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What are the core nodes and key compliance operation points involved in the entire customs declaration process for imported goods?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am an e-commerce business owner in Shanghai mainly engaged in imported maternal and infant products. I air freighted 200 cases of infant formula from Germany to Pudong Airport for the first time.
The goods have arrived at the port for 3 days now, and the small freight forwarder I entrusted suddenly said that there are two inconsistencies in the customs declaration documents I submitted, which will likely lead to customs detention. I am so anxious that I can't sleep — this shipment is the core stock prepared for the 618 big promotion.
If it stays in the port for more than 5 days, I will not only have to pay thousands of yuan in port storage fees every day, but the milk powder may also spoil due to non-compliant storage environment, and missing the big promotion window will cause a loss of at least more than 200,000 yuan. I have never dealt with import customs declaration before, and I want to ask how to complete the customs declaration quickly and compliantly, and avoid falling into such pitfalls again in the future?
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
First，complete accurate pre-review of prior documents: For imported foods such as infant formula，you must prepare the registration number of the overseas manufacturing enterprise (which must be on the General Administration of Customs' white list)，the quarantine certificate for entry goods，the certificate of origin，the air waybill，commercial invoice，packing list，and core documents for customs declaration. You must ensure that the information such as brand，batch number，and net weight on all documents is completely consistent，and information deviations are strictly prohibited.
Core nodes must be closely connected: must complete the process 3 days before the goods arrive at the port，submit all documents to an institution qualified for food import customs declaration for pre-review，to avoid delaying customs clearance due to problems found only after the goods arrive at the port，For food goods，you must follow the process of inspection declaration before customs declaration，submit the customs declaration form through the single window after passing the inspection declaration，and pay the taxes and fees at the same time，to ensure that there is no gap in node connection.
Formulate an emergency plan in advance: If you encounter inconsistent documents，immediately ask the overseas supplier to reissue electronic compliant documents (the customs currently recognizes the validity of electronic documents)，without waiting for paper documents，If you are subject to random inspection，cooperate with the customs to complete sampling，and you can apply for a priority inspection channel to shorten the inspection cycle.
Final compliance implementation: After customs clearance is completed，keep all documents for at least 3 years for subsequent customs verification，to ensure a full-process compliance closed loop.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
For high-concern commodities such as infant formula, the customs will focus on verifying the authenticity of commercial invoices during customs valuation. If the invoice price deviates by more than 10% from the customs reference price, it will likely trigger valuation disputes.
At this time, you need to provide supporting materials such as overseas purchase contracts, payment slips, and cost breakdowns of overseas suppliers to avoid increased taxes and fees caused by direct customs valuation; If there is information error in the submitted customs declaration form, you need to apply for deletion and re-submission within 5 days after the goods arrive at the port. Exceeding the time limit will generate demurrage fees, and you need to provide detailed error explanations and supporting materials when deleting the form to ensure rapid customs approval.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
The free storage period for imported air freight goods at Pudong Airport is usually 3 days. After that, port storage fees and warehouse fees will be charged every day.
For perishable goods such as infant formula, you can apply to the airline in advance for an extension of 1-2 days of free storage period, and you need to provide the food attribute certificate of the goods when applying; If port storage fees have been incurred, you can entrust the customs broker to negotiate with the airport warehouse for a reduction, provided that you can provide a reasonable delay reason (such as the express delivery voucher for reissuing documents); In addition, you need to confirm the authenticity of the bill of lading when picking up the goods to avoid cargo right disputes caused by forged bills of lading. It is recommended to use telex release bills of lading and ask the overseas supplier to provide the telex release voucher for the bill of lading.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
The taxes and fees for imported infant formula include tariffs, value-added tax (VAT) and consumption tax (if applicable). Qualified enterprises can apply for the VAT deferred payment policy, which does not require paying VAT in one lump sum when clearing customs, but declares and pays VAT during the VAT declaration period of the next month, which can effectively alleviate financial pressure; To apply for VAT deferral, you need to complete the filing in advance through the single window, and provide the enterprise's qualification certificate for import and export rights and the tax payment certificate of the past 6 months when filing; In addition, if the imported goods are used for cross-border e-commerce retail import, you can enjoy the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive tax preferential policies, and you need to ensure that the goods meet the requirements of the cross-border e-commerce retail import list, and the amount of a single order does not exceed 5,000 yuan.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The foreign exchange payment for imported infant formula must comply with the cross-border payment and receipt compliance requirements. If RMB cross-border payment is used, it can be completed through the CIPS system.
When paying foreign exchange, you need to provide the bank with import customs declaration forms, commercial invoices, purchase contracts and other materials to ensure that the payment amount is consistent with the dutiable price on the customs declaration form; If there is a deviation between the payment amount and the dutiable price, you need to provide reasonable supporting materials (such as the commission agreement of overseas suppliers, freight invoices) to avoid being listed as abnormal payment and receipt by the bank; In addition, you need to ensure that the account information of overseas suppliers is true and valid, to avoid payment delays caused by incorrect account information, which will affect the subsequent customs clearance process.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
When importing infant formula, you need to pay attention to intellectual property compliance. If it involves well-known brands, you need to obtain the authorized import certificate from the brand owner in advance to avoid customs detention suspected of trademark infringement; The authorization certificate must clearly specify the product model, batch and quantity of imported goods, and must be issued by the official institution of the brand owner; In addition, the purchase contract must clearly specify the time node for the transfer of cargo rights, and it is recommended to agree to complete the transfer of cargo rights before the goods are loaded, to avoid cargo right disputes caused by breach of contract by overseas suppliers; If you encounter intellectual property disputes with customs detention, you need to provide the authorization certificate and relevant supporting materials within 3 days to avoid the goods being confiscated.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
After imported infant formula arrives at the port, the customs will likely conduct on-site inspection. During the inspection, you need to cooperate with customs staff to complete operations such as unpacking and sampling. When unpacking, you need to pay attention to protecting the integrity of the goods' packaging to avoid milk powder getting damp and spoiled due to damaged packaging; If the customs requires inspection, cooperate to provide information such as the batch number, production date and shelf life of the goods, and you can apply for a priority inspection channel, which can shorten the inspection cycle from 7 days to 3 days; In addition, you need to prepare the MSDS report of the goods in advance.
If the customs raises questions during the inspection, you can immediately provide the report to support the safety attributes of the goods; If the inspection finds quality problems with the goods, negotiate returns and exchanges with the overseas supplier immediately, and apply for return procedures to the customs.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
The packaging of imported infant formula must meet the requirements of cross-border transportation and customs inspection. Air freight packaging must use pressure-resistant corrugated cartons, and moisture-proof buffer materials (such as pearl cotton) must be placed inside to avoid milk powder getting damp due to damaged packaging during transportation; If the goods are transported by cold chain, insulated boxes with temperature monitoring function must be used, and the temperature range of the insulated boxes must be controlled at 2-8℃.
At the same time, temperature records during transportation must be provided for review by the customs and inspection and quarantine departments; In addition, the packaging must clearly mark the brand, batch number, production date, shelf life and other information of the goods, and the marked content must be completely consistent with the information on the documents to avoid customs detention due to inconsistent markings.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
All documents for imported infant formula must be kept for at least 3 years in strict accordance with customs requirements. The retained documents include customs declaration forms, commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, quarantine certificates for entry goods, payment vouchers, etc., and the authenticity, completeness and consistency of the documents must be ensured; If the customs conducts follow-up verification, it must be able to provide all retained documents within 3 days to avoid being listed as a compliance risk enterprise due to missing documents; In addition, an electronic document archiving system needs to be established, and all documents should be scanned and archived to avoid loss of paper documents; At the same time, regular internal audits of import documents need to be conducted to check for information deviations, missing documents and other issues, and timely discover and correct potential compliance risks.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
When importing infant formula, the choice of trade terms will directly affect the customs declaration process and costs. If the CIF term is used, the overseas supplier is responsible for transportation and insurance, and you need to ask the supplier to provide formal transportation invoices and insurance policies to ensure accurate calculation of the dutiable price when declaring customs; If the FOB term is used, you need to arrange transportation and insurance by yourself.
It is recommended to select a logistics company qualified for cold chain transportation to avoid goods spoiling during transportation; In addition, you need to establish an inventory linkage strategy, arrange import customs declaration in advance according to the sales forecast of the big promotion, to avoid port detention and missing sales windows caused by late stock preparation; At the same time, you can use batch import to disperse customs declaration risks and financial pressure, and avoid excessive taxes and fees and port storage losses caused by too large a single import volume.