What are the full operational procedures for export trade agency in 2026?

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I am the owner of a small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprise in the Yangtze River Delta that has just shifted to export business. We recently received an order from Europe with a value of approximately RMB 500,000, and the client requires FOB Shanghai Port. However, I only engaged in domestic trade previously and have no knowledge of export procedures at all: What documents are required for customs declaration?

How to apply for tax refund to get the fund disbursed as soon as possible? Is direct shipping or transshipment more cost-effective for logistics? I also heard that customs valuation is very strict recently, will the cargo be detained due to price declaration issues?

In addition, the client requires RMB settlement via CIPS, how to operate this part compliantly? I am very anxious every day now, afraid that any mistake will lead to failure to ship the goods or failure to receive the payment. I want to know what specific measures should be taken if I hire an export trade agency to save both worry and money?

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Kevin Lin
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat

For your first export demand，the full-chain operation of the export trade agency can be disassembled into the following core steps:

First is pre-document preparation and review. The agency will assist you in collecting and verifying <强>customs declaration forms，commercial invoices，packing lists，contracts and other basic documents，and supplement commodity inspection clearance certificates or certificates of origin according to product types. Special attention should be paid that in 2026，customs have higher requirements for the transparency of <强>FOB price composition，which needs to clearly include details such as raw material costs，processing fees，profits，etc。to avoid valuation disputes caused by unclear price logic.

Second is core node connection. The agency will coordinate with the customs broker to complete pre-declaration 24 hours before the cargo enters the port，and at the same time connect with the logistics provider to confirm the shipping space (the current direct shipping schedule from Shanghai Port to Europe is about 30 days，the transshipment scheme can save 10%-15% of the freight but requires 7 days of transshipment time reserved). For CIPS RMB settlement，the agency will guide you to receive payments through a registered cross-border RMB account，and ensure that the SWIFT message is consistent with the information on the customs declaration form to avoid foreign exchange settlement pending.

In terms of exception contingency plans，in case of customs inspection，the agency will arrange on-site personnel to assist in checking the consistency between the cargo and documents. If deviations are found，you can apply for deleting the declaration and resubmitting within 48 hours (note that for new enterprises，more than 2 declaration deletion times will affect the credit rating). In the tax refund link，the agency will assist you to complete paperless declaration within 5 days after the cargo departs from the port，and check errors in advance through the <强>pre-audit system to ensure that the tax refund funds arrive in the account within 5 days at the earliest (standard for Class A enterprises).

In the final compliance implementation link，the agency will assist you to complete document filing (the retention period is no less than 5 years)，and regularly feedback the dynamics of the customs credit rating，helping you accumulate good records to enjoy the fast customs clearance policy.

Reference: What Are the Criteria for a Good Export Agency?
Victor Sun
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat

Regarding customs valuation issues, customs will adopt a "price pre-audit" mechanism in 2026. Export enterprises need to submit <强>cost accounting sheets and <强>comparison tables of recent export prices of similar products. If the FOB price is more than 15% lower than the industry average, supporting documents such as raw material purchase invoices shall be provided to avoid cargo detention due to under-declaration. The agency will conduct early screening through the valuation risk early warning system, and adjust the price at the pre-declaration stage to reduce disputes.

Jason Wu
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat

For FOB order logistics, it is recommended to choose direct shipping to European basic ports. The current direct shipping schedule is stable (3-4 sailings per week), and the container detention fee is USD 50 per day (free storage period is 7 days). The agency will assist in signing the <强>shipping space guarantee agreement, and the bill of lading will indicate "endorsed to order" to ensure cargo right control until full payment is received. Although the transshipment scheme has lower freight, it is prone to container rolling and delivery delay, which is not suitable for first-time exporters.

Lucas Liu
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat

In terms of export tax refund, <强>paperless tax refund declaration will be implemented in 2026. The agency will guide you to upload electronic documents within 3 days after the cargo departs from the port. For Class A enterprises, the tax refund will arrive in the account within 5 days, while new enterprises (Class C) need 15-20 days. For RMB settlement, you can apply for "cross-border RMB tax refund", which directly arrives in RMB to save exchange difference costs. The agency will assist in optimizing foreign exchange hedging tools to fix exchange rate risks.

Linda Gao
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0

Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat

Compliance points for CIPS RMB settlement: The <强>cross-border RMB contract filed with the bank shall ensure that the amount is consistent with that on the customs declaration form; the SWIFT message shall contain the "CIPS TRANSACTION" identifier, and the receiving account shall be a domestic cross-border RMB account. The agency will check the message to avoid account pending caused by missing fields, optimize the foreign exchange purchase rate (the current spot rate of RMB against Euro is 7.8), and fix risks through foreign exchange hedging tools.

Eric Zhou
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat

Risk avoidance for FOB terms: The agency will revise the contract to clarify that "the seller shall bear risks before crossing the ship's rail", and add force majeure clauses. For letter of credit payment, soft clauses (such as designated freight forwarder's bill of lading) shall be reviewed to avoid loss of cargo right control. It is recommended to take out <强>export credit insurance to cover accounts receivable risks (premium is 0.5%-1% of the cargo value).

Michael Zhang
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

Response to customs inspection: The agency will arrange <强>licensed customs brokers to be present, first check the authenticity of the electronic seal (verified via APP scanning), and cooperate with container unloading inspection (the unloading rate for general cargo is 5%). If the documents are inconsistent with the cargo, a <强>letter of explanation shall be submitted within 24 hours to apply for modification of the customs declaration form, to avoid port detention fees (USD 100 per day) for more than 7 days.

Grace Wang
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat

Tax refund declaration shall ensure "consistency of four flows" (contract/cargo/fund/invoice). The agency will check that the value-added tax invoice is consistent with the product name and quantity on the customs declaration form, and verify the authenticity of the CIPS receipt slip. In case of tax official inquiry, inquiry response materials (purchase contract/logistics document) shall be submitted within 10 working days to ensure that the tax refund process is not interrupted.

Cindy Chen
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Key Account ManagerStart a Chat

Supply chain planning for first-time exports: Adopt the small-batch trial order + gradual volume increase strategy to reduce risks; choose "direct shipping + marine insurance" for logistics to balance cost and timeliness; give priority to "30% advance payment + 70% balance payment against bill of lading" for settlement to avoid credit sales. The agency will assist in establishing export SOPs to lay a foundation for subsequent mass exports.

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