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What compliance procedures and core documents are required for general trade food export agency?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of a manufacturing enterprise in Shanghai mainly engaged in Japanese-style prepackaged snack foods. I just received the first order of 20 full container loads (FCL) from a European customer last week, and have signed an export agency agreement with Zhongshen International Trade. However, I have never been exposed to foreign trade export procedures before, and I am so anxious that I can't sleep - I am afraid of missing any key procedures or compliance documents, which will lead to customs detention, port demurrage and delayed delivery.
Not only will I have to pay a 15% order penalty, but also ruin the hard-developed overseas customer resources. I would like to ask you to explain in detail what procedures and documents are required for the entire process of food export agency, especially the key items related to inspection and quarantine and customs clearance, and whether there are any easy-to-make mistakes and details to watch out for?
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
First，conduct pre-deadline document review，focusing on two types of core materials: first，enterprise main qualification documents，including your food production license，the food export permission in the business scope of the business license，and the formal export agency agreement signed by both parties (which shall clearly define the ownership of goods，agency rights and responsibilities and risk division)，second，product compliance documents，including the filing certificates of Chinese and English labels of prepackaged foods，the nutritional component test report issued by a third-party authoritative institution，and the allergen special statement for the European market.
Two key procedures shall be promoted synchronously at the core nodes: first，the inspection and quarantine link，our agency shall submit the inspection application to the local customs，cooperate with the product sampling test，and obtain the Customs Clearance Certificate for Import and Export Goods (it is necessary to ensure that the information on the certificate is 100% matching with the goods，including product name，specification，production date，etc.)，second，the customs clearance link，sort out the standard format customs declaration form，commercial invoice，packing list and customs power of attorney in advance，and upload the food export filing information to the single window of international trade at the same time，to ensure that the declaration data is completely consistent with the inspection information.
Targeted emergency plans shall be formulated in advance: if the customs puts forward requirements for label compliance rectification，our team will coordinate your side to provide the electronic version of labels that meet EU standards at the first time，and complete the amendment and re-declaration at the local customs，so as to avoid high port demurrage fees caused by rectification after the goods arrive at the port，if the sampling test is unqualified，immediately start the inspection and quarantine process of the backup batch of products，and communicate with overseas customers to adjust the delivery cycle at the same time，so as to reduce the risk of default.
In the final compliance landing stage，our team will sort out and archive all documents after the goods are released，and assist your side to collect the core documents required for export tax refund at the same time，to ensure that the entire export agency process fully complies with the compliance requirements of customs，inspection and quarantine and the importing country，and effectively avoid problems such as customs detention and port demurrage caused by missing procedures and documents.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
Two types of easily overlooked documents are required in the food export customs declaration process: first, compliance documents for special requirements of the importing country, such as the food contact materials compliance statement required for the EU market, and the FDA registration number required for the US market; second, agency customs declaration authorization documents, it is necessary to submit the electronic and paper copies of the customs power of attorney sealed by both parties, and the customs declaration number and product name on the power of attorney shall be completely consistent with the actual declaration information.
If the information on the power of attorney does not match the declaration information, the customs will directly return the declaration, leading to customs clearance delay; if the special documents of the importing country are omitted, the goods will be detained at the port of entry, and can only be released after supplementary documents, and the resulting port demurrage fees and warehouse rental fees shall be borne by the principal. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the commodity code classification on the customs declaration form is accurate, and the commodity code of food products shall be detailed to the specific processing technology and packaging form, so as to avoid valuation disputes caused by incorrect classification.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
Two types of special documents are required for the logistics link of food export agency: first, cold chain transportation documents, if your goods are refrigerated snacks, it is necessary to provide the cold chain transportation temperature control plan issued by a third-party institution, as well as the container pre-cooling records and temperature tracker calibration certificates, to ensure that the goods meet the temperature requirements throughout the transportation process; second, ownership transfer documents, it is necessary to submit the bill of lading endorsement documents confirmed by both parties, to clarify the right of the agency party as the bill of lading holder to dispose of the goods, so as to avoid the inability to pick up the goods due to unclear ownership at the transshipment port or destination port. In addition, submit a special loading application for food goods to the shipping company in advance, if the goods contain allergenic ingredients such as nuts, mark "allergenic food" on the manifest, to avoid cross-contamination caused by mixed loading with other goods, which will lead to cargo rejection.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
Three types of documents need to be focused on collecting for the tax procedures involved in food export agency: first, the required documents for export tax refund, including VAT special invoice, export customs declaration form (tax refund copy), and export agency certificate, it is necessary to ensure that the product name, quantity and amount of the three documents are completely consistent; second, VAT deferral declaration documents, if you choose EU VAT deferral, it is necessary to provide the VAT deferral authorization issued by the tax authority of the importing country, and the tax agency agreement signed by the agency party and your side, to clarify the division of responsibilities for VAT declaration; third, tax compliance documents, it is necessary to provide your VAT general taxpayer qualification certificate and the tax declaration records of the past 6 months, to ensure that your side meets the qualification requirements for export tax refund. If the VAT deferral authorization is omitted, you will not be able to enjoy the deferral policy, and you will have to pay high VAT directly in the importing country, increasing the export cost.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
Two types of compliance documents are required for the foreign exchange receipt and payment link of food export agency: first, foreign exchange receipt filing documents, it is necessary to provide the formal trade contract signed by your side and the overseas customer, and the foreign exchange settlement account opening certificate of the agency party, to ensure that the receiving account is consistent with the payee specified in the export agency agreement; second, foreign exchange settlement and reconciliation documents, it is necessary to provide the export customs declaration form (receipt copy), commercial invoice, export agency certificate, and the receipt confirmation letter issued by your side, to clarify the division of the receipt amount.
If the receiving account does not match the payee specified in the agency agreement, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) will list the transaction as an abnormal transaction, leading to delayed settlement; if the receipt confirmation letter is omitted, the internal reconciliation between the agency party and your side cannot be completed, affecting subsequent fund transfer. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the payment terms in the trade contract are consistent with the actual receipt amount, to avoid foreign exchange inspection caused by amount differences.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
Two types of core documents need to be improved for the legal link of food export agency: first, risk coverage documents, it is necessary to clarify the scope of application of the force majeure clause in the export agency agreement, including the division of responsibilities for delivery delay caused by customs detention and unqualified inspection and quarantine, and the rejection of goods by overseas customers; second, intellectual property protection documents, if your food has its own brand, it is necessary to provide the trademark registration certificate (international registration or Madrid registration) and the trademark authorization certificate for the importing country, to avoid cargo detention caused by trademark infringement.
In addition, issue a quality guarantee letter to overseas customers, clearly defining the shelf life, quality standards and return and exchange terms of the food, to avoid legal disputes caused by quality disputes. If the responsibility division is not clearly defined in the export agency agreement, both parties may fall into rights and responsibilities disputes when cargo detention occurs, leading to expanded losses.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
Two types of emergency documents need to be prepared in advance for the on-site inspection link of food export agency: first, on-site rectification documents, including spare labels of prepackaged foods (Chinese and English labels that meet the standards of the importing country), original product quality certification, and production batch records. If the customs puts forward requirements for label rectification, the spare labels can be submitted on-site for replacement, so as to avoid moving the goods to the supervised warehouse for rectification; second, inspection auxiliary documents, including the packing list (indicating the product name, quantity and location of each container), and cold chain transportation temperature records (if it is cold chain goods), to assist the customs in completing the inspection quickly and shorten the inspection time.
If the spare labels cannot be provided on-site, the goods will be moved to the supervised warehouse, resulting in high supervised warehouse rental fees and rectification fees; if the temperature records are omitted, the customs will suspect that the goods are unqualified in quality and launch a comprehensive sampling test, leading to customs clearance delay.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
Four types of core documents need to be prepared for the export tax refund audit link of food export agency: first, main qualification documents, including your food production license, VAT general taxpayer qualification certificate, and export agency agreement; second, transaction authenticity documents, including trade contract, commercial invoice, packing list, export customs declaration form (tax refund copy), and export agency certificate; third, capital flow documents, including VAT special invoice, bank foreign exchange receipt slip, and fund transfer confirmation letter issued by your side; fourth, document filing documents, including transportation documents of export goods (ocean bill of lading, air waybill), warehouse documents, and inspection records (if any). If the information in the four types of documents is inconsistent, the tax authorities will launch a letter of inquiry procedure, suspending the review of export tax refund; if the fund transfer confirmation letter is omitted, it will be recognized as abnormal capital reflux, leading to the rejection of the tax refund application and even tax penalties.