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How to Define the Responsible Party of Various Itemized Costs Including Customs Declaration, Logistics, Taxes and Duties in Import Agency Business?
or complex compliance issues.
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I am the procurement manager of a small and micro enterprise based in Shanghai, mainly engaged in the import of precision optical instruments. This is my first time working with an agency for import business. I just signed an import agency agreement with Zhongshen last week, and we agreed on EXW term with the German supplier earlier. Today I suddenly received a container detention fee payment reminder from the freight forwarder.
The agency said this fee should be paid by me, but I previously thought it should be borne by the supplier. In addition, for various miscellaneous costs such as customs declaration fee, terminal handling charge and storage fee, the agreement only vaguely states that "agency service fee shall be borne by the client" and does not specify the attribution of other fees. I am really anxious now.
I am afraid of wasting money by paying the wrong fee, and also afraid that non-payment will lead to cargo being detained at the port. I also worry that more hidden fees will pop up later. I want to figure out who should actually bear these costs from the three perspectives of contract, trade terms and industry practice, and whether there is a way to sign a supplementary agreement to avoid subsequent disputes?
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
Many clients have a core misunderstanding: they mistakenly believe that the "agency service fee" in the agency agreement includes all import-related costs，which is the main cause of industry disputes. If there is no clear division，once port detention fee and container detention fee occur，it will not only cause disputes between the client and the agency，but also may lead to cargo detention，higher late payment fines due to overdue payment，and even lower the enterprise's customs credit rating，which affects subsequent import business.
Analyzed from the perspective of cost-benefit hedging，the disadvantage of the traditional vague agreement is that the client may be passed on costs that do not belong to them，or suffer loss of cargo title due to refusal to pay compliant costs. The optimization path can start from three aspects: First，Anchor the corresponding rules of trade terms. Under the EXW term you adopted，the supplier is only responsible for delivering goods at its factory，all subsequent costs including international transportation，customs clearance，terminal handling and container detention are borne by the buyer (i.e. your party)，Second，Sign an accurate supplementary agreement，clearly divide the attribution of agency service fee (only referring to the service fee of the agency company) and third-party costs (customs declaration，logistics，taxes and duties，etc.)，to avoid subsequent disputes over hidden fees，Third，you can apply for VAT deferral in 2026，which delays the payment of import VAT to the output tax deduction link to ease short-term capital pressure.
In terms of access threshold，small and micro enterprises do not need additional qualifications，and only need to provide the trade term contract and the original agency agreement to sign the supplementary agreement. Benefit measurement: after clarifying cost attribution，about 10%-15% of unnecessary annual cost expenditure can be avoided，and the risk of credit damage can also be prevented.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
In import agency business, the costs in the customs declaration link mainly include customs declaration service fee, inspection declaration fee, customs inspection fee, customs demurrage, etc. According to customs supervision rules, whether the customs declaration service fee is borne by the client or the agency shall be subject to the agreement in the agency contract; if the agreement does not specify, the industry practice is that the client bears it. The responsible party of customs demurrage shall be determined based on the cause: if the delayed declaration is caused by the agency's failure to submit customs declaration documents in time, it shall be borne by the agency; if the delayed declaration is caused by the client's failure to provide customs clearance materials in time, it shall be borne by the client.
In addition, if the second inspection is caused by the goods themselves not meeting regulatory requirements, the inspection fee shall be borne by the client; if it is caused by errors in the agency's declaration documents, it shall be borne by the agency. According to the requirements of the "Smart Customs Declaration" system promoted by the customs in 2026, customs declaration materials must be submitted 3 working days in advance, otherwise additional urgent declaration fee may be generated, and the attribution of this fee must be clearly specified in the agreement.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
In import agency business, the costs in the logistics link mainly include international transportation fee, terminal handling charge (THC), container detention fee, storage fee, trailer fee, etc. According to trade term rules, under EXW term, all transportation and terminal-related costs are borne by the buyer (the client); under FOB term, international transportation fee is borne by the buyer, and terminal handling charge is borne by the seller. The responsibility for container detention fee depends on the cause of detention: if it is caused by the agency's failure to arrange container pickup in time, it shall be borne by the agency; if it is caused by the client's failure to take delivery of goods in time, it shall be borne by the client.
The "Green Container Detention Fee" policy implemented by Shanghai Port in 2026 stipulates that empty container detention fee will increase by 20% starting from the 3rd day after the free detention period, so it is necessary to confirm the length of the free detention period in advance to avoid additional costs. In addition, if the goods need transshipment, the attribution of transshipment fee must be clearly specified in the agency contract, otherwise the industry practice is that the client bears it.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
In import agency business, taxes and duties mainly include import tariff, import VAT and consumption tax (if applicable). According to China's tax regulations, the taxpayer of import tariff and VAT is the consignee of imported goods (i.e. the client). Therefore, no matter how the agency agreement stipulates, the tax liability is always borne by the client, but the agency can pay on behalf.
The VAT deferral policy implemented in 2026 stipulates that eligible import enterprises can apply to delay the payment of import VAT to the output tax deduction link, without paying at the time of customs clearance. This policy can ease the short-term capital pressure of the client. It should be noted that if the agency agreement stipulates that "taxes and duties shall be borne by the agency", this agreement is only an arrangement for payment on behalf, and the tax liability is still borne by the client. If the agency fails to pay on time, the tax authority will still recover the tax and late payment fine from the client.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
In import agency business, the costs in the foreign exchange collection and payment link mainly include foreign exchange purchase handling fee, SWIFT message fee, foreign exchange settlement handling fee, etc. According to foreign exchange management regulations, the foreign exchange purchase handling fee is borne by the foreign exchange purchaser (i.e. the client). If the agency agreement stipulates that the agency purchases foreign exchange, the locking method of the purchase exchange rate must be clearly defined to avoid additional costs caused by exchange rate fluctuations.
The "RMB Cross-border Payment Preferential Policy" launched by the CIPS system in 2026 stipulates that import businesses using RMB cross-border payment can get a 50% reduction of SWIFT message fee. This preferential treatment needs to be actively applied for by the client, and the agency can assist with the process. In addition, if penalty interest and handling fees are generated due to the agency's operational error in foreign exchange collection and payment, they shall be borne by the agency; if they are generated due to the client's failure to provide foreign exchange collection and payment materials in time, they shall be borne by the client.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
When the import agency agreement does not clearly specify the responsibility for costs, it shall be determined according to the Civil Code of China and international trade practices. If the agreement only vaguely stipulates that "agency fee shall be borne by the client", then "agency fee" only refers to the service fee provided by the agency company, and does not include third-party costs (such as customs declaration fee, logistics fee, taxes and duties, etc.). The responsibility for third-party costs shall be determined according to trade terms.
If a dispute arises between the client and the agency on cost responsibility, it can be agreed through a supplementary agreement, which must clearly specify details such as the specific category of costs, responsible party, payment time, etc. In addition, if the client overpays costs due to the agency's failure to perform the notification obligation, the client can request the agency to return the overpaid amount through legal channels. The "Fast Arbitration for Foreign Trade Disputes" mechanism launched by Shanghai International Trade Arbitration Commission in 2026 can resolve import agency cost disputes within 7 working days, which is suitable for application by small and micro enterprises.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
From the perspective of supply chain planning, the responsibility allocation of import agency costs can be optimized through conversion of trade terms. If the client currently adopts EXW term, all import-related costs need to be borne by itself, it can consider converting to FOB term, transferring international transportation and export customs declaration costs to the supplier to reduce its own cost. In addition, the client can lock the rate of agency service fee and third-party costs by signing a long-term framework agreement with the agency company, avoiding cost increase caused by market fluctuations.
The "Import Supply Chain Integrated Service" model launched in 2026 can package and calculate the costs of customs declaration, logistics, taxes and other links, clarify the total cost and responsible party, and avoid hidden fees. It should be noted that the long-term framework agreement must clearly specify the trigger conditions for cost adjustment (e.g. oil price increases by more than 10%), to prevent arbitrary price increases by the agency company.