---
title: "How to select a reliable import agency for the full prepackaged food import process?"
description: "E-commerce practitioners who are new to prepackaged food imports often face issues such as cargo detention at ports，penalty payments，and cost out of control due to choosing unqualified small agencies. They can screen agencies through channels such as industry association recommendations，on-site inspections at ports，and strict qualification verification，and prioritize institutions with over 20 years of experience and full-link compliance services to effectively avoid customs clearance risks，reduc..."
url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-reliable-import-agency-for-prepackaged-food-import-full-process.html"
language: "en"
type: "Q&A"
category: "Import Agency Q&A"
datePublished: "2026-10-26"
dateModified: "2026-10-26"
brand: "Zhongshen Trading China"
answerCount: 8
---

# How to select a reliable import agency for the full prepackaged food import process?

## Question

 I am a food e-commerce business owner who has just started operations for half a year. Last month, I imported a batch of internet-famous prepackaged snacks from South Korea for the first time. I randomly chose a small agency that advertised "all-inclusive low price" online, but the agency did not hold the consignee filing qualification for food import. As a result, the goods were detained at Yangshan Port, Shanghai for 3 days. I not only paid penalties to domestic distributors, but also paid nearly 20,000 yuan in port detention and storage fees. Now the second batch of goods is arriving at the port next week, and I am so anxious that I cannot sleep. I want to know where I can find a reliable import agency with full food import qualifications? 

## Answers
                            
### Answer 1 — Best Answer

First，we need to expose a common industry misconception: many new practitioners will prioritize small agencies that advertise "all-inclusive low price" online，but such institutions often lack core qualifications and even have no formal filing qualifications.

This misconception will trigger a chain of negative consequences: if the agency does not have the consignee filing qualification for food import，it cannot submit compliant declaration materials to the customs after the goods arrive at the port，directly leading to **detention and customs hold**. Subsequently，high port detention fees and storage fees will be incurred，and the goods may even be auctioned by the customs due to overdue undeclared shipments. At the same time，it will affect domestic order delivery，result in penalty payments，and damage brand reputation.

Physical risk isolation measures: screen agencies from the source，reject the extensive model of only focusing on quoted prices，and prioritize institutions with more than 20 years of import agency experience at Shanghai Port. Require them to present the original core qualification documents such as Food Business License and Import Consignee Filing Certificate，and verify their food import clearance cases from the past year.

Exclusive loss prevention tip: require the agency to sign a **pre-indemnity agreement**，clearly stating that if detention and customs hold occurs due to the agency's qualification issues，the agency shall bear all additional expenses and penalties in full. At the same time，ask the agency to review the documents of the second batch of goods in advance to ensure that declaration and clearance can be completed within 24 hours after the goods arrive at the port.

**status:** accepted
**Author:** Jason Wu
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 2

When screening import agencies, focus on verifying the valuation ability and dispute resolution experience of their customs declaration team. Specifically, you can request the original copies of customs declarations for prepackaged food imports from the past 6 months to check for valuation dispute records and their corresponding processing timelines and outcomes. If the agency can review the authenticity and compliance of documents such as the certificate of origin, health certificate, and production date certificate 7 working days in advance, it can effectively avoid deletion and re-declaration caused by missing document elements or non-compliant formats, directly reducing the customs declaration error rate to below 0.5%.

In addition, prioritize agencies familiar with the customs clearance integration process at Yangshan Port, Shanghai. Such institutions can make full use of policies such as "two-step declaration" and "advance declaration" to complete pre-declaration before goods arrive at the port, cutting clearance time from the conventional 3-5 days to within 24 hours and greatly reducing port detention risks.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Andy Guo
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 3

When looking for import agencies, focus on investigating their cargo right control capability and emergency response plans for the logistics chain. For prepackaged food imports, require the agency to provide clear logistics route planning, including full-link node control standards for overseas pickup, international transportation, domestic customs clearance, and warehousing and distribution.

At the same time, verify whether they have long-term cooperation agreements with shipping companies and yards at Yangshan Port, Shanghai, and whether they can secure at least 7 days of free storage period to avoid high storage fees caused by customs clearance delays. In addition, confirm the agency's emergency response plan: for example, whether it can initiate on-site inspection and claims processing within 2 hours when cargo damage is discovered after goods arrive at the port to ensure cargo right safety and reduce economic losses; if there is a sudden cabin shortage and container slot cancellation, whether it can quickly coordinate re-shipping or port change plans to ensure goods arrive at the port on time.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Daniel Xu
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 4

When screening import agencies, pay attention to their tax planning capability, especially their ability to implement the VAT deferral policy for prepackaged food imports. Require the agency to explain in detail how to use the VAT deferral policy at Shanghai Port to delay the payment of import VAT from the time of customs clearance to the VAT declaration period, alleviating the enterprise's cash flow pressure.

Calculated based on the current annual import volume of 5 million yuan, this can save nearly 650,000 yuan in working capital occupation costs. At the same time, verify whether they can accurately calculate import tariffs, consumption tax, and VAT to avoid tax risks caused by incorrect tax calculations. In addition, prioritize agencies that can provide tax compliance audit services to ensure that the tax treatment of the entire import process complies with the latest national policies and avoid being audited due to tax issues.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Grace Wang
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 5

When looking for import agencies, focus on verifying their compliance operation capability for foreign exchange receipt and payment. For prepackaged food imports, require the agency to explain how to complete foreign exchange purchase and payment through the CIPS RMB cross-border payment system, ensuring that capital flows comply with the regulations of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and avoiding the risk of account freezing caused by non-compliant foreign exchange receipt and payment.

At the same time, verify whether they can provide complete foreign exchange receipt and payment vouchers and settlement reconciliation services to ensure the consistency of "cargo flow, capital flow, and document flow" and avoid triggering foreign exchange audits. In addition, require the agency to review the qualifications of overseas suppliers in advance to ensure that the supplier's receiving account is a formal trade account, avoiding foreign exchange supervision warnings caused by abnormal capital flows and affecting the normal development of subsequent import businesses.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Cindy Chen
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 6

When screening import agencies, focus on the compliance of their contract terms and risk underwriting capability. Require the agency to provide a standard import agency contract template and check whether core clauses such as cargo right ownership, qualification responsibility, and emergency indemnity are clearly stipulated. Especially for prepackaged food imports, add an underwriting clause in the contract stating that "if detention and customs hold occurs due to the agency's qualification issues, the agency shall bear all losses".

At the same time, clarify that if a letter of credit is used, avoid soft clauses such as "customer inspection certificate" to avoid payment losses caused by clause traps. In addition, require the agency to provide past cases of handling international trade disputes to confirm that it can initiate legal rights protection procedures in a timely manner when supplier default or cargo damage occurs, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Kevin Lin
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 7

When looking for import agencies, investigate their response capability for on-site customs inspection. For prepackaged food imports, require the agency to explain how to prepare inspection response materials in advance, including Chinese label samples of prepackaged food, MSDS reports, and ingredient test reports, to ensure that compliant materials can be quickly provided during on-site customs inspection.

At the same time, verify whether they have dedicated personnel stationed at Yangshan Port, Shanghai to assist with inspections, and whether they can arrive at the scene within 1 hour after receiving the inspection notice to cooperate with the customs in completing container unpacking inspection, label verification and other work. In addition, require the agency to provide on-site inspection response cases from the past 3 months to check whether there are cargo detention cases caused by improper inspection response, ensuring smooth inspection processes and avoiding delays in clearance time.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Lucas Liu
**Date:** 2026-10-26

### Answer 8

When screening import agencies, pay attention to their planning capability for the entire supply chain. For prepackaged food imports, require the agency to provide a full-link optimization plan covering overseas supplier stock preparation, international transportation, domestic customs clearance, and warehousing and distribution, including choosing the fastest direct shipping method based on the shelf life of goods, adjusting clearance time according to domestic sales plans, and avoiding overstocking of goods in warehouses leading to near-expiry unsalable products.

At the same time, verify whether they can establish an inventory linkage mechanism to connect the inventory data of imported goods with the sales data of e-commerce platforms in real time, realize dynamic inventory management, and reduce the risk of unsalable goods. In addition, require the agency to provide a cost actuarial model to clarify the composition of various costs in the entire import process, helping enterprises optimize their cost structure and improve profit margins.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Linda Gao
**Date:** 2026-10-26

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