--- title: "Can the input VAT on service fees paid to qualified agency companies during the import of goods be deducted?" description: "Enterprises often face tax cost concerns in import operations due to ambiguous deduction rules for agency service fees，and worry that non-compliant operations will trigger inspection risks. Qualified import agency service fees are eligible for input VAT deduction with special VAT invoices. Enterprises need to ensure that invoice content matches actual business operations and the transaction chain is compliant，while retaining supporting documents such as agency contracts and foreign exchange paym..." url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html" language: "en" type: "Q&A" category: "Forex Settlement Q&A" datePublished: "2026-05-07" dateModified: "2026-05-07" brand: "Zhongshen Trading China" answerCount: 10 --- # Can the input VAT on service fees paid to qualified agency companies during the import of goods be deducted? ## Question I am a finance staff member of a small and medium-sized enterprise in Shanghai engaged in precision instrument import. Last month, we completed an import order for precision analyzers from Germany in cooperation with an agency company, paid 120,000 yuan in agency service fees and obtained a special VAT invoice. However, when communicating with peers a few days ago, I heard that the input VAT for some import agency service fees cannot be deducted, and some enterprises have even been subject to tax inspection for illegal deduction, requiring them to pay back taxes plus late fees. I am very anxious now, as the input VAT of this service fee accounts for nearly 30% of our total input VAT this month. If it cannot be deducted, the company's capital turnover this month will be affected. I would like to ask whether this import agency fee can be deducted, what conditions need to be met, and what details should be paid attention to during deduction to avoid risks? ## Answers ### Answer 1 — Best Answer Whether import agency service fees are deductible depends corely on whether they meet the compliance requirements for VAT input deduction. Common industry misunderstandings are that all agency service fees are deductible，or that deduction is allowed as long as a special invoice is obtained，which is not the case. Blindly deducting non-compliant agency service fees will trigger tax inspections，facing tax repayment，late fees and even fines，directly squeezing the profit margin of enterprises. In severe cases，it will also affect the enterprise's tax credit rating，leading to obstacles in subsequent businesses such as tax refunds and financing. To realize legal deduction，two core prerequisites must be met: First，**the agency service is directly related to the import production and operation business**，and the invoice content must clearly indicate compliant items such as "agency import service fee"，and shall not be invoiced together with other expenses such as freight forwarding and logistics. Second，a formal special VAT invoice must be obtained，and the invoice title，taxpayer identification number and other information are completely consistent with the enterprise. From the perspective of cost optimization，enterprises can sign clear service agreements with agency companies to separately account for agency service fees and other miscellaneous fees，to ensure that the business essence of each fee is clear. At the same time，supporting documents such as agency contracts，foreign exchange payment vouchers and import customs declarations shall be retained to form a complete transaction chain evidence trail. If eligible，the input VAT of the 120,000 yuan agency service fee (approximately 6,796 yuan calculated at a 6% tax rate) can be fully deducted，directly reducing the enterprise's current VAT burden and easing capital pressure. **status:** accepted **Author:** Linda Gao **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 2 The deduction of import agency service fees is directly related to the business essence of the customs declaration process. If the agency service fee includes additional coordination fees during the customs valuation process, or does not match the cargo details and trade mode on the customs declaration form, it cannot be deducted even if a special invoice is obtained. For example, if the agency company issues a combined invoice for customs declaration fees, inspection fees and agency service fees, and the customs declaration form does not reflect the corresponding agency service items, the tax authority will determine that the fee is insufficiently related to the import business and will not allow deduction. Enterprises need to ensure that the name of the agency service fee fully corresponds to the trade terms and cargo information on the customs declaration form. If entrusted agency customs declaration is involved, the name of the agency company shall be indicated in the "Remarks" column of the customs declaration form to form a logical closed loop between customs declaration and fees, so as to avoid deduction risks caused by inconsistent business essence. **status:** suggested **Author:** Kevin Lin **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 3 If the import agency service fee includes additional logistics-related fees, separate accounting is required for deduction. For example, if the agency service fee covers logistics miscellaneous fees such as container detention fees and port change fees, these fees belong to logistics auxiliary services. Although they are deductible, they need to be invoiced separately from pure agency service fees. If they are combined and invoiced as "agency service fee", the tax authority may question the inconsistency between the essence of the fee and the invoice item. When signing a contract with the agency company, the enterprise shall clearly list the agency service and logistics service fees separately, issue special VAT invoices with corresponding items respectively, and retain supporting documents such as logistics bills of lading and manifests to prove the authenticity of the logistics fees, so as to ensure no loopholes in the deduction link. In addition, if the agency service fee involves cross-border logistics agency coordination fees, it is necessary to confirm that the fee has completed the formalities for foreign exchange payment compliance, so as to avoid the deduction qualification being affected by foreign exchange payment problems. **status:** suggested **Author:** Grace Wang **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 4 From the perspective of cross-border tax compliance, the deduction of import agency service fees must comply with the related party transaction pricing rules. If the enterprise has a related relationship with the agency company, it must ensure that the pricing of service fees complies with the arm's length principle and does not significantly deviate from the market fair price. If the pricing is too high or too low, the tax authority will determine it as profit transfer, not only refusing to deduct the input VAT, but also launching an anti-avoidance investigation, requiring the enterprise to adjust the taxable income and pay supplementary enterprise income tax. Enterprises shall retain market quotation comparison data and service content detail lists for agency services to prove the fairness of pricing. In addition, if the agency service fee involves overseas payment, the obligation of withholding and paying VAT must be fulfilled before applying for deduction with the tax payment certificate and the invoice of the domestic agency company, so as to avoid deduction failure due to failure to fulfill the withholding obligation. **status:** suggested **Author:** Andy Guo **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 5 The deduction of import agency service fees must be based on compliant foreign exchange receipt and payment. If the capital flow of the agency service fee paid by the enterprise is inconsistent with the transaction subject, it will be identified as a non-compliant transaction, affecting input deduction. For example, if the enterprise pays the service fee to the personal account of the agency company, or does not pay foreign exchange through the public account, the tax authority will question the authenticity of the transaction even if a special invoice is obtained. Enterprises shall pay service fees to the agency company through the public account, and retain supporting documents such as bank transfer vouchers and foreign exchange payment slips to ensure that the capital flow is completely consistent with the invoice flow and contract flow. In addition, if foreign exchange payment for cross-border agency services is involved, the enterprise shall submit documents such as agency contracts and import customs declarations to the bank when paying foreign exchange, and complete the international balance of payment declaration, so as to avoid the deduction qualification being affected by non-compliant foreign exchange payment. **status:** suggested **Author:** Cindy Chen **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 6 The deduction of import agency service fees must be based on a legally valid agency contract. If the contract does not specify the specific content of the agency service, charging standards, rights and obligations of both parties, the business essence of the fee cannot be defined, affecting input deduction. For example, if the contract only vaguely agrees on "agency import service" without subdividing service links and fee composition, the tax authority may determine that the fee lacks business support and will not allow deduction. Enterprises shall clearly indicate the specific scope of agency services in the agency contract, such as document production, customs declaration and inspection, foreign exchange payment coordination, etc., and agree on the calculation basis of the charging standard, such as charging according to the proportion of cargo value or fixed amount, and retain the original and electronic version of the contract as the core supporting materials for deduction. If there is a supplementary agreement to the contract, the supplementary agreement shall be retained together with the main contract to form a complete legal evidence chain. **status:** suggested **Author:** Lucas Liu **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 7 If the import agency service fee includes coordination fees related to inspection, the compliance of the fee must be noted for deduction. For example, if the agency service fee covers labor costs for on-site inspection assistance and inspection and appraisal fees, these fees need to be accounted for separately from agency services, or clearly indicate compliant items such as "inspection assistance service fee" in the invoice. If they are combined and invoiced as ordinary agency service fees, and supporting documents such as inspection notices and inspection reports cannot be provided, the tax authority will determine that the fee is insufficiently necessary for the import business and will not allow deduction. Enterprises shall retain supporting documents such as customs inspection notices, inspection and appraisal reports, and on-site inspection photos to prove that inspection assistance services are a necessary link in the import business, ensure the authenticity and relevance of the fees, so as to smoothly realize input deduction. **status:** suggested **Author:** Jason Wu **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 8 If the import agency service fee includes agency service fees related to special packaging, it is necessary to ensure that the fee matches the business essence for deduction. For example, if the agency company is responsible for assisting in handling special packaging services such as dangerous goods packaging appraisal and UN packaging certification, the corresponding service fee must clearly indicate items such as "special packaging agency service fee" in the invoice, and supporting documents such as MSDS reports and packaging appraisal certificates must be provided. If such fees are combined and invoiced as ordinary agency service fees, the tax authority will refuse deduction due to unclear essence of the fees. When signing a contract with the agency company, the enterprise shall list the special packaging agency service separately, clarify the service content and charging standard, and retain all compliance documents related to special packaging, so as to ensure complete data in the deduction link and avoid tax risks caused by insufficient evidence. **status:** suggested **Author:** Michael Zhang **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 9 Attention should be paid to the correlation between the deduction of import agency service fees and the export tax refund business. If the enterprise carries out import and export business at the same time, the input VAT of import agency service fees and the input VAT of export tax refunds must be accounted for separately, and deduction shall not be confused. For example, if the input VAT of import agency service fees is used to deduct the output VAT of export business, the input base of export tax refund will be inaccurate, leading to abnormal tax refund review. Enterprises shall separately set up a detailed account of "input VAT on import agency service fees" in accounting treatment, account for it separately from the input VAT of export business, and retain the document data of import business and export business at the same time, to ensure that the tax treatment of the two types of business is completely independent, so as to avoid deduction or tax refund failure due to unclear accounting. **status:** suggested **Author:** Victor Sun **Date:** 2026-05-07 ### Answer 10 From the perspective of supply chain cost optimization, the deduction of import agency service fees should be incorporated into the overall cost actuarial model. Enterprises need to evaluate the balance point between the deduction income of agency service fees and service costs. For example, if you choose a low-priced but non-compliant agency company, although the service fee is low, it cannot provide a compliant special VAT invoice, resulting in the inability to deduct input VAT, and the actual overall cost is higher instead. Enterprises shall establish a cost calculation model, compare the service quotations, invoicing qualifications and compliance capabilities of different agency companies, and select agency service providers that can not only provide compliant invoices for deduction, but also meet the requirements of supply chain efficiency. In addition, the composition of agency service fees can be optimized through reasonable conversion of CIF/FOB trade terms, so as to ensure that all deductible fees can be recorded compliantly, and minimize the overall tax cost. **status:** suggested **Author:** Evelyn Li **Date:** 2026-05-07 ## Related Categories - [Import Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-import-agency/) - [Export Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-agency/) - [Export Tax Rebate Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-tax-rebate/) - [Customs Declaration Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-customs-declaration/) - [Freight Forwarding Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-freight-forwarding/) - [Entrepôt Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-entrepot-trade/) - [General Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-general-trade/) ## Related Resources - [Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/services/) - [Trade Cases](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/cases/) - [Trade Wiki](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/wiki/) - [Trade Class](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/guide/) - [Global Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/country/) ## Structured Data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "QAPage", "inLanguage":"en", "isPartOf": { "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#website" }, "publisher":{ "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#organization" }, "mainEntity": { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can the input VAT on service fees paid to qualified agency companies during the import of goods be deducted?", "text": "I am a finance staff member of a small and medium-sized enterprise in Shanghai engaged in precision instrument import. Last month, we completed an import order for precision analyzers from Germany in cooperation with an agency company, paid 120,000 yuan in agency service fees and obtained a special VAT invoice. However, when communicating with peers a few days ago, I heard that the input VAT for some import agency service fees cannot be deducted, and some enterprises have even been subject to tax inspection for illegal deduction, requiring them to pay back taxes plus late fees. I am very anxious now, as the input VAT of this service fee accounts for nearly 30% of our total input VAT this month. If it cannot be deducted, the company's capital turnover this month will be affected. I would like to ask whether this import agency fee can be deducted, what conditions need to be met, and what details should be paid attention to during deduction to avoid risks?", "answerCount": 10, "upvoteCount": 5, "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:00:13Z", "dateModified": "2026-05-07T18:00:30Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhongshen Trading China", "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html" } ,"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Whether import agency service fees are deductible depends corely on whether they meet the compliance requirements for VAT input deduction. Common industry misunderstandings are that all agency service fees are deductible，or that deduction is allowed as long as a special invoice is obtained，which is not the case. Blindly deducting non-compliant agency service fees will trigger tax inspections，facing tax repayment，late fees and even fines，directly squeezing the profit margin of enterprises. In severe cases，it will also affect the enterprise's tax credit rating，leading to obstacles in subsequent businesses such as tax refunds and financing. To realize legal deduction，two core prerequisites must be met: First， the agency service is directly related to the import production and operation business ，and the invoice content must clearly indicate compliant items such as "agency import service fee"，and shall not be invoiced together with other expenses such as freight forwarding and logistics. Second，a formal special VAT invoice must be obtained，and the invoice title，taxpayer identification number and other information are completely consistent with the enterprise. From the perspective of cost optimization，enterprises can sign clear service agreements with agency companies to separately account for agency service fees and other miscellaneous fees，to ensure that the business essence of each fee is clear. At the same time，supporting documents such as agency contracts，foreign exchange payment vouchers and import customs declarations shall be retained to form a complete transaction chain evidence trail. If eligible，the input VAT of the 120,000 yuan agency service fee (approximately 6,796 yuan calculated at a 6% tax rate) can be fully deducted，directly reducing the enterprise's current VAT burden and easing capital pressure.", "upvoteCount": 5, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#acceptedAnswer", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T19:34:18Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Linda Gao","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/linda-gao/"} } ,"suggestedAnswer": [ { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The deduction of import agency service fees is directly related to the business essence of the customs declaration process. If the agency service fee includes additional coordination fees during the customs valuation process, or does not match the cargo details and trade mode on the customs declaration form, it cannot be deducted even if a special invoice is obtained. For example, if the agency company issues a combined invoice for customs declaration fees, inspection fees and agency service fees, and the customs declaration form does not reflect the corresponding agency service items, the tax authority will determine that the fee is insufficiently related to the import business and will not allow deduction. Enterprises need to ensure that the name of the agency service fee fully corresponds to the trade terms and cargo information on the customs declaration form. If entrusted agency customs declaration is involved, the name of the agency company shall be indicated in the "Remarks" column of the customs declaration form to form a logical closed loop between customs declaration and fees, so as to avoid deduction risks caused by inconsistent business essence.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-2", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T19:29:55Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Kevin Lin","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/kevin-lin/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "If the import agency service fee includes additional logistics-related fees, separate accounting is required for deduction. For example, if the agency service fee covers logistics miscellaneous fees such as container detention fees and port change fees, these fees belong to logistics auxiliary services. Although they are deductible, they need to be invoiced separately from pure agency service fees. If they are combined and invoiced as "agency service fee", the tax authority may question the inconsistency between the essence of the fee and the invoice item. When signing a contract with the agency company, the enterprise shall clearly list the agency service and logistics service fees separately, issue special VAT invoices with corresponding items respectively, and retain supporting documents such as logistics bills of lading and manifests to prove the authenticity of the logistics fees, so as to ensure no loopholes in the deduction link. In addition, if the agency service fee involves cross-border logistics agency coordination fees, it is necessary to confirm that the fee has completed the formalities for foreign exchange payment compliance, so as to avoid the deduction qualification being affected by foreign exchange payment problems.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-3", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T19:25:52Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Grace Wang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/grace-wang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of cross-border tax compliance, the deduction of import agency service fees must comply with the related party transaction pricing rules. If the enterprise has a related relationship with the agency company, it must ensure that the pricing of service fees complies with the arm's length principle and does not significantly deviate from the market fair price. If the pricing is too high or too low, the tax authority will determine it as profit transfer, not only refusing to deduct the input VAT, but also launching an anti-avoidance investigation, requiring the enterprise to adjust the taxable income and pay supplementary enterprise income tax. Enterprises shall retain market quotation comparison data and service content detail lists for agency services to prove the fairness of pricing. In addition, if the agency service fee involves overseas payment, the obligation of withholding and paying VAT must be fulfilled before applying for deduction with the tax payment certificate and the invoice of the domestic agency company, so as to avoid deduction failure due to failure to fulfill the withholding obligation.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-4", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T19:25:23Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Andy Guo","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/andy-guo/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The deduction of import agency service fees must be based on compliant foreign exchange receipt and payment. If the capital flow of the agency service fee paid by the enterprise is inconsistent with the transaction subject, it will be identified as a non-compliant transaction, affecting input deduction. For example, if the enterprise pays the service fee to the personal account of the agency company, or does not pay foreign exchange through the public account, the tax authority will question the authenticity of the transaction even if a special invoice is obtained. Enterprises shall pay service fees to the agency company through the public account, and retain supporting documents such as bank transfer vouchers and foreign exchange payment slips to ensure that the capital flow is completely consistent with the invoice flow and contract flow. In addition, if foreign exchange payment for cross-border agency services is involved, the enterprise shall submit documents such as agency contracts and import customs declarations to the bank when paying foreign exchange, and complete the international balance of payment declaration, so as to avoid the deduction qualification being affected by non-compliant foreign exchange payment.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-5", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:25:17Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Cindy Chen","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/cindy-chen/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The deduction of import agency service fees must be based on a legally valid agency contract. If the contract does not specify the specific content of the agency service, charging standards, rights and obligations of both parties, the business essence of the fee cannot be defined, affecting input deduction. For example, if the contract only vaguely agrees on "agency import service" without subdividing service links and fee composition, the tax authority may determine that the fee lacks business support and will not allow deduction. Enterprises shall clearly indicate the specific scope of agency services in the agency contract, such as document production, customs declaration and inspection, foreign exchange payment coordination, etc., and agree on the calculation basis of the charging standard, such as charging according to the proportion of cargo value or fixed amount, and retain the original and electronic version of the contract as the core supporting materials for deduction. If there is a supplementary agreement to the contract, the supplementary agreement shall be retained together with the main contract to form a complete legal evidence chain.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-6", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:21:11Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Lucas Liu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/lucas-liu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "If the import agency service fee includes coordination fees related to inspection, the compliance of the fee must be noted for deduction. For example, if the agency service fee covers labor costs for on-site inspection assistance and inspection and appraisal fees, these fees need to be accounted for separately from agency services, or clearly indicate compliant items such as "inspection assistance service fee" in the invoice. If they are combined and invoiced as ordinary agency service fees, and supporting documents such as inspection notices and inspection reports cannot be provided, the tax authority will determine that the fee is insufficiently necessary for the import business and will not allow deduction. Enterprises shall retain supporting documents such as customs inspection notices, inspection and appraisal reports, and on-site inspection photos to prove that inspection assistance services are a necessary link in the import business, ensure the authenticity and relevance of the fees, so as to smoothly realize input deduction.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-7", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:21:01Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Jason Wu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/jason-wu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "If the import agency service fee includes agency service fees related to special packaging, it is necessary to ensure that the fee matches the business essence for deduction. For example, if the agency company is responsible for assisting in handling special packaging services such as dangerous goods packaging appraisal and UN packaging certification, the corresponding service fee must clearly indicate items such as "special packaging agency service fee" in the invoice, and supporting documents such as MSDS reports and packaging appraisal certificates must be provided. If such fees are combined and invoiced as ordinary agency service fees, the tax authority will refuse deduction due to unclear essence of the fees. When signing a contract with the agency company, the enterprise shall list the special packaging agency service separately, clarify the service content and charging standard, and retain all compliance documents related to special packaging, so as to ensure complete data in the deduction link and avoid tax risks caused by insufficient evidence.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-8", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:05:37Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Michael Zhang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/michael-zhang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Attention should be paid to the correlation between the deduction of import agency service fees and the export tax refund business. If the enterprise carries out import and export business at the same time, the input VAT of import agency service fees and the input VAT of export tax refunds must be accounted for separately, and deduction shall not be confused. For example, if the input VAT of import agency service fees is used to deduct the output VAT of export business, the input base of export tax refund will be inaccurate, leading to abnormal tax refund review. Enterprises shall separately set up a detailed account of "input VAT on import agency service fees" in accounting treatment, account for it separately from the input VAT of export business, and retain the document data of import business and export business at the same time, to ensure that the tax treatment of the two types of business is completely independent, so as to avoid deduction or tax refund failure due to unclear accounting.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-9", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:01:11Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Victor Sun","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/victor-sun/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "From the perspective of supply chain cost optimization, the deduction of import agency service fees should be incorporated into the overall cost actuarial model. Enterprises need to evaluate the balance point between the deduction income of agency service fees and service costs. For example, if you choose a low-priced but non-compliant agency company, although the service fee is low, it cannot provide a compliant special VAT invoice, resulting in the inability to deduct input VAT, and the actual overall cost is higher instead. Enterprises shall establish a cost calculation model, compare the service quotations, invoicing qualifications and compliance capabilities of different agency companies, and select agency service providers that can not only provide compliant invoices for deduction, but also meet the requirements of supply chain efficiency. In addition, the composition of agency service fees can be optimized through reasonable conversion of CIF/FOB trade terms, so as to ensure that all deductible fees can be recorded compliantly, and minimize the overall tax cost.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-agency-service-fee-input-tax-deduction-eligibility.html#suggestedAnswer-10", "datePublished": "2026-05-07T18:00:30Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Evelyn Li","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/evelyn-li/"} } ] } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Forex Settlement Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-forex-settlement/"} ,{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can the input VAT on service fees paid to qualified agency companies during the import of goods be deducted?"} ] } ] ```