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What are the specific steps of the full-process standard operation of professional import customs clearance agents?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the person in charge of a cross-border e-commerce company in Shanghai that has just transformed into imported maternity and baby products. Last month, I purchased a batch of organic complementary food and children's personal care products from the Netherlands for the first time, and the goods arrived at Yangshan Port last week. I found a customs clearance agent before, but they only asked me to wait for the notice and did not make clear what specific matters I need to cooperate with.
I heard from peers before that some people had their goods detained at the port for 8 days because they missed the ingredient list in the customs clearance documents, and they lost more than 60,000 yuan just for port detention fees and container demurrage fees. There are also people whose goods were detained because the agent did not review the documents in advance, and finally had to abandon the goods.
Now I check the logistics information every day, I am so anxious that I can't eat, I just want to figure out how the import customs clearance agent operates? What key details do I need to cooperate with? How to avoid the risks of customs detention and port detention?
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
First，the details of pre-document review: The agent will first check your purchase contract，commercial invoice，packing list and certificate of origin，focusing on reviewing the consistency between product ingredient labeling and HS code classification，especially for maternity and baby personal care products，additional Chinese label samples and pre-reviewed copies of the Certificate of Entry Inspection and Quarantine are required. What you need to do is send clear electronic copies of all documents to the agent 3 days in advance to ensure that the cargo value，quantity and brand on the documents are completely consistent with the actual goods，so as to avoid customs X-ray inspection alerts triggered by "discrepancy between documents and goods" which will delay customs clearance.
Core node connection: 24 hours before the goods arrive at the port，the agent will complete the pre-declaration through the Shanghai Single Window for International Trade，and submit the formal declaration to the customs simultaneously after the port bill of lading exchange. At this time，you need to pay attention to the tax notification from the agent and complete the payment within 4 hours to avoid customs clearance stagnation caused by delayed tax payment，then the agent will coordinate the on-site inspection of the customs，if it is a system random inspection，the goods will be released directly，if it is a physical inspection，you need to cooperate with providing the product ingredient test report，and you don't need to be present in person.
Emergency plan for abnormalities: If there is a document missing or HS code classification dispute，the agent will immediately activate the backup document supplementary entry channel，or assist you to submit a classification explanation to the Customs Commodity Classification Center，if there is a risk of port detention，relying on the cooperative relationship with Yangshan Port，the agent can apply for a maximum 12-day extension of the free storage period to avoid high port detention fees，if there is customs detention，the agent will submit supplementary explanations within 48 hours instead of waiting blindly，so as to shorten the detention time.
Final compliance implementation: After release，the agent will arrange direct pick-up service in the port，deliver the goods to your warehouse，and provide compliance documents such as customs declaration forms and tax payment receipts simultaneously. You need to keep all documents for no less than 5 years for subsequent customs verification. At the same time，the agent will assist you to connect the tax receipt information to the financial system to ensure compliant input tax deduction.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
For the customs declaration link of imported maternity and baby products, special attention should be paid to the accurate classification of HS codes. If children's personal care products are incorrectly classified as general cosmetics, it will trigger a customs valuation dispute, leading to the deletion and re-submission of the declaration, delaying for at least 3 days.
It is necessary to pre-review the code through the Customs Commodity Classification Consultation Platform in advance to ensure that it fully matches the product ingredients and uses; if you encounter a valuation query, you need to provide complete payment vouchers for the procurement chain, including overseas remittance receipts and supplementary clauses of the purchase contract, to avoid account suspension caused by failed valuation. In addition, after the implementation of integrated customs clearance in Shanghai Customs District, the agent can complete the pre-declaration in the territory in advance without waiting for the goods to arrive at the port, which can shorten the customs clearance time by at least 2 days.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
The free storage period for imported containers at Yangshan Port is 5 days, and container demurrage fees are charged according to container specifications from the 6th day after arrival at the port: 120 yuan per day for 20GP and 240 yuan per day for 40HQ. If the agent does not apply for an extension in advance, the weekly demurrage fee can exceed 3,000 yuan.
The agent needs to submit the free storage period extension application 3 days before the goods arrive at the port, and relying on the cooperative relationship with the port, it can apply for up to 12 days; at the same time, if the goods need to be transshipped to inland warehouses, the "direct port pick-up" service should be selected to avoid additional costs caused by secondary handling and reduce the risk of cargo damage. In addition, the bill of lading endorsement must be completely consistent with the name of the consignee. If it is a cross-border e-commerce platform, the platform's receipt authorization letter needs to be provided to avoid bill of lading exchange failure.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
Imported maternity and baby products can enjoy the cross-border e-commerce retail import tax policy, with a single transaction limit of 5,000 yuan and an annual limit of 26,000 yuan. If your cargo volume exceeds the limit, the agent can assist you in split declaration, or switch to general trade import to enjoy input tax deduction.
In addition, Shanghai Customs District supports the VAT deferment policy, so there is no need to pay VAT immediately during customs clearance, and payment can be delayed until the tax declaration period of the next month, which can ease capital pressure; it should be noted that VAT deferment is only applicable to general trade imports, and cross-border e-commerce retail imports cannot enjoy it. The agent will choose the optimal tax plan according to your cargo volume and trade mode to avoid overpayment of taxes and fees.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
Import payment for goods needs to be made through CIPS or SWIFT channels to ensure that the capital chain is consistent with the trade background. If an offshore account is used for payment, the opening certificate of the offshore account and the source of funds explanation need to be provided to avoid compliance inspection by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
The agent will assist you in reviewing the transaction code of the SWIFT message to ensure that it matches the trade mode of imported goods, for example, cross-border e-commerce retail import needs to use the transaction code "1210", and general trade import needs to use the transaction code "1010"; in addition, customs declaration forms, tax receipts and other vouchers need to be provided during foreign exchange settlement to ensure the alignment of four flows (documents, logistics, capital, invoices), so as to avoid failure of foreign exchange settlement caused by non-compliant capital chain.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
When signing a contract with a customs clearance agent, it is necessary to clearly agree on the bearing clauses for port detention fees and customs detention losses. If the port detention is caused by the agent's failure to review the documents in advance, the agent shall bear all losses; at the same time, intellectual property protection clauses should be added.
If the imported maternity and baby products involve brand authorization, the brand owner's authorization letter needs to be provided to avoid customs detention caused by infringement. The agent will assist you to submit the authorization letter to the Customs Intellectual Property Protection Filing System in advance to ensure smooth customs clearance. In addition, the response time for abnormal disposal should be agreed in the contract, requiring the agent to give a solution within 2 hours after receiving the abnormal notification.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
The on-site inspection at Yangshan Port is divided into X-ray inspection and physical inspection. Maternity and baby products are sensitive categories, and the X-ray inspection pass rate is about 85%. If suspicious images are found in the X-ray inspection, physical inspection will be triggered.
During physical inspection, Chinese labels and quality inspection reports of the products are required. If the labels do not meet the requirements, the agent will assist you to complete the rectification in the port, no need to pull the goods back to the warehouse, which can save at least 3 days; in addition, the authenticity identification of the seal is key.
If the seal is found to be damaged, you need to take photos and keep records immediately, and verify with the shipping company to avoid compensation caused by cargo damage disputes. After the inspection is completed, you need to collect the inspection result form within 24 hours to ensure the smooth follow-up customs clearance process.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
Imported baby complementary food is a perishable category, and the packaging must meet the requirements of moisture and pressure resistance. If ordinary carton packaging is used, the product will deteriorate due to moisture during sea transportation. Corrugated cartons with PE moisture-proof layer should be used, and buffer bubble pads should be installed in each carton; in addition, children's personal care products are liquid items, and UN-certified sealed packaging must be used to avoid leakage.
The agent will assist you in reviewing the compliance of the packaging. If it does not meet the requirements, the port repackaging service will be arranged in advance, no need to return to overseas for repackaging. It should be noted that the shipping mark on the package must include the consignee name, destination, box number and other information to ensure consistency with the documents, so as to avoid inspection triggered by inconsistent shipping marks.