through Zhongshen.During document review,it was found that the quantity of goods on the bill of lading was 10 cases more than the actual amount.The team immediately coordinated with the shipping company to correct it,avoiding customs clearance delay and saving nearly 18,000 yuan of extra cost for the enterprise.
Pain Point 2: Poor connection between two sections of logistics,no guarantee for shipping space and timeliness
Mr.Wu,the head of a Guangzhou-based clothing foreign trade company,planned to transship a batch of winter clothing to Russia via Thailand at the beginning of this year.He contacted the shipping company for the China-Thailand route on his own,but did not confirm the shipping space for the Thailand-Russia route in advance.As a result,the China-Thailand voyage was delayed for 3 days due to a typhoon.When the goods arrived at the Thai port,the originally booked Thailand-Russia shipping space had been canceled by the shipping company.Re-booking not only cost 20% more,but also required another 7 days of waiting for loading.Finally,when the goods arrived in Russia,the local sales season had passed,and nearly 30% of the inventory was overstocked.
The logistics of transshipment trade involves two sections of transportation: "China-Thailand" and "Thailand-destination country".When operating on their own,enterprises often only focus on the first section and ignore the integration of local logistics resources in Thailand.In 2026,the container throughput of Bangkok Port in Thailand increased by 12% year-on-year,but the competition for transit shipping space has intensified.In addition,local resources such as storage and trailers in Thailand are scattered,and enterprises lack long-term cooperative local service providers,so they are prone to problems such as disconnection of shipping space connection and rising storage costs.
For the logistics link of Thailand transshipment,Zhongshen has integrated resources from 12 high-quality local logistics service providers in Thailand,and established a seamless connection mechanism for the two sections of transportation: after signing the agency contract,we will lock the shipping space for both China-Thailand and Thailand-destination country routes at the same time,and realize "through bill of lading" for the two sections of transportation; after the goods arrive at the Thai port,Zhongshen’s local Thai team is responsible for storage,trailer and transit customs declaration,tracking the logistics trajectory in real time throughout the process,and customers can check the location of the goods through the exclusive system.In March this year,a foreign trade company dealing in outdoor products operated transshipment from Thailand to Australia through Zhongshen.The connection between the two sections of transportation only took 2 days,saving 5 days compared with the enterprise’s own operation,and successfully catching up with the local camping season.
Pain Point 3: Complex foreign exchange receipt and payment process,delayed fund arrival affects cash flow
Ms.Yin from a Shenzhen-based electronic product foreign trade company has been troubled by capital issues recently: her company operates Thailand transshipment trade,and agreed with the German customer that the payment would be paid to the account of a Thai intermediary,and then transferred to the Chinese company’s account by the intermediary.However,in 2026,the Bank of Thailand adjusted its foreign exchange control policy,requiring detailed trade background certificates for the transfer of overseas funds.The information provided by the intermediary was incomplete,resulting in the funds being stranded in the Thai bank for 15 days.Ms.Yin’s company was unable to pay the domestic supplier’s payment on time,so it had to apply for a bank loan and paid an extra interest of 21,000 yuan.
The foreign exchange receipt and payment of transshipment trade involves the capital flow of three parties: China,Thailand and the destination country.Since 2026,Thailand has adjusted its foreign exchange control policies many times in response to exchange rate fluctuations,and there are also differences in payment requirements of different destination countries.When operating on their own,enterprises often cannot grasp the policy changes in real time,and lack compliant foreign exchange receipt and payment channels,so they are prone to problems such as delayed fund arrival and excessive handling fees.
Zhongshen has compliant foreign exchange receipt and payment channels,which can directly connect with the transshipment trade foreign exchange services of multiple Thai banks,without transferring funds through intermediaries.At the same time,Zhongshen’s foreign exchange team will track the changes of foreign exchange policies in Thailand and the destination country in real time.Before the customer signs the trade contract,we will assist in preparing the full set of trade background materials (including contracts,bills of lading,invoices,etc.) according to the policy requirements of the destination country and Thailand,to ensure the fast arrival of funds.Last year,a foreign trade company dealing in medical devices operated transshipment from Thailand to Singapore through Zhongshen.The foreign exchange receipt and payment only took 3 days,saving 12 days compared with the enterprise’s own operation,effectively guaranteeing the cash flow.
Pain Point 4: Incomplete export tax refund materials,delayed arrival of tax refund
Mr.Zhan from a Hangzhou-based furniture foreign trade company had his application for export tax refund for Thailand transshipment trade rejected at the beginning of this year,because he lacked the storage certificate of the Thai transit port and the copy of the transit bill of lading.When operating on his own,Mr.Zhan’s company only prepared the export customs declaration form and invoice of China,ignoring the requirement that transshipment trade tax refund needs to provide the transit country certificate,resulting in the tax refund being delayed for 2 months,which affected the enterprise’s capital turnover.
The export tax refund policy for transshipment trade is different from that for general trade.In 2026,China’s tax authority requires that the full set of materials such as "China export customs declaration form,Thai transit bill of lading,Thai storage certificate,and destination country import customs declaration form" be provided for transshipment trade tax refund.When operating on their own,enterprises are often not familiar with these special requirements,and cannot obtain complete supporting documents from the Thai transit agent,resulting in the rejection or delay of tax refund applications.
Zhongshen’s export tax refund team is familiar with the tax refund policy for transshipment trade,and will assist customers in preparing the full set of tax refund materials before the goods are shipped: including China export customs declaration form,Thai transit bill of lading,local Thai storage certificate,destination country import customs declaration form,etc.The Thai storage certificate is directly provided by Zhongshen’s local Thai team,without additional connection by customers.Last year,a foreign trade company dealing in kitchenware operated transshipment from Thailand to Canada through Zhongshen.The tax refund arrived in only 18 days,saving 7 days compared with the industry average,and the amount of tax refund reached 126,000 yuan.
Comparison of Thailand Transshipment Trade Operation Methods
| Comparison Dimension | Self-operation by Enterprises | Agency Service by Zhongshen |
|---|---|---|
| Document Review | Self-review,prone to discrepancies,customs clearance delay rate 15%-20% | Dedicated team conducts three-document matching review,customs clearance delay rate less than 3% |
| Logistics Connection | Two sections of transportation booked separately,no guarantee for shipping space connection,timeliness delay rate 10%-15% | Seamless connection between two sections of transportation,shipping space locked in advance,timeliness delay rate less than 2% |
| Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment | Rely on intermediary transfer,fund arrival time 10-20 days,handling fee 3%-5% | Direct receipt and payment through compliant channels,fund arrival time 3-5 days,handling fee 1.5%-2.5% |
| Export Tax Refund | Incomplete materials,tax refund arrival time 2-3 months,approval rate 80%-85% | Full set of materials prepared,tax refund arrival time 15-20 days,approval rate over 98% |
| Cost Control | Extra cost accounts for 5%-8% (storage,loan interest,etc.) | Extra cost accounts for 1%-2% (no intermediary price difference) |
Core Service List of Zhongshen’s Thailand Transshipment Agency
- Customs Declaration and Inspection: Full agency for China export customs declaration,Thailand transit customs declaration,destination country import customs declaration
- International Transportation: China-Thailand sea/air freight,Thailand-destination country sea/air freight,shipping space locked in advance
- Warehouse Management: Local Thai storage (10,000 ㎡ bonded warehouse),goods sorting,transit loading and unloading
- Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment: Compliant foreign exchange channels,real-time interpretation of policies of Thailand and destination countries
- Foreign Exchange Settlement and Purchase: Real-time foreign exchange settlement at the same-day exchange rate,no extra handling fee
- Export Tax Refund: Full set of material preparation,tax refund declaration,tracking of tax refund arrival
Core Advantages of Zhongshen’s Thailand Transshipment Agency
Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in the foreign trade agency industry for more than 20 years.In view of the characteristics of Thailand transshipment trade,we have formed the "full-process one-stop" service advantage: First,we have a professional team,the document,logistics,foreign exchange and tax refund teams all have more than 10 years of experience in transshipment trade,and are familiar with the trade policies of Thailand and RCEP member states.Second,we have integrated high-quality local resources in Thailand,including 12 logistics service providers,5 bank cooperative institutions,and 3 bonded warehouses,to ensure service efficiency.Third,we implement whole-process risk control,from contract signing to tax refund arrival,each link has a risk early warning mechanism to avoid losses for enterprises.
Since 2026,Zhongshen has provided Thailand transshipment agency services for more than 300 foreign trade enterprises,involving electronics,clothing,furniture,medical devices and other industries,helping enterprises reduce operating costs by more than 30% and improve business efficiency by more than 25%.If you encounter pain points in Thailand transshipment trade,you can contact Zhongshen’s professional team to obtain customized solutions.
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