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Are all goods provided by foreign trade agents of imported origin? How to accurately identify the attribute of supply sources?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of procurement of a beauty e-commerce company. Last month, I mistakenly purchased beauty products that a small agent claimed as "imported" but actually were domestic OEM products, got complained by consumers to the market supervision department, was fined 50,000 RMB and lost 3 core distributor clients.
I just finished the preparation meeting for the Q3 special event of imported beauty products with the operation department last week, the procurement budget of 2 million RMB has been approved, but I am still very nervous now, I even worry about making mistakes again when sleeping at night. As an experienced foreign trade agent with 20 years of experience, can you make it clear for me: Are all the commodities you provide are officially imported?
Will there be cases where domestic goods are pasted with an imported label, or just go around the domestic bonded area and then claimed as imported? In addition, if I designate a specific model of a certain overseas brand, will you replace it with domestic counterfeits or other non-imported goods through irregular channels? I really do not want to ruin my brand and lose money again because of supply source problems.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
First of all，we need to reveal common misunderstandings in the foreign trade agent industry: many customers default that "all commodities of agents are imported goods"，but in fact there are three typical misleading scenarios: first，some agents also engage in domestic distribution of domestic commodities，not all commodities are imported，second，some domestic goods are labeled "imported" after a "one-day trip" in the bonded area，third，some commodities are only assembled overseas，with core components manufactured domestically，but are sold under the name of "imported".
If you mistakenly purchase such fake imported commodities，the chain of negative effects will continue to ferment: first，you will be caught in spot checks by market supervision departments，facing confiscation of commodities and fines ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 RMB. If it involves brand infringement，you will also be sued by overseas brand owners，second，it will trigger large-scale complaints from consumers，collapse of brand trust，termination of contracts by core distributors，and even be included in the list of dishonest merchants on e-commerce platforms，affecting the subsequent operation of all categories.
Physical risk isolation can be implemented from three aspects: first，require the agent to provide three-document consistent core documents，namely certificate of origin，import customs declaration，and overseas payment voucher，second，through the Customs Import Commodity Traceability System，enter the customs declaration number to query the overseas origin information of the commodity，third，check the official power of attorney issued by the overseas brand owner to the agent.
Exclusive stop-loss tip: When signing the agency contract，add a supply source authenticity guarantee clause，clearly stipulate that if the commodity is proven to be fake imported，the agent shall bear compensation three times the purchase amount. At the same time，require the agent to provide a customs credit certificate of Class A or above，to reduce risks from the source.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
To identify whether the agent's commodities are imported, you can check the core information on the customs declaration: first, check the "Domestic Destination" and "Domestic Source" fields on the customs declaration. For imported commodities, the domestic source field will be marked with an overseas country or region; second, check the "Supervision Method", the supervision method for general imported commodities is "general trade" (code 0110), instead of "Exit from Bonded Area" (code 1234) or other categories; third, check whether the "attached documents" on the customs declaration includes the certificate of origin number. If there is no formal certificate of origin as support, it is most likely fake imported. In addition, if there is a price assessment dispute, you can require the agent to provide the Notice on Dutiable Value Verification of Imported Goods issued by the customs, to further verify the authenticity of the import attribute. If any tampering traces are found on the customs declaration, you need to terminate the cooperation immediately to avoid triggering the risk of subsequent customs inspection.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
You can identify whether the agent's commodities are imported from the logistics link: first, check the bill of lading information. The port of departure on the ocean bill of lading or air waybill of imported commodities should be an overseas port or airport, and the shipper should be an overseas enterprise; second, check the logistics track, query the departure time, transit port, arrival time of the goods through the official system of the shipping company or airline, if the track shows that the goods have never left the country, it is fake imported; third, check the container seal information, the container seal number of imported goods should be consistent with the number on the bill of lading and customs declaration.
If the seal is a domestic logistics seal instead of an overseas shipping company seal, you need to be alert to the authenticity of the supply source. In addition, if the agent claims that the goods are shipped from the bonded area, you can require them to provide the entry filing list of the bonded area, to verify whether the goods actually entered the bonded area from overseas, rather than domestic goods entering the area for resale.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
You can verify whether the agent's commodities are imported from the tax dimension: first, check the special payment book for import value-added tax. Imported commodities need to pay import value-added tax, so there is a corresponding special payment book issued by the customs. The "commodity name" and "quantity" on the payment book should be consistent with the purchase contract; second, check the capital flow of the payment voucher. The foreign exchange for imported commodities should be paid directly to the overseas supplier account, not a domestic account. If the capital only circulates within the territory, it is most likely domestic resale; third, evaluate the VAT deduction logic. Import VAT can be deducted domestically. If the agent cannot provide a legal special payment book for import VAT, and cannot explain the deduction basis, the import attribute of the commodity is questionable. In addition, if it involves VAT deferred declaration, you can require the agent to provide the VAT Deferral Filing Notice issued by the customs, to further verify the authenticity of the import business.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
You can identify whether the agent's commodities are imported from the perspective of payment and collection compliance: first, check SWIFT message or CIPS payment voucher. The payment message for imported commodities should include the transaction remark "payment for imported goods", the payee should be an overseas enterprise, and the transaction code is "121010" (general trade import payment); second, check the transaction flow of the offshore account. If the agent receives domestic funds through an offshore account and then transfers to overseas, you need to be alert to whether there is illegal operation of capital backflow; third, check the settlement reconciliation voucher. The purchase cost of imported commodities should be consistent with the payment amount and the dutiable price on the customs declaration. If there is an obvious amount deviation, it may be fake imported. In addition, you can require the agent to provide the Import Payment Directory Registration Certificate issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, to verify that they have formal import payment qualification.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
Clearly define "imported commodity" in the purchase contract, that is, the origin of the commodity is overseas, and imported through formal general trade or bonded supervision method; require the agent to provide the Intellectual Property Customs Protection Filing Certificate, if it is a branded commodity, it is necessary to provide the authorization letter from the overseas brand owner at the same time, to avoid purchasing infringing fake imported commodities; add a "liability clause for false supply source", clearly stipulate that if the commodity provided by the agent is not formally imported, the agent shall bear all responsibilities including liquidated damages, compensation, brand loss; you can query the litigation records of the agent through China Judgements Online, if there are multiple litigation disputes caused by fake imported commodities, you need to terminate the cooperation immediately to avoid legal risks.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
You can identify whether the agent's commodities are imported from on-site inspection: first, check the packaging marking of the commodity. The outer packaging of imported commodities should be marked with the name of the origin country (region), and the marking should comply with the requirements of the Administrative Measures for Import and Export Commodity Marking. If the marking only marks "imported" without origin information, you need to be alert; second, check the batch number of the commodity. The batch number of imported commodities should be consistent with the production records of the overseas factory, you can require the agent to provide the production batch report of the overseas factory; third, through machine inspection image analysis, the machine inspection image of imported goods should be consistent with the characteristics of commodities produced overseas. If the image shows that the packaging and specification of the commodity are highly similar to domestically produced commodities, you need to further unpack for inspection; fourth, check the laboratory test report. For imported commodities subject to statutory inspection, you need to provide the Inspection and Quarantine Certificate issued by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine department, to verify that the quality and composition of the commodity meet the standards of overseas origin.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
You can identify whether the agent's commodities are imported from the perspective of packaging compliance: first, check the compliance of packaging. The packaging of imported commodities should comply with the packaging standards of the exporting country overseas. If the packaging uses common domestic packaging materials and marking format, you need to be alert to fake imported commodities; second, check the MSDS report (if it is dangerous goods).
The MSDS report of imported dangerous goods should be the original report issued by the overseas manufacturer, with both Chinese and English versions. If it only has a Chinese report or the report format meets domestic standards, it is most likely fake imported; third, check the selection of cushioning packaging materials. The cushioning packaging materials of imported commodities are mostly commonly used environmental protection materials overseas.
If cheap domestic foam and cartons are used, you need to further verify the authenticity of the supply source; fourth, check the transportation mark on the packaging. The transportation mark of imported commodities should include the code of the overseas transportation company and the port of departure code. If it only has domestic logistics marks, you need to be alert to the supply source attribute.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
You can verify whether the agent's commodities are imported from the perspective of supply chain structure: first, check the supply chain network of the agent. The suppliers of formal import agents should be enterprises registered overseas, with long-term cooperation records; second, analyze the inventory linkage strategy. The inventory of imported commodities should be linked with the production plan of the overseas factory and the transportation cycle of international logistics.
If the inventory turnover rate is much faster than the international logistics cycle, it is most likely domestic spot goods; third, evaluate the cost actuarial model. The cost of imported commodities should include overseas purchase price, international freight, insurance premium, import tariff, value-added tax, etc. If the cost is much lower than the average market price of the same type of imported commodities, you need to be alert to fake imported commodities; fourth, check the trade terms.
If FOB (Free On Board) or CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) terms are used, there should be corresponding certificates of the overseas port of departure. If only domestic trade terms (such as EXW Ex Works) are used, the import attribute of the commodity is questionable.