--- title: "Is It Mandatory for Agent to Collect Payment in Export Agency Business? What Are the Compliance Boundaries?" description: "For small and medium-sized production enterprises that entrust export agency for the first time，they worry about fund interception when entrusting agent to collect payment，fear that self-collection of foreign exchange will trigger compliance risks，and also worry about impacts on export tax refund. In fact，payment collection by agent is not mandatory for export agency，and operation shall be carried out in compliance according to trade modes: self-collection requires consistency of four flows，whil..." url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html" language: "en" type: "Q&A" category: "Export Agency Q&A" datePublished: "2026-05-15" dateModified: "2026-05-15" brand: "Zhongshen Trading China" answerCount: 9 --- # Is It Mandatory for Agent to Collect Payment in Export Agency Business? What Are the Compliance Boundaries? ## Question I run a small and medium-sized hardware accessories manufacturing enterprise in Shanghai, and this is our first time doing foreign trade export. We only accepted orders from domestic distributors before, and recently we finally negotiated an order of 120,000 euros with a European client, and appointed Zhongshen as our export agency. But now I am so worried that I can barely eat: on one hand, I am afraid that if we let the agent collect payment, they will intercept the fund or delay transfer, which will break our already tight cash flow, and we will not even be able to pay workers' salaries; on the other hand, I heard from peers that if we do not use agent collection, it will be deemed non-compliant, which will not only cause clearance hold-up at customs, but also affect export tax refund, and may even trigger tax inspection. I am really anxious now and just want to figure out: is payment collection by agent mandatory for export agency? Will it really cause so many problems if we do not use agent collection? What key risks should we note if we choose agent collection? ## Answers ### Answer 1 — Best Answer First，we reveal two common industry misconceptions: first，"payment collection by agent is mandatory for export agency"，this is a cognitive bias of most small and medium-sized exporters，and there is no mandatory policy requirement for this so far，second，"agent collection means the agent bears full responsibility for capital safety"，the agent is only responsible for transferring funds according to the agreement，and does not bear full liability for payment default by overseas clients. If you fall into the first misconception，the enterprise may be forced to accept high collection fees charged by the agent (usually 0.5%-1% of the total payment)，and even suffer payment detention if the agent's account is frozen due to other disputes，which will further lead to failure to pay suppliers on time，wage arrears，and more importantly，trigger tax correspondence inspection and affect export tax refund due to inconsistency between foreign exchange collecting entity and customs declaration entity，if you credulously believe the second misconception，the enterprise will relax credit verification for overseas clients，once the overseas client defaults on payment due to market fluctuations，the agent does not need to bear compensation liability，the enterprise will directly face full payment loss，and even lose clients due to failure to replenish goods on time. Risk isolation measures: **Be sure to sign an independent capital supervision agreement with the agent**，designate an exclusive collection account，clarify the transfer timeline after payment arrives (no more than 3 working days)，and require the agent to provide bank credit advice simultaneously. Exclusive loss mitigation tips: **You can require the agent to collect foreign exchange via CIPS RMB cross-border payment channel**，which guarantees arrival within no more than 2 working days，at the same time，negotiate a payment mode of 30% deposit + 70% payment against bill of lading copy with the overseas client to reduce the risk of full loss. If you choose self-collection，you need to report to the agent in advance to ensure consistency between the foreign exchange collecting entity on the customs declaration and the actual collecting entity，meeting the compliance requirement of four flows. **status:** accepted **Author:** Eric Zhou **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 2 From the perspective of customs declaration compliance, the consistency between foreign exchange collecting entity and customs declaration entity is the core audit point for agency export. If an enterprise chooses self-collection, it must clearly mark "self-collection" in the "collection method" column of the customs declaration, and submit the entrustment agreement between the collecting entity and the agent to customs simultaneously to prove the connection between the two entities. If there is no such mark and the agreement cannot be provided, customs will list the order as "abnormal foreign exchange collection", trigger on-site inspection, prolong customs clearance time, and even lead to the customs declaration being put on hold, and supplementary materials are required for further clearance. In addition, if the self-collection account is an offshore account, additional proof of capital source of the offshore account is required to avoid being identified as "abnormal collection" which affects subsequent customs declaration qualifications. **status:** suggested **Author:** Jason Wu **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 3 From the perspective of cargo title control in international logistics, payment collection by agent for agency export is directly related to bill of lading endorsement. If you choose agent collection, the freight forwarder is usually required to endorse the bill of lading to the agent, and the agent will deliver the endorsed bill of lading to the overseas client after receiving payment, so as to control cargo title; if you choose self-collection, the bill of lading needs to be endorsed directly to the enterprise, and the enterprise will arrange delivery of the bill of lading by itself after receiving payment. However, if the overseas client defaults on payment, the enterprise needs to contact the freight forwarder urgently to change the bill or cancel telex release, otherwise, after the goods arrive at the port and exceed the free storage period, there will be port storage fees and container detention fees, and the goods may even be auctioned by customs. In addition, if you choose self-collection, you need to agree on trigger conditions for cargo title transfer with the freight forwarder in advance to avoid cargo title out of control caused by untimely communication. **status:** suggested **Author:** Michael Zhang **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 4 From the perspective of international tax planning, payment collection by agent for agency export is related to the compliance of cross-border tax structure. If an enterprise chooses self-collection, it needs to ensure consistency between foreign exchange collecting entity and profit attribution entity, so as to avoid triggering BEPS investigation caused by unfair pricing of cross-border related party transactions. For example, if an enterprise transfers profits to an overseas related party after self-collection via an offshore account without compliant declaration, it will be identified as base erosion by tax authorities, and is required to pay back tax plus late payment surcharge. If you choose agent collection, the agent will declare in accordance with domestic tax requirements, the enterprise can apply for VAT deferral through the agent's tax planning scheme, reduce capital occupation cost, and avoid cross-border tax risks at the same time. In addition, the agent collection fee can be deducted before tax as the enterprise's sales expense, further reducing tax cost. **status:** suggested **Author:** Evelyn Li **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 5 From the perspective of cross-border payment and collection compliance, payment collection by agent for agency export must comply with the specification requirements of SWIFT messages or CIPS messages. If you choose agent collection, you must clearly mark "agency foreign exchange collection" in the message and provide the agency agreement number simultaneously, otherwise the bank will list the remittance as "suspicious transaction", trigger anti-money laundering audit, and lead to payment detention for 3-7 working days. If you choose self-collection, you need to ensure the collection account is the enterprise's corporate foreign exchange account, and the account has completed name list registration with SAFE, accounts without registration cannot receive overseas remittance. In addition, whether you choose agent collection or self-collection, you must complete international balance of payments declaration within 30 days after collection. Failure to declare will result in a fine of 5%-10% of the single transaction amount imposed by SAFE, and even suspension of the enterprise's collection qualification. **status:** suggested **Author:** Lucas Liu **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 6 From the perspective of legal risk in international trade, a clear fund transfer agreement must be signed for agent collection in agency export to avoid the legal misconception that "agent collection means the agent bears full liability". If the agreement does not clearly specify that the agent is only responsible for collection and transfer, and does not exclude full liability, once the overseas client defaults on payment, the enterprise may claim compensation from the agent on the grounds of "agent collection", but courts usually rule that the agent is only the trustee and does not need to bear payment liability. In addition, if you choose self-collection, you must specify self-collection terms in the agency agreement, to avoid the agent refusing to cooperate with export tax refund procedures on the grounds of "no agent collection" due to no relevant agreement. At the same time, the collecting entity must be clearly specified in the sales contract signed with the overseas client, to avoid cross-border litigation caused by inconsistency between contract entity and collecting entity. **status:** suggested **Author:** Kevin Lin **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 7 From the perspective of customs on-site inspection, the collection method of agency export will affect the probability of triggering inspection. If you choose self-collection and do not clearly mark it on the customs declaration, the customs system will automatically classify the order as "abnormal collection information", and the probability of triggering controlled inspection increases by more than 30%. The inspection includes checking whether the actual value of goods is consistent with the declared value on the customs declaration. If there is a discrepancy, it will be identified as under-reporting of price, and the enterprise is required to pay back tariff plus late payment surcharge. If you choose agent collection, the agent will provide the bank credit advice of collection simultaneously as supporting material for goods value, reducing the probability of triggering inspection. In addition, if relevant collection certificates cannot be provided during inspection, the goods will be detained, and can only be released after supplementary materials are submitted, resulting in additional port storage fees and warehousing fees. **status:** suggested **Author:** Linda Gao **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 8 From the perspective of export tax refund compliance, agent collection is one of the core links to ensure consistency of four flows. Consistency of four flows refers to consistent entities of contract flow, capital flow, invoice flow and goods flow. If you choose self-collection, you need to ensure the collecting entity is consistent with the "operating unit" (that is, the agent company) on the customs declaration, or provide the entrustment agreement for foreign exchange collection between the agent and the enterprise to prove the connection of the collecting entity. If the four flows are not consistent, the tax authority will trigger correspondence inspection, requiring the enterprise to provide collection certificates, contracts, invoices and other materials. The correspondence inspection cycle is usually 1-3 months, which will lead to delayed arrival of export tax refund, and even rejection of the tax refund application due to failure to provide compliant materials. If you choose agent collection, the agent will sort out collection certificates and tax refund materials simultaneously, ensure consistency of four flows, reduce the probability of correspondence inspection, and the tax refund arrival time can be shortened to 15-20 days. **status:** suggested **Author:** Daniel Xu **Date:** 2026-05-15 ### Answer 9 From the perspective of supply chain structure optimization, agent collection for agency export is directly related to the enterprise's capital turnover rate. If you choose agent collection, the enterprise can agree on an "immediate transfer upon arrival" clause with the agent, the capital turnover rate can be increased by more than 20%, and there is no need to maintain the foreign exchange account by yourself, reducing account management costs; if you choose self-collection, the enterprise needs to arrange special personnel to be responsible for foreign exchange account management, international balance of payments declaration and other work, labor cost increases by about 15%, and due to uncertain collection timeline, the inventory turnover cycle will be prolonged, increasing warehousing costs. In addition, from the perspective of the overall supply chain, choosing agent collection can leverage the agent's capital settlement network to reduce losses caused by exchange rate fluctuations. Agents usually provide exchange rate locking services to help enterprises avoid exchange rate difference risks and improve supply chain stability. **status:** suggested **Author:** Grace Wang **Date:** 2026-05-15 ## Related Categories - [Import Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-import-agency/) - [Export Tax Rebate Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-tax-rebate/) - [Customs Declaration Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-customs-declaration/) - [Freight Forwarding Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-freight-forwarding/) - [Forex Settlement Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-forex-settlement/) - [Entrepôt Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-entrepot-trade/) - [General Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-general-trade/) ## Related Resources - [Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/services/) - [Trade Cases](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/cases/) - [Trade Wiki](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/wiki/) - [Trade Class](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/guide/) - [Global Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/country/) ## Structured Data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "QAPage", "inLanguage":"en", "isPartOf": { "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#website" }, "publisher":{ "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#organization" }, "mainEntity": { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is It Mandatory for Agent to Collect Payment in Export Agency Business? What Are the Compliance Boundaries?", "text": "I run a small and medium-sized hardware accessories manufacturing enterprise in Shanghai, and this is our first time doing foreign trade export. We only accepted orders from domestic distributors before, and recently we finally negotiated an order of 120,000 euros with a European client, and appointed Zhongshen as our export agency. But now I am so worried that I can barely eat: on one hand, I am afraid that if we let the agent collect payment, they will intercept the fund or delay transfer, which will break our already tight cash flow, and we will not even be able to pay workers' salaries; on the other hand, I heard from peers that if we do not use agent collection, it will be deemed non-compliant, which will not only cause clearance hold-up at customs, but also affect export tax refund, and may even trigger tax inspection. I am really anxious now and just want to figure out: is payment collection by agent mandatory for export agency? Will it really cause so many problems if we do not use agent collection? What key risks should we note if we choose agent collection?", "answerCount": 9, "upvoteCount": 7, "datePublished": "2026-05-15T09:34:37Z", "dateModified": "2026-05-15T10:02:07Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhongshen Trading China", "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html" } ,"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "First，we reveal two common industry misconceptions: first，"payment collection by agent is mandatory for export agency"，this is a cognitive bias of most small and medium-sized exporters，and there is no mandatory policy requirement for this so far，second，"agent collection means the agent bears full responsibility for capital safety"，the agent is only responsible for transferring funds according to the agreement，and does not bear full liability for payment default by overseas clients. If you fall into the first misconception，the enterprise may be forced to accept high collection fees charged by the agent (usually 0.5%-1% of the total payment)，and even suffer payment detention if the agent's account is frozen due to other disputes，which will further lead to failure to pay suppliers on time，wage arrears，and more importantly，trigger tax correspondence inspection and affect export tax refund due to inconsistency between foreign exchange collecting entity and customs declaration entity，if you credulously believe the second misconception，the enterprise will relax credit verification for overseas clients，once the overseas client defaults on payment due to market fluctuations，the agent does not need to bear compensation liability，the enterprise will directly face full payment loss，and even lose clients due to failure to replenish goods on time. Risk isolation measures: Be sure to sign an independent capital supervision agreement with the agent ，designate an exclusive collection account，clarify the transfer timeline after payment arrives (no more than 3 working days)，and require the agent to provide bank credit advice simultaneously. Exclusive loss mitigation tips: You can require the agent to collect foreign exchange via CIPS RMB cross-border payment channel ，which guarantees arrival within no more than 2 working days，at the same time，negotiate a payment mode of 30% deposit + 70% payment against bill of lading copy with the overseas client to reduce the risk of full loss. If you choose self-collection，you need to report to the agent in advance to ensure consistency between the foreign exchange collecting entity on the customs declaration and the actual collecting entity，meeting the compliance requirement of four flows.", "upvoteCount": 7, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#acceptedAnswer", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:54:26Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Eric Zhou","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/eric-zhou/"} } ,"suggestedAnswer": [ { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of customs declaration compliance, the consistency between foreign exchange collecting entity and customs declaration entity is the core audit point for agency export. If an enterprise chooses self-collection, it must clearly mark "self-collection" in the "collection method" column of the customs declaration, and submit the entrustment agreement between the collecting entity and the agent to customs simultaneously to prove the connection between the two entities. If there is no such mark and the agreement cannot be provided, customs will list the order as "abnormal foreign exchange collection", trigger on-site inspection, prolong customs clearance time, and even lead to the customs declaration being put on hold, and supplementary materials are required for further clearance. In addition, if the self-collection account is an offshore account, additional proof of capital source of the offshore account is required to avoid being identified as "abnormal collection" which affects subsequent customs declaration qualifications.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-2", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:49:46Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Jason Wu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/jason-wu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of cargo title control in international logistics, payment collection by agent for agency export is directly related to bill of lading endorsement. If you choose agent collection, the freight forwarder is usually required to endorse the bill of lading to the agent, and the agent will deliver the endorsed bill of lading to the overseas client after receiving payment, so as to control cargo title; if you choose self-collection, the bill of lading needs to be endorsed directly to the enterprise, and the enterprise will arrange delivery of the bill of lading by itself after receiving payment. However, if the overseas client defaults on payment, the enterprise needs to contact the freight forwarder urgently to change the bill or cancel telex release, otherwise, after the goods arrive at the port and exceed the free storage period, there will be port storage fees and container detention fees, and the goods may even be auctioned by customs. In addition, if you choose self-collection, you need to agree on trigger conditions for cargo title transfer with the freight forwarder in advance to avoid cargo title out of control caused by untimely communication.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-3", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:47:00Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Michael Zhang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/michael-zhang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of international tax planning, payment collection by agent for agency export is related to the compliance of cross-border tax structure. If an enterprise chooses self-collection, it needs to ensure consistency between foreign exchange collecting entity and profit attribution entity, so as to avoid triggering BEPS investigation caused by unfair pricing of cross-border related party transactions. For example, if an enterprise transfers profits to an overseas related party after self-collection via an offshore account without compliant declaration, it will be identified as base erosion by tax authorities, and is required to pay back tax plus late payment surcharge. If you choose agent collection, the agent will declare in accordance with domestic tax requirements, the enterprise can apply for VAT deferral through the agent's tax planning scheme, reduce capital occupation cost, and avoid cross-border tax risks at the same time. In addition, the agent collection fee can be deducted before tax as the enterprise's sales expense, further reducing tax cost.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-4", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:42:50Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Evelyn Li","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/evelyn-li/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of cross-border payment and collection compliance, payment collection by agent for agency export must comply with the specification requirements of SWIFT messages or CIPS messages. If you choose agent collection, you must clearly mark "agency foreign exchange collection" in the message and provide the agency agreement number simultaneously, otherwise the bank will list the remittance as "suspicious transaction", trigger anti-money laundering audit, and lead to payment detention for 3-7 working days. If you choose self-collection, you need to ensure the collection account is the enterprise's corporate foreign exchange account, and the account has completed name list registration with SAFE, accounts without registration cannot receive overseas remittance. In addition, whether you choose agent collection or self-collection, you must complete international balance of payments declaration within 30 days after collection. Failure to declare will result in a fine of 5%-10% of the single transaction amount imposed by SAFE, and even suspension of the enterprise's collection qualification.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-5", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:35:38Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Lucas Liu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/lucas-liu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of legal risk in international trade, a clear fund transfer agreement must be signed for agent collection in agency export to avoid the legal misconception that "agent collection means the agent bears full liability". If the agreement does not clearly specify that the agent is only responsible for collection and transfer, and does not exclude full liability, once the overseas client defaults on payment, the enterprise may claim compensation from the agent on the grounds of "agent collection", but courts usually rule that the agent is only the trustee and does not need to bear payment liability. In addition, if you choose self-collection, you must specify self-collection terms in the agency agreement, to avoid the agent refusing to cooperate with export tax refund procedures on the grounds of "no agent collection" due to no relevant agreement. At the same time, the collecting entity must be clearly specified in the sales contract signed with the overseas client, to avoid cross-border litigation caused by inconsistency between contract entity and collecting entity.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-6", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:26:28Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Kevin Lin","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/kevin-lin/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of customs on-site inspection, the collection method of agency export will affect the probability of triggering inspection. If you choose self-collection and do not clearly mark it on the customs declaration, the customs system will automatically classify the order as "abnormal collection information", and the probability of triggering controlled inspection increases by more than 30%. The inspection includes checking whether the actual value of goods is consistent with the declared value on the customs declaration. If there is a discrepancy, it will be identified as under-reporting of price, and the enterprise is required to pay back tariff plus late payment surcharge. If you choose agent collection, the agent will provide the bank credit advice of collection simultaneously as supporting material for goods value, reducing the probability of triggering inspection. In addition, if relevant collection certificates cannot be provided during inspection, the goods will be detained, and can only be released after supplementary materials are submitted, resulting in additional port storage fees and warehousing fees.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-7", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:22:56Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Linda Gao","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/linda-gao/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of export tax refund compliance, agent collection is one of the core links to ensure consistency of four flows. Consistency of four flows refers to consistent entities of contract flow, capital flow, invoice flow and goods flow. If you choose self-collection, you need to ensure the collecting entity is consistent with the "operating unit" (that is, the agent company) on the customs declaration, or provide the entrustment agreement for foreign exchange collection between the agent and the enterprise to prove the connection of the collecting entity. If the four flows are not consistent, the tax authority will trigger correspondence inspection, requiring the enterprise to provide collection certificates, contracts, invoices and other materials. The correspondence inspection cycle is usually 1-3 months, which will lead to delayed arrival of export tax refund, and even rejection of the tax refund application due to failure to provide compliant materials. If you choose agent collection, the agent will sort out collection certificates and tax refund materials simultaneously, ensure consistency of four flows, reduce the probability of correspondence inspection, and the tax refund arrival time can be shortened to 15-20 days.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-8", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:07:00Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Daniel Xu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/daniel-xu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of supply chain structure optimization, agent collection for agency export is directly related to the enterprise's capital turnover rate. If you choose agent collection, the enterprise can agree on an "immediate transfer upon arrival" clause with the agent, the capital turnover rate can be increased by more than 20%, and there is no need to maintain the foreign exchange account by yourself, reducing account management costs; if you choose self-collection, the enterprise needs to arrange special personnel to be responsible for foreign exchange account management, international balance of payments declaration and other work, labor cost increases by about 15%, and due to uncertain collection timeline, the inventory turnover cycle will be prolonged, increasing warehousing costs. In addition, from the perspective of the overall supply chain, choosing agent collection can leverage the agent's capital settlement network to reduce losses caused by exchange rate fluctuations. Agents usually provide exchange rate locking services to help enterprises avoid exchange rate difference risks and improve supply chain stability.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/export-agency-mandatory-payment-collection-compliance-boundaries.html#suggestedAnswer-9", "datePublished": "2026-05-15T10:02:07Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Grace Wang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/grace-wang/"} } ] } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Export Agency Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-agency/"} ,{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Is It Mandatory for Agent to Collect Payment in Export Agency Business? 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