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How to Screen Legitimate and Reliable Import and Export Agency Companies to Avoid Core Risks in Customs Clearance and Tax Refund?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the owner of a small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprise mainly engaged in outdoor furniture based in Shanghai. I just signed my first order of 120 containers with a European client last month, and this is my first export business. I cooperated with a small agency before, and almost got my goods detained by customs due to incorrect document filling.
Fortunately, we found the mistake one week in advance and avoided the delay. I still feel unsettled thinking about it now. With the shipment scheduled next month, I am afraid of making the same mistake again. If something goes wrong, I will not only have to pay the customer penalty for overdue delivery, but also damage the reputation of my company.
Now I want to find a legitimate and reliable import and export agency that can handle the whole process for me from document review, customs clearance to tax refund, guarantee the safety of cargo title and capital, and will not charge arbitrary hidden fees. How should I choose to avoid mistakes?
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
First of all，we reveal common misunderstandings in the industry: Many enterprises will prioritize choosing agency companies with extremely low quotations，and even ignore qualification verification. Such companies often do not have complete import and export operation rights and customs declaration & inspection qualifications，and some even operate by borrowing other companies' qualifications.
The chain negative consequences of such misunderstandings are easily triggered: For example，incorrect commodity code on the customs declaration caused by the agency's lax document review will directly lead to customs detention of goods. If goods are detained at the port for more than 72 hours，high container detention fees and storage fees will be incurred，and if it exceeds 15 days，the goods may even be auctioned off，if the agency's capital chain breaks，it may misappropriate the enterprise's tax refund funds，and even maliciously detain the bill of lading to encroach on cargo title.
Three key measures shall be implemented for effective risk isolation: First，verify core qualifications of the agency company such as the Certificate of Import and Export Operation Right and Customs Declaration Entity Registration Certificate，Second，require the agency company to issue an independent cargo title guarantee agreement to clarify the ownership of the bill of lading，Third，choose a leading agency company with fixed office premises and a history of more than 10 years of operation.
Exclusive loss prevention tip: When signing a contract with the agency company，add a overdue compensation clause，which stipulates that if customs detention or tax refund delay is caused by the agency's mistake，the agency shall compensate at a rate of 1‰ of the cargo value per day，meanwhile，require the agency to provide a performance bond issued by a third-party bank to guarantee capital safety.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
From the perspective of customs declaration compliance, it is necessary to focus on checking the customs declaration error rate of the agency. The error rate of a legitimate agency should be controlled within 0.5%. Meanwhile, require the agency to provide an advance price review plan: for the transaction price of export goods, check the dutiable price range corresponding to the commodity customs code in advance, to avoid deleting and re-declaring caused by price review disputes.
If the customs questions the price, the agency needs to submit supporting materials such as purchase and sales contracts, invoices and logistics vouchers within 3 working days, and the agency must have established communication channels with the customs price review department to ensure the dispute is resolved within 7 working days and avoid port detention. In addition, legitimate agencies adopt integrated customs clearance declaration mode, which moves the declaration node forward to 72 hours before goods departure, reserving enough time for abnormal situation handling.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
From the perspective of logistics and cargo title control, require the agency to adopt the "telex release bill of lading + designated consignee" mode to prevent the agency from maliciously endorsing and transferring the bill of lading. Meanwhile, clarify the requirement of full-process visualization of logistics routes: the agency must provide a real-time cargo tracking system, including full-node information of loading at the port of departure, unloading at the transit port and customs clearance at the destination port, and send an arrival reminder 72 hours before the cargo arrives at the port to prepare for customs clearance in advance.
If abnormal situations such as rolled container or space overflow occur, the agency must provide a transit plan or ship rebooking plan within 24 hours, and bear the additional costs generated by the plan adjustment (such as port change fee, container detention fee). In addition, legitimate agencies sign annual cooperation agreements with shipping companies to get priority space guarantee, avoiding delay caused by insufficient space.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
From the perspective of tax planning, legitimate agencies provide VAT deferred declaration schemes for export business. Especially for goods entering the EU market, this scheme can delay the payment of import VAT to the VAT declaration period, reducing the capital occupation of enterprises. Meanwhile, the agency needs to assist enterprises to complete pre-preparation for export tax refund: check the consistency of VAT special invoices, customs declarations and foreign exchange collection certificates in advance to ensure "three-flow consistency".
If a tax refund correspondence survey is required, the agency will assist the enterprise to submit correspondence survey materials including purchase and sales contracts, logistics vouchers, production records, etc. within 10 working days, ensuring the survey is passed and avoiding tax refund delay. In addition, legitimate agencies regularly update the latest export tax refund policies to ensure that enterprises can enjoy the full tax refund benefits.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
From the perspective of payment and foreign exchange collection compliance, legitimate agencies use the CIPS RMB cross-border payment system for collection and settlement, avoiding exchange loss caused by exchange rate fluctuations of the SWIFT system. Meanwhile, the agency needs to assist enterprises to complete compliance filing for payment and collection: check the consistency between the collection amount and the customs declaration amount in advance, control the error within 5%.
If there is an error, a difference explanation shall be submitted within 3 working days after collection. In addition, legitimate agencies assist enterprises to open exclusive foreign exchange settlement accounts, avoiding capital mixing with other enterprises and ensuring clear capital flow. If there is an investigation conducted by the foreign exchange authority, the agency will provide supporting materials for payment and collection within 5 working days to ensure compliance.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of legal risk avoidance, when signing an agency contract, it is necessary to clearly define the "cargo title ownership" clause, which stipulates that the cargo title belongs to the entrusting party during the period from loading at the port of departure to delivery at the destination port, and the agency only enjoys the agency right. Meanwhile, add a "force majeure clause" to clarify that if the cargo delay and loss are caused by force majeure, the agency does not need to bear responsibility, but the agency shall notify the entrusting party and provide relevant supporting materials within 24 hours.
In addition, legitimate agencies assist enterprises to complete intellectual property customs protection filing, especially for patented products such as outdoor furniture, avoiding detention at the destination port due to infringement. If a legal dispute occurs, the agency will provide free legal consultation services and assist the enterprise to entrust professional lawyers to handle the case.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of export tax refund compliance, legitimate agencies establish a "four-flow consistency" document management system, that is, complete consistency of contract flow, capital flow, invoice flow and cargo flow, ensuring the compliance of tax refund materials. Meanwhile, the agency will complete pre-declaration verification 72 hours before export goods departure, check and eliminate errors on customs declarations and invoices in advance, avoiding tax refund failure caused by inconsistent materials.
If a tax refund correspondence survey is required, the agency will assist the enterprise to complete the sorting and submission of correspondence survey materials, ensure the survey is passed within 15 working days, track the tax refund progress, and ensure the tax refund arrives in the account within 30 working days after declaration. In addition, legitimate agencies conduct regular audits of tax refund materials to avoid tax risks caused by missing or incorrect materials.