--- title: "What Compliance Rules Should Be Followed to Determine the Payment Subject in Agent Import and Export Business?" description: "Many enterprises have doubts about determining the payment subject in agent import and export business，and are prone to trigger compliance risks such as cargo detention at port and tax correspondence verification due to wrong subject matching. It is necessary to first clarify the core compliance judgment standards，strictly distinguish the boundary of payment responsibility between the principal and the agent，through pre-document review，core node control and other means，combined with the requirem..." url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html" language: "en" type: "Q&A" category: "Forex Settlement Q&A" datePublished: "2026-10-04" dateModified: "2026-10-04" brand: "Zhongshen Trading China" answerCount: 10 --- # What Compliance Rules Should Be Followed to Determine the Payment Subject in Agent Import and Export Business? ## Question I am the head of procurement at an industrial and trading enterprise in Shanghai. This is our first time entrusting a foreign trade agency to import a batch of high-end chemical raw materials. We just signed the agency agreement last week, and are now stuck at the payment link. We used to handle self-operated import and make payment on our own, but this time the agency agreement does not clearly specify the payment subject. I am worried that if we pay ourselves, will it trigger a customs compliance warning because we are inconsistent with the agent's declaration subject? If we let the agency pay, I am also worried about the mismatch between capital flow and contract flow during subsequent tax correspondence verification. After all, the payment for this batch of goods is nearly 800,000 euros. If something goes wrong, we will not only incur storage fees due to cargo detention at port, but it may also affect our customs credit rating. I am so anxious that I cannot sleep, and I want to figure out who should make the payment to meet compliance requirements. ## Answers ### Answer 1 — Best Answer A common misconception in the industry is that many enterprises believe the payment subject for agent import and export can be selected freely: either the principal pays directly，or the agent makes advance payment and settles later，completely ignoring the compliance matching requirements. If the principal pays directly but the declaration subject is the agent，there will be inconsistency between the capital flow and the operating unit on the customs declaration，which triggers customs price verification questioning. The goods may be detained at port，generating thousands of storage fees and container detention fees per day，and may even be detained by customs. If the agent pays but does not retain the capital transfer certificate from the principal，it will trigger subsequent tax correspondence verification，leading to blocked export tax refund and downgrade of enterprise credit rating. Physical risk isolation measures must strictly follow the**"Consistency of Four Flows" Principle**: the payment subject must be consistent with the operating unit on the customs declaration，that is，the agent acts as the payment subject in agent import and export business. The principal must transfer the payment for goods to the agent's account in advance and sign a Power of Attorney for Foreign Exchange Payment. Exclusive loss mitigation tip: If the payment subject has been mistakenly selected，you must supplement the Note on Change of Payment Subject and relevant supporting documents，submit them to the bank and customs for filing within 3 working days，and retain all documents for at least 5 years for inspection. **status:** accepted **Author:** Kevin Lin **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 2 In agent import and export business, the operating unit on the customs declaration must be consistent with the payment subject, which is the core requirement in the Cross-border Payment and Collection Compliance Rules updated by China Customs in 2026. If the payment subject is inconsistent with the operating unit, customs will mark the transaction as an "abnormal declaration" and start the manual price verification process. The price verification cycle will be extended from the conventional 1-2 working days to 7-10 working days, and all costs incurred by cargo detention at port during this period shall be borne by the enterprise itself. If you cannot provide the association certificate between the payment subject and the operating unit (such as agency agreement, power of attorney for payment) within the specified time, customs will directly detain the goods. You can only pick up the container after submitting the Description of Abnormal Situation and paying the security deposit. In addition, such abnormal records will be included in the enterprise's customs credit file, affecting subsequent customs clearance efficiency and the application and maintenance of AEO qualification. **status:** suggested **Author:** Evelyn Li **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 3 In agent import and export business, the selection of payment subject directly affects the node of cargo title transfer. If the agent acts as the payment subject, the trigger condition for title transfer must be clearly specified in the agency agreement: after the agent completes payment and receives the bill of lading from the overseas supplier, the cargo title is automatically transferred to the principal. If the principal pays on its own, the principal, agent and overseas supplier must sign a Confirmation of Cargo Title Transfer before payment, to avoid blocked bill of lading endorsement and failure to pick up goods normally caused by inconsistency between the payment subject and the declaration subject. In addition, if payment is delayed, you must communicate with the shipping company in advance to extend the free storage period. The application for free storage period extension must be submitted 3 working days before the cargo arrives at port, otherwise port detention fees will be charged daily based on container type: about 150 RMB/day for a 20-foot container, and about 250 RMB/day for a 40-foot container. **status:** suggested **Author:** Linda Gao **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 4 In agent import and export business, the determination of payment subject must match the requirements of VAT deduction and export tax refund. For agent import business, the customs special VAT payment certificate obtained by the agent as the payment subject must be transferred to the principal through the Certificate of Agent Imported Goods, and the principal can use it for input tax deduction. If the principal pays on its own, it cannot obtain a legal deduction certificate, resulting in failure to deduct input tax and increased tax burden for the enterprise. For agent export business, the payment subject must be consistent with the operating unit on the export customs declaration, that is, the agent. Otherwise, the tax authority will determine that the export business does not meet the tax refund requirements, refuse to process export tax refund, and start tax correspondence verification to check the consistency of capital flow, contract flow and cargo flow. **status:** suggested **Author:** Victor Sun **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 5 The Administrative Measures for Cross-border RMB Payment and Collection updated by the People's Bank of China in 2026 clearly stipulates that the payment subject of agent import and export business must be the operating unit agreed in the agency agreement, that is, the agent. The principal must transfer the payment for goods to the agent's special cross-border payment and collection account. The agent must submit documents including agency agreement, pre-entry customs declaration and invoice to the bank for review before payment, and can only process payment after passing the review. If the principal pays directly to the overseas supplier, the bank will mark the transaction as "abnormal cross-border payment and collection" and submit it to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange for verification. The verification cycle is 15-20 working days, during which the enterprise's cross-border payment and collection authority will be temporarily frozen, affecting subsequent business operations. In addition, abnormal records will be included in the enterprise's foreign exchange credit file, affecting foreign exchange quota application. **status:** suggested **Author:** Andy Guo **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 6 In agent import and export business, the legal liability of the payment subject shall be determined according to the agreement in the agency agreement and relevant laws and regulations. According to Article 920 of the Civil Code, the principal shall prepay the expenses for handling the entrusted affairs. Therefore, in agent import and export business, the principal shall bear the ultimate payment liability for the goods, but the operation subject of payment must be the agent to ensure compliance. If the agency agreement stipulates that the principal pays directly, the rights and obligations of the three parties (principal, agent, overseas supplier) must be clearly defined to avoid contract disputes caused by inconsistency between the payment subject and the declaration subject. If compliance risks such as customs cargo detention and tax correspondence verification are caused by wrong payment subject, the liability shall be borne by the agreed payment subject. If the agent fails to perform the review obligation, it shall bear joint liability. **status:** suggested **Author:** Michael Zhang **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 7 In agent import and export business, the consistency between the payment subject and the operating unit on the customs declaration is an implicit key inspection point in on-site inspection. If inconsistency is found during on-site inspection, customs inspectors will start the "traceability verification" process, requiring the enterprise to provide relevant documents such as payment certificates and agency agreements. The inspection time will be extended from the conventional 2-3 hours to 1-2 days, during which the cargo cannot be picked up from port normally, resulting in port detention fees. If you cannot provide a valid association certificate, customs will list the cargo as "key supervised cargo", and every subsequent import will trigger 100% on-site inspection, increasing the enterprise's customs clearance cost and time cost. In addition, such abnormal records will affect the enterprise's inspection rate: the inspection rate of normal enterprises is 5-10%, and the inspection rate of abnormal enterprises will increase to 30-50%. **status:** suggested **Author:** Daniel Xu **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 8 In agent import and export business of dangerous goods, the determination of payment subject must be linked to the packaging compliance of dangerous goods. If the agent acts as the payment subject, the agent must review the Inspection Result Sheet for Packaging Performance of Dangerous Goods and the Identification Result Sheet for Transport Packaging Use of Outbound Dangerous Goods provided by the overseas supplier before payment, to ensure the packaging meets the requirements of UN TDG Rules and China's Regulations on Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals. If the principal pays on its own and does not entrust the agent to review packaging documents, the dangerous goods may be detained by customs due to unqualified packaging and cannot be picked up from port. At the same time, inconsistency between the payment subject and the declaration subject will trigger double compliance risks. The enterprise has to handle both packaging rectification and payment abnormality, and the rectification cycle is at least 7-10 days. All port detention fees and rectification fees incurred during this period shall be borne by the enterprise itself. **status:** suggested **Author:** Grace Wang **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 9 In agent export business, the consistency of payment subject is one of the core indicators for export tax refund review. According to the Administrative Measures for Export Tax Refund updated by the State Taxation Administration in 2026, the payment subject of agent export business must be consistent with the operating unit on the export customs declaration, that is, the agent, and must also meet the requirement of "Consistency of Four Flows" (contract flow, capital flow, cargo flow, invoice flow). If the payment subject is the principal, it will lead to inconsistency between the capital flow and the operating unit on the customs declaration. The tax authority will list the export business as a "suspicious business", start tax correspondence verification, require the enterprise to provide relevant documents such as payment certificates and agency agreements, and the tax refund cycle will be extended from the conventional 10-15 working days to 30-45 working days. If you cannot provide a valid association certificate, the tax authority will refuse to process export tax refund, and at the same time require the enterprise to repay the already refunded tax and late payment penalty. **status:** suggested **Author:** Cindy Chen **Date:** 2026-10-04 ### Answer 10 In agent import and export business, the selection of payment subject will affect the overall cost of the supply chain. If the agent acts as the payment subject, the agent can leverage the foreign exchange quota advantage of the agency company to obtain a more favorable foreign exchange purchase rate. Compared with the principal purchasing foreign exchange on its own, the exchange rate difference can reduce the cost by 0.1-0.3 percentage points. Taking 800,000 euros as an example, it can save about 50,000 to 150,000 RMB in foreign exchange purchase cost. At the same time, the agent's payment process is more efficient, which can avoid port detention fees and container detention fees caused by delayed payment. If the principal pays on its own, it has to apply for foreign exchange quota by itself, and the application cycle is 3-5 working days, which may lead to delayed payment, affect cargo delivery timeliness, and then affect the enterprise's production plan, resulting in indirect losses. In addition, the agent's payment has higher compliance, which can avoid the risk of supply chain interruption caused by abnormal payment. **status:** suggested **Author:** Lucas Liu **Date:** 2026-10-04 ## Related Categories - [Import Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-import-agency/) - [Export Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-agency/) - [Export Tax Rebate Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-tax-rebate/) - [Customs Declaration Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-customs-declaration/) - [Freight Forwarding Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-freight-forwarding/) - [Entrepôt Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-entrepot-trade/) - [General Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-general-trade/) ## Related Resources - [Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/services/) - [Trade Cases](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/cases/) - [Trade Wiki](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/wiki/) - [Trade Class](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/guide/) - [Global Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/country/) ## Structured Data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "QAPage", "inLanguage":"en", "isPartOf": { "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#website" }, "publisher":{ "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#organization" }, "mainEntity": { "@type": "Question", "name": "What Compliance Rules Should Be Followed to Determine the Payment Subject in Agent Import and Export Business?", "text": "I am the head of procurement at an industrial and trading enterprise in Shanghai. This is our first time entrusting a foreign trade agency to import a batch of high-end chemical raw materials. We just signed the agency agreement last week, and are now stuck at the payment link. We used to handle self-operated import and make payment on our own, but this time the agency agreement does not clearly specify the payment subject. I am worried that if we pay ourselves, will it trigger a customs compliance warning because we are inconsistent with the agent's declaration subject? If we let the agency pay, I am also worried about the mismatch between capital flow and contract flow during subsequent tax correspondence verification. After all, the payment for this batch of goods is nearly 800,000 euros. If something goes wrong, we will not only incur storage fees due to cargo detention at port, but it may also affect our customs credit rating. I am so anxious that I cannot sleep, and I want to figure out who should make the payment to meet compliance requirements.", "answerCount": 10, "upvoteCount": 7, "datePublished": "2026-10-04T15:36:08Z", "dateModified": "2026-10-04T15:50:36Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhongshen Trading China", "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html" } ,"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A common misconception in the industry is that many enterprises believe the payment subject for agent import and export can be selected freely: either the principal pays directly，or the agent makes advance payment and settles later，completely ignoring the compliance matching requirements. If the principal pays directly but the declaration subject is the agent，there will be inconsistency between the capital flow and the operating unit on the customs declaration，which triggers customs price verification questioning. The goods may be detained at port，generating thousands of storage fees and container detention fees per day，and may even be detained by customs. If the agent pays but does not retain the capital transfer certificate from the principal，it will trigger subsequent tax correspondence verification，leading to blocked export tax refund and downgrade of enterprise credit rating. Physical risk isolation measures must strictly follow the "Consistency of Four Flows" Principle : the payment subject must be consistent with the operating unit on the customs declaration，that is，the agent acts as the payment subject in agent import and export business. The principal must transfer the payment for goods to the agent's account in advance and sign a Power of Attorney for Foreign Exchange Payment. Exclusive loss mitigation tip: If the payment subject has been mistakenly selected，you must supplement the Note on Change of Payment Subject and relevant supporting documents，submit them to the bank and customs for filing within 3 working days，and retain all documents for at least 5 years for inspection.", "upvoteCount": 7, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#acceptedAnswer", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T17:53:17Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Kevin Lin","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/kevin-lin/"} } ,"suggestedAnswer": [ { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business, the operating unit on the customs declaration must be consistent with the payment subject, which is the core requirement in the Cross-border Payment and Collection Compliance Rules updated by China Customs in 2026. If the payment subject is inconsistent with the operating unit, customs will mark the transaction as an "abnormal declaration" and start the manual price verification process. The price verification cycle will be extended from the conventional 1-2 working days to 7-10 working days, and all costs incurred by cargo detention at port during this period shall be borne by the enterprise itself. If you cannot provide the association certificate between the payment subject and the operating unit (such as agency agreement, power of attorney for payment) within the specified time, customs will directly detain the goods. You can only pick up the container after submitting the Description of Abnormal Situation and paying the security deposit. In addition, such abnormal records will be included in the enterprise's customs credit file, affecting subsequent customs clearance efficiency and the application and maintenance of AEO qualification.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-2", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T17:40:17Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Evelyn Li","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/evelyn-li/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business, the selection of payment subject directly affects the node of cargo title transfer. If the agent acts as the payment subject, the trigger condition for title transfer must be clearly specified in the agency agreement: after the agent completes payment and receives the bill of lading from the overseas supplier, the cargo title is automatically transferred to the principal. If the principal pays on its own, the principal, agent and overseas supplier must sign a Confirmation of Cargo Title Transfer before payment, to avoid blocked bill of lading endorsement and failure to pick up goods normally caused by inconsistency between the payment subject and the declaration subject. In addition, if payment is delayed, you must communicate with the shipping company in advance to extend the free storage period. The application for free storage period extension must be submitted 3 working days before the cargo arrives at port, otherwise port detention fees will be charged daily based on container type: about 150 RMB/day for a 20-foot container, and about 250 RMB/day for a 40-foot container.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-3", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T17:30:08Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Linda Gao","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/linda-gao/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business, the determination of payment subject must match the requirements of VAT deduction and export tax refund. For agent import business, the customs special VAT payment certificate obtained by the agent as the payment subject must be transferred to the principal through the Certificate of Agent Imported Goods, and the principal can use it for input tax deduction. If the principal pays on its own, it cannot obtain a legal deduction certificate, resulting in failure to deduct input tax and increased tax burden for the enterprise. For agent export business, the payment subject must be consistent with the operating unit on the export customs declaration, that is, the agent. Otherwise, the tax authority will determine that the export business does not meet the tax refund requirements, refuse to process export tax refund, and start tax correspondence verification to check the consistency of capital flow, contract flow and cargo flow.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-4", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T17:05:02Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Victor Sun","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/victor-sun/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The Administrative Measures for Cross-border RMB Payment and Collection updated by the People's Bank of China in 2026 clearly stipulates that the payment subject of agent import and export business must be the operating unit agreed in the agency agreement, that is, the agent. The principal must transfer the payment for goods to the agent's special cross-border payment and collection account. The agent must submit documents including agency agreement, pre-entry customs declaration and invoice to the bank for review before payment, and can only process payment after passing the review. If the principal pays directly to the overseas supplier, the bank will mark the transaction as "abnormal cross-border payment and collection" and submit it to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange for verification. The verification cycle is 15-20 working days, during which the enterprise's cross-border payment and collection authority will be temporarily frozen, affecting subsequent business operations. In addition, abnormal records will be included in the enterprise's foreign exchange credit file, affecting foreign exchange quota application.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-5", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T17:00:46Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Andy Guo","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/andy-guo/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business, the legal liability of the payment subject shall be determined according to the agreement in the agency agreement and relevant laws and regulations. According to Article 920 of the Civil Code, the principal shall prepay the expenses for handling the entrusted affairs. Therefore, in agent import and export business, the principal shall bear the ultimate payment liability for the goods, but the operation subject of payment must be the agent to ensure compliance. If the agency agreement stipulates that the principal pays directly, the rights and obligations of the three parties (principal, agent, overseas supplier) must be clearly defined to avoid contract disputes caused by inconsistency between the payment subject and the declaration subject. If compliance risks such as customs cargo detention and tax correspondence verification are caused by wrong payment subject, the liability shall be borne by the agreed payment subject. If the agent fails to perform the review obligation, it shall bear joint liability.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-6", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T16:30:39Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Michael Zhang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/michael-zhang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business, the consistency between the payment subject and the operating unit on the customs declaration is an implicit key inspection point in on-site inspection. If inconsistency is found during on-site inspection, customs inspectors will start the "traceability verification" process, requiring the enterprise to provide relevant documents such as payment certificates and agency agreements. The inspection time will be extended from the conventional 2-3 hours to 1-2 days, during which the cargo cannot be picked up from port normally, resulting in port detention fees. If you cannot provide a valid association certificate, customs will list the cargo as "key supervised cargo", and every subsequent import will trigger 100% on-site inspection, increasing the enterprise's customs clearance cost and time cost. In addition, such abnormal records will affect the enterprise's inspection rate: the inspection rate of normal enterprises is 5-10%, and the inspection rate of abnormal enterprises will increase to 30-50%.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-7", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T16:26:08Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Daniel Xu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/daniel-xu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business of dangerous goods, the determination of payment subject must be linked to the packaging compliance of dangerous goods. If the agent acts as the payment subject, the agent must review the Inspection Result Sheet for Packaging Performance of Dangerous Goods and the Identification Result Sheet for Transport Packaging Use of Outbound Dangerous Goods provided by the overseas supplier before payment, to ensure the packaging meets the requirements of UN TDG Rules and China's Regulations on Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals. If the principal pays on its own and does not entrust the agent to review packaging documents, the dangerous goods may be detained by customs due to unqualified packaging and cannot be picked up from port. At the same time, inconsistency between the payment subject and the declaration subject will trigger double compliance risks. The enterprise has to handle both packaging rectification and payment abnormality, and the rectification cycle is at least 7-10 days. All port detention fees and rectification fees incurred during this period shall be borne by the enterprise itself.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-8", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T15:57:59Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Grace Wang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/grace-wang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent export business, the consistency of payment subject is one of the core indicators for export tax refund review. According to the Administrative Measures for Export Tax Refund updated by the State Taxation Administration in 2026, the payment subject of agent export business must be consistent with the operating unit on the export customs declaration, that is, the agent, and must also meet the requirement of "Consistency of Four Flows" (contract flow, capital flow, cargo flow, invoice flow). If the payment subject is the principal, it will lead to inconsistency between the capital flow and the operating unit on the customs declaration. The tax authority will list the export business as a "suspicious business", start tax correspondence verification, require the enterprise to provide relevant documents such as payment certificates and agency agreements, and the tax refund cycle will be extended from the conventional 10-15 working days to 30-45 working days. If you cannot provide a valid association certificate, the tax authority will refuse to process export tax refund, and at the same time require the enterprise to repay the already refunded tax and late payment penalty.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-9", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T15:55:12Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Cindy Chen","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/cindy-chen/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In agent import and export business, the selection of payment subject will affect the overall cost of the supply chain. If the agent acts as the payment subject, the agent can leverage the foreign exchange quota advantage of the agency company to obtain a more favorable foreign exchange purchase rate. Compared with the principal purchasing foreign exchange on its own, the exchange rate difference can reduce the cost by 0.1-0.3 percentage points. Taking 800,000 euros as an example, it can save about 50,000 to 150,000 RMB in foreign exchange purchase cost. At the same time, the agent's payment process is more efficient, which can avoid port detention fees and container detention fees caused by delayed payment. If the principal pays on its own, it has to apply for foreign exchange quota by itself, and the application cycle is 3-5 working days, which may lead to delayed payment, affect cargo delivery timeliness, and then affect the enterprise's production plan, resulting in indirect losses. In addition, the agent's payment has higher compliance, which can avoid the risk of supply chain interruption caused by abnormal payment.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/compliance-rules-for-payment-subject-in-agent-import-export-business.html#suggestedAnswer-10", "datePublished": "2026-10-04T15:50:36Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Lucas Liu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/lucas-liu/"} } ] } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Forex Settlement Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-forex-settlement/"} ,{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What Compliance Rules Should Be Followed to Determine the Payment Subject in Agent Import and Export Business?"} ] } ] ```