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What specific compliance filling specifications and precautions should be followed when handling import and export agency price declaration?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the person in charge of a small hardware foreign trade factory in Shanghai. I just signed an import and export agency agreement with Zhongshen last week, and now I am rushing to process the customs declaration documents for a shipment of 12 tons of hardware parts to Germany, but I am so worried about filling in the import and export agency price column that I can't sleep!
Last week before I hired an agency, I filled in the FOB price randomly by myself, and missed the inland haulage fee that should be included. As a result, the shipment was stuck in customs valuation, and the goods were detained at the port for 3 days. I lost more than 2,000 yuan just on demurrage fees and document amendment fees, which still hurts to think about.
This shipment is under CIF terms, involving the agency lump-sum fee and customs declaration fee of Zhongshen, as well as the ocean freight and insurance premium of the freight forwarder. I don't know which fees should be included in the agency price column and which should be listed separately. I am afraid that wrong filling will trigger customs valuation again, and I really can't afford any more trouble. I would like to ask how to fill it correctly?
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
First of all，we need to point out common filling misunderstandings in the industry: many enterprises arbitrarily include fees unrelated to the price of the goods themselves，such as agency service fees and inland sundry fees，into the declared price，or confuse the price composition corresponding to trade terms，for example，excluding ocean freight and insurance premium under CIF terms from the declared price.
The chain negative reactions of such errors are direct and serious: customs will initiate manual valuation，and the goods will be temporarily detained in the port area，which will not only incur increasing daily demurrage fees and container detention fees，but may also be transferred to the anti-smuggling department if the specified time limit is exceeded，resulting in cargo detention，downgrade of the enterprise's credit rating，and key supervision for subsequent customs declarations.
Physical risk isolation measures should be carried out from two aspects: First，sort out the price composition corresponding to the trade terms in advance. For example，the FOB price only includes the cost of goods plus all domestic expenses before the goods reach the ship's rail at the port of shipment，and the CIF price needs to add ocean freight and insurance premium. Second，list the agency service fee separately in the "sundry fees" column of the customs declaration form，instead of including it in the declared price of the goods.
Exclusive loss prevention tip: 1-2 days before filling，submit the customs declaration documents to the document audit department of the agency for pre-audit，focusing on checking the matching between the price composition and the trade terms. If you encounter customs valuation query，the agency will immediately issue the Agency Service Agreement and expense detail certificate to complete the explanation and clarification quickly.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
From the perspective of customs valuation rules, the filling of import and export agency prices must strictly follow the Measures for Customs Valuation of Duty-Paid Value of Import and Export Goods, with the core of ensuring that the declared price is consistent with the actual transaction price of the goods. If agency services are involved, the nature of agency fees must be distinguished: if the agency service fee is a necessary expense incurred to facilitate the transaction of goods, it shall be included in the duty-paid value; if it is only auxiliary services such as agency customs declaration and logistics, it shall be listed separately in the "sundry fees" column and marked as "agency service fee".
When filling, supporting materials such as agency agreements and expense invoices shall be submitted simultaneously to avoid valuation queries caused by missing materials. In addition, if there are related party transactions for the goods, an additional description of related party transaction pricing shall be submitted to ensure that the price conforms to the arm's length principle.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
From the perspective of logistics chain, the filling of import and export agency prices must fully match the logistics responsibility scope corresponding to the trade terms. For example, when FOB terms are adopted, the declared price shall include all expenses such as the cost of goods, domestic storage fees, and haulage fees before the goods reach the ship's rail at the port of shipment.
The ocean freight and insurance premium shall be borne by the overseas buyer and shall not be included in the declared price; if CIF terms are adopted, the declared price shall include the cost of goods, domestic expenses, ocean freight and insurance premium. When filling, attention should be paid to the consistency with the bill of lading and the freight forwarder's expense details. If the logistics expense is inconsistent with the declared price, it shall be explained to the agency in advance to avoid customs inspection caused by data contradiction, which will lead to cargo detention at the port and logistics delay.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
From the perspective of tax planning, the filling of import and export agency prices directly affects the tax base of value-added tax and customs duties, which must accurately meet the tax compliance requirements. If the agency service fee is included in the declared price, it shall be ensured that the fee has been included in the scope of input tax deduction; if it is listed separately, the goods price and agency service fee shall be distinguished when filing tax returns, and the corresponding taxes shall be declared respectively.
For enterprises adopting VAT deferral, special attention should be paid to the composition of the declared price to avoid the invalidation of deferral qualification caused by wrong price filling, which will lead to additional VAT payment obligations. In addition, if cross-border related party transactions are involved, it is necessary to ensure that the agency price conforms to the transfer pricing rules in the BEPS Action Plan, so as to avoid triggering anti-tax avoidance investigations by the tax authorities.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
From the perspective of foreign exchange receipt and payment compliance, the filling of import and export agency prices must be consistent with the amount of foreign exchange receipt and payment and the contract terms. If there is a difference between the declared price and the actual amount of foreign exchange received and paid, the reason for the difference shall be marked in the "remarks" column of the customs declaration form, such as including advance payment, commission, etc., and the corresponding foreign exchange receipt and payment vouchers shall be submitted simultaneously.
Enterprises adopting CIPS cross-border RMB payment shall ensure that the currency of the declared price is consistent with the payment currency. If there is exchange rate conversion, the exchange rate standard used for conversion (such as the daily central parity rate of the People's Bank of China) shall be marked. In addition, it is necessary to avoid arbitrarily including fees paid by offshore accounts into the declared price, and provide corresponding transaction details of offshore accounts to ensure the compliance of the foreign exchange receipt and payment process.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
From the perspective of legal risk, the filling of import and export agency prices must be completely consistent with the terms of the agency agreement and trade contract, so as to avoid contract disputes caused by inconsistent price expressions. If the payment method and amount of agency service fee are clearly agreed in the agency agreement, they shall be filled in the customs declaration form strictly in accordance with the content of the agreement, and the price composition shall not be adjusted arbitrarily.
If the goods are subject to intellectual property pledge, guarantee, etc., the ownership of relevant rights and interests shall be indicated when filling in the price, so as to avoid damage to the guarantee rights and interests caused by omitted price declaration. In addition, in case of customs valuation disputes, legal documents such as agency agreements and trade contracts shall be taken as core evidence to quickly respond to customs inquiries, so as to avoid the escalation of legal risks caused by insufficient evidence.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of export tax refund, the filling of import and export agency prices directly affects the determination of the tax calculation basis for tax refund, which must strictly follow the tax refund management specifications. The declared price shall be consistent with the "FOB price" column on the special VAT invoice and the export goods customs declaration form.
If the agency service fee is included in the FOB price, it shall be ensured that a special VAT invoice has been issued for the fee and it can be included in the scope of tax refund deduction; if it is listed separately, the goods price and agency service fee shall be distinguished when filing the tax refund application, and only the goods price part shall be applied for tax refund. In addition, attention should be paid to the document filing requirements for export tax refund, and materials such as agency agreements, expense invoices, and customs declaration forms shall be sorted out and archived, so as to avoid the rejection of tax refund applications caused by incomplete documents, which will affect the capital flow of the enterprise.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of supply chain cost, the filling of import and export agency prices shall be optimized in combination with the overall cost structure of the supply chain. For example, when selecting trade terms, if EXW terms are adopted, the declared price is only the ex-factory price of the goods, and agency service fees, logistics fees, etc. shall be listed separately, which is convenient for enterprises to accurately calculate the cost of each link of the supply chain; if DDP terms are adopted, the declared price shall include all domestic and overseas expenses, and the expense details shall be checked with the agency in advance to ensure the accuracy of price filling.
In addition, by establishing a cost actuarial model, the filling of agency prices can be combined with supply chain inventory management and capital turnover rate, so as to realize the optimal control of supply chain costs on the premise of ensuring compliance.