How to Operate Dongguan Transit Trade in Full Compliance to Avoid Customs Detention Risk?

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  • May 17, 2026 at 21:14
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I am the person in charge of an export enterprise mainly engaged in outdoor furniture in Dongguan. Last month, the anti-dumping duty on our products imposed by the EU was raised to 62%, forcing us to switch to transit trade, which we have never been exposed to before.

Last week, I heard from peers that a friend's goods were detained by Dongguan Customs during transit due to inconsistent documents, which cost more than CNY 100,000 in port detention fees and document amendment fees alone, also delayed the delivery time to customers and lost large orders. I am very anxious now.

I just transported 20 containers of outdoor sofas to the Dongguan Port yard yesterday, and I am afraid of making mistakes in any link. I would like to ask how to operate Dongguan transit trade specifically, and what details should be paid attention to to avoid customs detention and port detention while controlling costs?

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Expert Q&A

Daniel Xu
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat

First of all，precise preliminary document review needs to be completed，which is the core premise of transit trade compliance. For transit goods shipped from Dongguan Port，a full set of documents should be submitted 3 working days in advance，including the certificate of origin issued by the third-party transshipment country，packing list，commercial invoice，and customs filing form of the transshipment country. Focus on reviewing the consistency of goods description in the documents -- for example，the material，model and quantity of outdoor furniture should be 100% matched with the actual goods. It is strictly prohibited to have marks or origin information of the original exporting country (China)，so as to avoid triggering customs inspection warning.

Seamless connection should be realized for core operation nodes: after container loading at Dongguan Port，pre-declaration of manifest should be arranged immediately，and the goods should be transferred to the designated yard of the transshipment country simultaneously. The local agent shall complete transit customs clearance，container replacement (physically isolate traces of the original exporting country)，re-issue the certificate of origin of the transshipment country and other operations. During this process，the ownership of goods shall be controllable throughout the whole process to avoid unauthorized disposal of goods by the transit agent.

Abnormal contingency plans should be formulated in advance: if Dongguan Port Customs triggers inspection，the compliance explanation letter for transit trade and qualification documents of the transshipment country agent shall be submitted immediately to prove that the goods are only for transit rather than directly exported to the destination country，if port detention occurs in the transshipment country，an agreement on extending the free storage period shall be signed with the local yard in advance to extend the free storage period from the conventional 7 days to 14 days，so as to avoid high port detention fees.

At the final compliance implementation stage，the closed loop of payment and receipt should be completed simultaneously: the agency fees of the transshipment country shall be settled in RMB through the CIPS system，and the payment for goods from the destination country shall be collected through an offshore account to ensure that the capital flow is consistent with the goods flow and document flow，so as to avoid triggering cross-border capital verification by tax authorities.

Reference: India Extends Anti-Dumping Duties on Chinese EVA Plastic Sheets
Jason Wu
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat

For the customs declaration link of Dongguan transit trade, focus should be placed on the price review logic and compliance closed loop. The customs will review the rationality of the transit cost of transit goods.

If the declared transit cost deviates from the average market price by more than 15%, it will trigger a price review dispute. Logistics quotations, container replacement agreements and other vouchers of the transshipment country should be prepared in advance to prove the authenticity of the expenses.

If there is a need to delete and re-declare, the revised documents shall be submitted within 3 working days as stipulated by Dongguan Port Customs, and the manifest information shall be updated simultaneously to avoid port detention caused by inconsistency between the manifest and the customs declaration form. In addition, the "trade mode" column of the customs declaration form for transit trade shall be clearly marked with "transit goods", and it is strictly prohibited to fill in incorrectly as "general trade", otherwise it will be deemed as illegal export, facing fines and customs detention risks.

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

Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat

The logistics path selection of Dongguan transit trade should take both goods right control and cost efficiency into account. Transshipment ports with direct routes, such as Singapore and Port Klang, Malaysia, should be given priority to avoid multiple transshipments increasing the risk of cargo damage and port detention. On-site supervision of loading shall be carried out at Dongguan Port during loading to ensure that the origin marks on the goods packaging are completely covered or removed.

For the container replacement link, the transit country agent shall be required to shoot the whole process of container replacement video to keep the voucher of goods right transfer. In case of container rolling, a priority stowage agreement shall be signed with the shipping company in advance to ensure that the goods are re-stowed within 48 hours, and apply to the shipping company for exemption of container detention fees. The bill of lading endorsement shall adopt blank endorsement to avoid restricted goods right caused by designated endorsement, which affects the circulation of goods in the transit link.

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

Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat

Tax planning for Dongguan transit trade should focus on VAT deferral and related transaction pricing. Transit trade is not within the scope of export tax rebate, so there is no need to handle export tax rebate declaration. However, if transit goods are incorrectly declared as general trade exports, you will face the risk of tax correspondence and investigation.

You can reasonably allocate trade profits by setting up an offshore subsidiary in the transshipment country, and use the low tax rate policy of the transshipment country to reduce the overall tax burden. At the same time, ensure that the related transaction pricing complies with BEPS rules, so as to avoid being deemed as profit transfer by the tax authorities.

In addition, the capital flow of transit trade shall be consistent with the goods flow and document flow. It is strictly prohibited to receive and pay goods through personal accounts, otherwise it will trigger the obligation to pay withholding tax for non-resident enterprises.

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

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

The payment and receipt operation of Dongguan transit trade shall strictly comply with cross-border payment compliance requirements. RMB cross-border payment shall be handled through the CIPS system to avoid remittance being returned due to inconsistent message information when using the SWIFT system. The funds in the offshore account shall be separately accounted for the income and expenditure under the transit trade item, and it is strictly prohibited to mix with general trade funds, otherwise it will be listed as a high-risk account by the bank and face the risk of account freezing.

When settling foreign exchange, a full set of documents for transit trade, including the certificate of origin of the transshipment country, bill of lading, commercial invoice, etc., shall be submitted to prove the compliance of the source of funds. In case of delay in foreign exchange collection, an application for deferred foreign exchange collection shall be submitted to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange before the expiration of the foreign exchange collection period, so as to avoid being deemed as illegal foreign exchange collection.

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

Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat

Perfect legal agreements shall be signed for Dongguan transit trade. The agreement signed with the transshipment country agent shall clearly specify clauses such as ownership of goods, container replacement responsibility, document issuance time limit, etc., to avoid goods loss or document delay caused by the agent's negligence.

Force majeure clauses shall be added to the agreement to clarify the division of responsibilities in case of political unrest or changes in customs policies in the transshipment country, and require the transshipment country agent to provide a letter of indemnity (LOI) to ensure that it can perform relevant obligations. The contract signed with foreign customers shall clearly specify that the goods are under transit trade, so as to avoid customers claiming compensation due to ignorance, and the intellectual property rights of the goods shall be filed for customs protection to prevent the goods from encountering infringement complaints during transit or in the destination country.

Victor Sun
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat

Preparations shall be made in advance for on-site customs inspection of Dongguan transit trade. If you receive the inspection notice from Dongguan Customs, you shall immediately arrange professional personnel to be present for cooperation, and it is strictly prohibited to unpack or move the goods without permission.

During inspection, you shall explain to the customs officers that the goods are under transit trade, and present the qualification documents of the transshipment country agent and the transit trade agreement, so as to avoid the customs mistakenly identifying the goods as general trade exports. Pre-inspection of the goods shall be carried out in advance to ensure that there are no marks, bar codes and other information of the original exporting country on the package.

If any missing marks are found, they shall be covered or removed immediately at the site of Dongguan Port. If the customs requires sample testing, you shall cooperate to provide the material test report of the goods to ensure that the test results are consistent with the document description, so as to avoid customs detention caused by inconsistent testing.

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