How will the policy support for Dongguan's transshipment trade in 2026 affect its development prospects?

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  • May 6, 2026 at 21:21
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I am the person in charge of an electronic product transshipment trade enterprise in Dongguan. In the past six months, I have found that business costs are getting higher and higher, and I heard that there are new trade policies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2026, but I don't know how to apply them specifically.

I was once penalized by the customs for non-compliant transshipment documents before, so I am very worried about compliance risks now. I would like to ask whether Dongguan's transshipment trade has prospects at all, how to seize policy dividends, and avoid those hidden pitfalls at the same time?

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

Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat

In the *Cross-Border Trade Facilitation 2.0 Measures* released by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2026，two core dividends for Dongguan as a South China transshipment hub are clearly defined: 72-hour fast customs clearance and VAT deferral to the final consumption location. These two policies directly reduce enterprises' capital occupation and customs clearance time costs，and are an important growth driver for Dongguan's transshipment trade.

Dongguan has hubs such as Humen Port and Shilong Railway International Logistics Center，which are suitable for transshipment of light goods such as electronic products and textiles. In terms of operation paths，enterprises first need to complete transshipment trade entity filing with Dongguan Customs. When filing，they need to submit the transshipment business flow of the past 12 months (enterprises with an annual average of more than 5 million US dollars are given priority). After the filing is approved，they can apply for the 72-hour fast customs clearance channel. For VAT deferral，they need to sign a "cargo title temporary storage agreement" with logistics providers in transit countries (such as Singapore and Malaysia) to ensure that the cargo title has not been transferred to China，so as to apply for deferral.

Compliance red lines must not be touched: it is strictly prohibited to falsely declare transshipment goods as general trade imports. The customs will conduct triple verification through manifest information，logistics trajectory and capital flow. Once false declaration is found，the filing qualification will be cancelled and a fine (up to 5 million yuan) will be imposed. In addition，the notify party on the bill of lading for transshipment goods should be the logistics provider of the transit country，not a domestic enterprise，to avoid being identified as domestic consignee.

Reference: Shanghai Port Transshipment Trade: Operations & Challenges
Daniel Xu
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat

The core of customs declaration for Dongguan's transshipment trade lies in the logical closed loop of "transshipment goods not entering domestic circulation". Enterprises need to ensure that the "notify party" on the bill of lading is the logistics provider of the transit country rather than a domestic enterprise, and the "port of destination" in the manifest information is consistent with the transit country.

In case of customs valuation disputes, they need to provide the warehousing agreement of the transit country and the next leg of transportation order as evidence to prove that the value of the goods has not appreciated domestically. In addition, transshipment documents should be marked with the words "TRANSIT GOODS", and the name and quantity of goods on all documents must be completely consistent to avoid detention due to inconsistent documents.

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

Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat

For the optimization of Dongguan's transshipment logistics routes, the "Humen Port - Singapore Port - Europe" route can be selected. This route has sufficient shipping space in 2026, and the free storage period at Singapore Port is extended to 14 days. In terms of cargo title control, it is recommended to use "order bill of lading", and the endorsement transfer requires double confirmation from Dongguan logistics providers and transit country logistics providers to avoid loss of cargo title.

For the transshipment of electronic products, the "rail-sea intermodal transport" scheme of Shilong Railway International Logistics Center can be selected, which saves 3-5 days compared with pure sea transport, and the cargo damage rate of rail transport is less than 0.5%. In addition, enterprises need to confirm the shipping space with the logistics provider 7 days in advance to avoid cargo detention at the port caused by space shortage.

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

Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat

Tax risks in transshipment trade mainly come from the identification of "profit shifting". Enterprises need to ensure that the pricing of related party transactions complies with the "arm's length principle" under Article 10 of BEPS, and can refer to the transshipment profit margin of the same industry (generally 5%-8%) to avoid tax adjustment and supplementary payment by the tax authority due to low pricing.

For VAT deferral, enterprises need to complete "secondary labeling" or "simple processing" (such as packaging replacement) of goods in the transit country to prove that the goods have not entered domestic circulation, so as to apply for deferral. In addition, the profits of transshipment trade should be accounted for in offshore accounts to avoid confusion with domestic profits leading to tax inspection.

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

International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat

Payment and receipt of foreign exchange for transshipment trade shall be made through RMB cross-border payment via the CIPS system, and "TRANSSHIPMENT TRADE" shall be marked in the SWIFT message. In terms of offshore account management, enterprises need to submit logistics documents (bill of lading, warehousing agreement) for transshipment business to the bank every month to ensure that the capital flow is consistent with the cargo flow.

When settling foreign exchange and balancing accounts, the warehousing fee invoice issued by the transit country logistics provider shall be used as the cost voucher to avoid account freezing due to no cost voucher. In addition, enterprises need to complete the balance of payments declaration within 30 days after receiving and paying foreign exchange, and the declaration content shall be consistent with the transshipment business.

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

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

The transshipment trade contract shall clearly specify the clause that "the ownership of goods shall not be transferred to the territory of China during transit", and add fallback measures for force majeure clauses (such as port strikes, policy changes). In terms of soft clauses of letters of credit, clauses requiring "the bill of lading to show the domestic consignee" shall be avoided, so as not to be identified as general trade.

In addition, enterprises need to sign a "cargo title guarantee agreement" with the transit country logistics provider to ensure that the goods are not misappropriated during transit. In case of cargo title disputes, an application for arbitration can be submitted to the arbitration institution of the transit country in accordance with the agreement.

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

Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat

When Dongguan Customs conducts on-site inspection of transshipment goods, it will focus on checking whether the "destination label" on the goods packaging is consistent with the transit country. If the label shows a domestic address, it will be determined as false declaration. Enterprises shall use removable transit labels during packaging, and replace them with final destination labels after the goods leave the port.

In addition, the next leg of transportation order of the transit country shall be provided during inspection to prove that the goods will continue to be transported to a third country. In case of abnormal machine inspection, cooperate with the customs for unpacking inspection, and prepare the MSDS and product specification of the goods in advance.

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

Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat

For the transshipment of electronic products, anti-static packaging conforming to UN3481 standard shall be used, and the MSDS shall be marked with "transit goods, not for final sale". In terms of moisture-proof reinforcement scheme, it is recommended to use vacuum packaging plus desiccant (500g per cubic meter) to avoid damage to goods due to moisture at the transit port.

For the transshipment of fragile goods, EPE pearl cotton with qualified cushioning performance (thickness not less than 5cm) shall be used, and the word "FRAGILE" shall be marked on the outside of the package. In addition, the packaging shall meet the import requirements of the transit country. For example, Singapore prohibits the use of wooden packaging (fumigation certificate is required).

Evelyn Li
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat

Transshipment trade is not within the scope of export tax rebate. Enterprises shall account for transshipment business separately from general trade business to avoid tax letter investigation caused by mixed accounting. For document filing, transshipment bills of lading, warehousing agreements, and foreign exchange receipt and payment vouchers shall be kept for at least 5 years for inspection by tax authorities.

In case of tax letter investigation, all relevant documents shall be provided within 15 days to prove the authenticity of the transshipment business. In addition, enterprises shall submit a monthly transshipment business report to the tax authority, and the content of the report shall be consistent with the bank flow to avoid delayed tax rebate caused by inconsistent data.

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