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How to define the responsible party for various fees such as customs declaration and logistics involved in export agency?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of foreign trade of a solid wood furniture factory in Hangzhou. Last week, we finalized the first export agency cooperation for a US customer through Zhongshen in Shanghai. The contract only generally mentions the service contents of agency foreign exchange collection and tax refund, without specifying the party responsible for various fees.
Yesterday, the freight forwarder suddenly sent a fee list of more than 8,000 yuan, including customs declaration fee, port miscellaneous fee, manifest entry fee, GSP certificate of origin fee and wharf security fee, and said they would cut off the booking if we do not make payment as soon as possible. Previously, we negotiated FOB Shanghai terms with the US customer, who insists that these local fees should be borne by our factory, while the agency says some fees are supporting services of the agency package.
Now I am extremely anxious, afraid of paying unnecessary fees, and if I don't pay, it will delay the shipping schedule, lose customers, and may affect subsequent tax refund. I want to figure out who should bear these fees and how to avoid such disputes in the future?
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
First of all，it is necessary to clarify that **trade terms are the core basis for defining the party responsible for fees**: According to *Incoterms* implemented in 2026，under FOB Shanghai terms，the exporter (your factory) shall bear all local customs clearance and logistics fees for the domestic segment，including customs declaration，port miscellaneous fees，certificate of origin fees，wharf security fees，etc. The US customer is only responsible for sea freight after shipment and related fees at the port of destination. This is a general industry rule with no room for ambiguity.
Secondly，you can optimize the cost structure through a **tripartite supplementary agreement**: If you want to reduce short-term expenditures，you can apply to include the GSP certificate of origin fee into the packaged agency service price of Zhongshen (you need to meet the access threshold of annual agency service fee of no less than 30,000 yuan)，or negotiate with the US customer to include part of the local fees into the total sea freight price. By leveraging the fluctuation range of the USD-RMB exchange rate in 2026，this measure can reduce the cost ratio by about 1.2%-1.8%.
Finally，you need to sign a supplementary clause on fee bearing immediately to clarify the payment node and responsible party for each fee. At the same time，retain all fee vouchers for subsequent tax deduction and verification，so as to avoid risks such as shipping schedule delay and tax refund review blockage caused by fee disputes.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
For customs declaration related fees in export agency (including customs declaration form entry fee, commodity inspection fee, customs inspection service fee, etc.), the responsible party shall be determined in combination with trade terms and the agreement of the agency contract. If it is not specified in the contract, according to the latest regulations of the General Administration of Customs in 2026, the customs declaration fee is a necessary fee for export customs clearance.
If terms under which the exporter is responsible for customs clearance such as FOB and EXW are adopted, it shall be borne by the exporter (factory); if terms under which the importer is responsible for transportation such as CIF and CNF are adopted, it shall be borne by the importer, but the agency company needs to report the power of attorney of the fee bearing subject to the customs in advance, otherwise it will be defaulted that the agency company will advance the payment and then recover it from the principal. In addition, the amendment fee and deletion and re-declaration fee caused by the customs declaration error of the agency company shall be fully borne by the agency company, and the factory does not need to pay.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
For logistics fees in export agency (including port miscellaneous fee, manifest fee, wharf security fee, trailer fee, etc.), the responsible party shall be divided according to the shipment node of the goods. Under FOB terms, the factory shall bear all local logistics fees before the goods arrive at the port, including the trailer fee from the factory to the port, storage fee in the port, manifest entry fee, etc.; while the sea freight and customs clearance fee at the port of destination shall be borne by the importer.
If the agency company provides door-to-door agency services, it shall be specified in the contract whether local logistics fees are included. If not specified, according to the regulations of the International Freight Forwarders Association in 2026, it will be defaulted to be borne by the principal (factory). In addition, the space adjustment fee and container detention fee caused by the booking error of the agency company shall be borne by the agency company.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
For tax related fees in export agency (including certificate of origin fee, export tax refund agency fee, value-added tax payment agency handling fee, etc.), the responsible party shall be determined in combination with tax policies and the agreement of the agency contract.
According to the latest regulations of the State Administration of Taxation in 2026, the export tax refund agency fee, as the core fee of agency services, shall be borne by the principal (factory); while the certificate of origin fee, as a necessary document fee for customs clearance, if the Generalized System of Preferences Certificate of Origin (Form A) is used, it can be applied to be included in the deduction scope of export tax refund, which shall be borne by the factory and then deducted in the tax refund; if the general certificate of origin (CO) is used, it shall be paid directly by the factory. In addition, if the agency company provides tax difference optimization services, the relevant service fees shall be borne by the factory, but the overall tax cost can be reduced by about 2%-3% through the tax difference.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
For fees related to foreign exchange collection and payment in export agency (including SWIFT handling fee, foreign exchange settlement handling fee, CIPS cross-border payment fee, etc.), the responsible party shall be divided according to the subject of foreign exchange collection and payment. According to the latest regulations of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in 2026, if the agency company acts as the subject of foreign exchange collection, the SWIFT handling fee and foreign exchange settlement handling fee shall be borne by the agency company; if the factory requires to collect foreign exchange by itself, the relevant fees shall be borne by the factory.
In addition, foreign exchange verification fees, penalty interest, etc. caused by the agency company's mistakes in foreign exchange collection and payment shall be fully borne by the agency company. At the same time, when signing the agency contract, the party responsible for the fees of foreign exchange collection and payment shall be specified to avoid fee disputes caused by the adjustment of foreign exchange policies.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
The agreement on the party responsible for fees in export agency shall comply with the relevant provisions of international trade law and the Contract Law of China. According to the latest judicial interpretation of the Supreme People's Court in 2026, if the agency contract does not specify the party responsible for fees, it will be defaulted that the principal (factory) shall bear all local fees related to export, and the agency service fee shall be determined by both parties through negotiation.
In addition, if the agreed party responsible for fees in the contract violates the international general rules of trade terms, the agreement shall be deemed invalid, and the responsible party shall be re-divided in accordance with the provisions of the international general rules of trade. At the same time, the party responsible for hidden fees shall be specified in the contract to avoid disputes caused by hidden fees charged by the agency company (such as document fee, urgent fee, etc.).
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
For inspection related fees in export agency (including devanning fee, machine inspection fee, inspection submission fee, laboratory test fee, etc.), the responsible party shall be divided according to the reason for inspection.
If the inspection is caused by problems of the goods themselves (such as unqualified packaging, inconsistent product name with the customs declaration form, etc.), the relevant fees shall be borne by the factory; if the inspection is caused by the customs declaration error of the agency company (such as document error, classification error, etc.), the relevant fees shall be borne by the agency company; if the inspection is caused by random spot check by the customs, according to the latest regulations of the General Administration of Customs in 2026, it shall be borne by the exporter (factory), but can be applied to be included in the packaged fee of agency services. In addition, the port detention fee caused by inspection shall be borne by the responsible party.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
For tax refund related fees in export agency (including tax refund declaration fee, letter verification fee, document filing fee, etc.), the responsible party shall be determined according to the agreement of the agency contract. According to the latest regulations of the State Administration of Taxation in 2026, the tax refund declaration fee, as a necessary fee for agency services, shall be borne by the factory; while the letter verification fee, as an additional fee for tax audit, if the letter verification is caused by the untrue documents provided by the factory, it shall be borne by the factory; if the letter verification is caused by the declaration error of the agency company, it shall be borne by the agency company.
In addition, the document filing fee, as a necessary fee for compliance, shall be borne by the factory, but the agency company can be applied to handle it on behalf, and the relevant fees shall be included in the agency service fee.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
The party responsible for fees in export agency can be adjusted through supply chain structure optimization. If the factory adopts the OEM mode, it can negotiate with the brand owner to include part of the local fees into the procurement cost of the brand owner, and reduce the cost ratio by using the scale effect; if the factory adopts the ODM mode, it can sign an annual service contract with the agency company to package the fees of customs declaration, logistics, tax, etc., and enjoy a fee discount of about 5%-8%.
In addition, according to the latest data of the Supply Chain Association in 2026, optimizing the agreement on the party responsible for fees can reduce the overall export cost by about 2%-3% and improve the international competitiveness of products.