Who shall bear various expenses involved in export agency such as customs declaration and logistics?

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  • Jul 17, 2026 at 09:45
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I am the head of a small and medium-sized household goods manufacturing factory in Shanghai. This is the first time we have hired an agent to export a batch of sideboards to Germany. When communicating with the cooperating agency earlier, I did not dare to ask in detail about the issue of fee bearing for fear of appearing unprofessional.

Now that we are about to sign the agency agreement, we find that the contract only mentions "agency service fee" in general terms, and does not specify who shall bear such detailed fees as customs declaration, manifest entry, and certificate of origin. In addition, the freight forwarder suddenly announced an additional "port congestion surcharge" last week, which completely confused me.

If all these additional fees are borne by us, the already thin profit will be completely wiped out and we may even suffer losses. I am very anxious now, and want to figure out who shall bear all kinds of fees for export agency, and how to divide the fees in case of unexpected expenses.

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

Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat

First of all，it is necessary to clarify common industry misunderstandings: many small and medium-sized export factories default that all fees for export agency are borne by the agent，or only pay attention to the agency service fee and ignore the division of detailed fees. Once additional fees (such as port congestion surcharge，urgent processing fee for certificate of origin) are incurred，it is very easy to trigger contract disputes，even lead to cargo detention in port，affect overseas delivery，and directly erode the already meager profit.

From the perspective of cost hedging，the division shall be clearly defined in accordance with the core rules of trade terms: if FOB terms are adopted，the factory shall bear upfront fees such as domestic customs declaration，trailer transportation，and manifest entry，and the agent shall only charge the agreed agency service fee，for CIF/CFR terms，overseas fees such as ocean freight and insurance premium shall be handled in accordance with the contract. The 2026 EU VAT deferral policy can be used to reduce the capital occupation cost of value-added tax，and the access threshold only requires providing complete export documents and real trade background.

For unexpected additional fees，it is recommended to specify in the agency agreement that "unspecified unexpected fees shall be borne by the triggering party". At the same time，the cost can be locked in advance by agreeing on a detailed fee breakdown list with the agent. According to the calculation based on the average rate of Shanghai Port in 2026，reasonable fee division can reduce additional cost loss by about 8%-12%，effectively protecting the profit margin.

Reference: Guide to the Full Process of Coffee Import Agency in South Korea: A Professional Solution Focusing on Both Documentation and Logistics
Jason Wu
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat

Customs declaration fees for export agency (including customs declaration form entry fee, customs valuation assistance fee, certificate of origin fee, etc.) shall be divided according to trade terms and the agreement of the agency agreement: if the agency agreement clearly specifies "all-inclusive customs declaration", it shall be borne by the agent; if there is no agreement, in accordance with customs clearance practices, the principal (i.e. the export factory) shall bear the basic customs declaration fees, but the fee for deleting and re-submitting declarations and late fees caused by the agent's customs declaration errors shall be fully borne by the agent.

After Shanghai Customs implemented integrated customs clearance in 2026, customs declaration fees in some regions can be settled uniformly through the Electronic Port. The settlement subject shall be clearly specified in the agency agreement in advance to avoid subsequent disputes over outstanding accounts.

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

Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat

Logistics fees for export agency (including trailer fee, manifest entry fee, port miscellaneous fee, ocean freight, etc.) are mainly divided according to trade terms: under FOB terms, the factory shall bear fees such as domestic trailer transportation, terminal operation, and manifest entry, while ocean freight and insurance premium shall be borne by the overseas buyer; under CIF terms, the factory shall bear the ocean freight and insurance premium to the port of destination, and the agent shall only charge the logistics coordination service fee.

In case of unexpected port congestion surcharge, bunker adjustment factor, etc., check the node where the fee is incurred: if it is incurred at a domestic port, it shall be borne by the factory; if it is incurred at an overseas port, it can be included in the supplementary clauses of the contract through negotiation with the buyer. The free storage period of Shanghai Port in 2026 is 7 days, and the overdue container detention fee shall be borne by the responsible party. If the overdue is caused by the agent's failure to notify in time, it shall be borne by the agent.

Andy Guo
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat

Tax-related fees for export agency (including export tax refund agency fee, VAT declaration fee, tax correspondence and verification service fee, etc.) are usually borne by the principal (export factory), but the cost can be reduced through the VAT deferral policy: the 2026 EU VAT deferral policy applies to goods exported from China to the EU. If the agent assists in handling VAT deferral, the factory does not need to advance the value-added tax of the importing country in advance, which can save about 15%-20% of the capital occupation cost.

It should be noted that late fees and fines caused by the agent's tax declaration errors shall be fully borne by the agent. At the same time, the details of tax services and division of responsibilities shall be clearly specified in the agency agreement to avoid subsequent tax risks.

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

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

Fees related to payment and collection under export agency (including SWIFT message fee, foreign exchange settlement handling fee, CIPS RMB cross-border payment fee, etc.) are usually borne by the principal, but the cost can be reduced by optimizing the payment path: the RMB cross-border payment rate of the CIPS system in 2026 is about 30% lower than that of SWIFT. If the agent assists in using CIPS for payment, part of the fees can be saved.

If the agency agreement does not specify the party bearing the payment and collection fees, in accordance with cross-border payment and collection compliance practices, it shall be borne by the party initiating the payment, that is, when the factory entrusts the agent to collect and pay foreign exchange, the factory shall bear the relevant fees; if the exchange rate loss and doubled handling fee are caused by the agent's operation errors in payment and collection, the agent shall be responsible.

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

Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat

The party bearing the export agency fees shall be subject to the clear agreement of the agency agreement. If the agreement is not clear, reference shall be made to the relevant provisions of the entrustment contract in the *Civil Code of the People's Republic of China*: the principal shall pay the agreed remuneration to the entrusted party (agent), and bear the necessary expenses incurred from the entrusted affairs.

In international trade in 2026, if the agency agreement only stipulates "agency service fee" and does not specify detailed fees, the two parties may divide the fees through a supplementary agreement. If no agreement can be reached, it may be submitted to the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration. It should be noted that additional expenses incurred by the agent exceeding the agency authority shall be borne by the agent itself, and the principal shall not be responsible.

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

Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat

Fees related to export tax refund for export agency (including tax refund agency fee, document sorting fee, correspondence and verification response service fee, etc.) are usually borne by the principal, but the fee details and tax refund success rate commitment shall be clearly specified in the agency agreement: the average verification cycle of export tax refund in Shanghai in 2026 is 3 working days. If the agent fails to complete the tax refund within the agreed time, the capital occupation loss shall be borne by the agent.

At the same time, if the tax refund cannot be obtained due to the agent's error in document sorting, the agent shall compensate the factory for the tax refund loss. The compensation ratio and method shall be clearly specified in the agreement to avoid subsequent disputes.

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