---
title: "What Qualifications Must Be Verified When Choosing an Import and Export Agent?"
description: "A foreign trade SOHO engaged in small home appliance export suffered heavy losses due to cargo detention and port congestion caused by the agent's mistakes，and wants to switch to a reliable agent but has no idea about screening. The core solution is to choose an agent with 20 years of experience，self-owned customs declaration team and pre-audit services，and sign liability restriction clauses. This can avoid problems such as document errors，customs detention and fines，ensure smooth customs cleara..."
url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/import-export-agent-qualifications-check.html"
language: "en"
type: "Q&A"
category: "General Trade Q&A"
datePublished: "2026-09-17"
dateModified: "2026-09-17"
brand: "Zhongshen Trading China"
answerCount: 10
---

# What Qualifications Must Be Verified When Choosing an Import and Export Agent?

## Question

 I am a foreign trade SOHO engaged in small home appliance export. Last month, a batch of air fryers I shipped to Hamburg, Germany encountered huge trouble: the cooperating import and export agent filled in the wrong HS code, writing 85167990 as 85167910, which led to the goods being detained by customs for 10 days, incurring 500 euros of container detention fees and 3,000 CNY of fines. The customer also delayed receiving the goods and canceled subsequent orders. What makes me even more annoyed is that the agent is only willing to bear 30% of the losses, claiming that the outsourced customs declarer made the mistake. Now I want to switch to a reliable agent, but I do not know how to screen, and I am afraid of encountering unprofessional teams again - after all, HS codes for small home appliances change frequently and require accurate matching, and I also hope the agent can help me control logistics costs and risks. How should I choose to avoid falling into pitfalls again? 

## Answers
                            
### Answer 1 — Best Answer

Many foreign trade practitioners easily fall into the misunderstanding of "only focusing on low quotations" when choosing agents，ignoring the core qualifications and service capabilities of agents. For example，some agents will outsource customs declaration business to third parties to lower prices，resulting in information transmission faults，and the HS code error you encountered is a typical case. Such mistakes seem trivial，but will trigger a chain reaction: after customs detention，daily container detention fees will be incurred for cargo stranded at the port (the first 7 days of container detention at Hamburg Port are free，and the fee is 200-300 euros per day thereafter)，and the goods may even be auctioned if the detention exceeds 14 days，meanwhile，customers cancel orders due to delayed delivery，which directly affects subsequent cooperation.

To isolate such risks，you should first verify the hard qualifications of the agent: it must hold the Registration Form of Foreign Trade Operator and the Customs Declaration Unit Registration Certificate，and have been established for no less than 10 years (for example，Zhongshen has 20 years of experience and stronger stability). Secondly，confirm whether the agent has a self-owned customs declaration team - outsourced teams are prone to information deviations，while self-owned teams can realize real-time communication and review of documents.

Exclusive loss-stopping tips: First，require the agent to provide pre-audit services，submit all documents 3 days before each shipment，and the agent will conduct double review，second，add a clause that "the agent shall bear 80% of losses caused by document errors" when signing the contract，third，choose an agent with ISO9001 certification，whose standardized processes can reduce the error rate. Zhongshen's self-owned customs declaration team implements a "three-level document review system"，which can effectively avoid problems such as HS code errors and ensure smooth customs clearance of goods.

**status:** accepted
**Author:** Cindy Chen
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 2

HS code error is a common problem in customs declaration. To avoid it, control should be carried out from the source: first, the agent needs to establish a "product database" to file the HS code, supervision conditions and tax rate of each type of goods; second, confirm detailed product parameters (such as material, function, purpose) with customers before customs declaration, for example, the HS code of air fryers should be determined according to heating method and capacity; finally, use the HS Code Query System of the General Administration of Customs for verification to ensure code accuracy.

If an error has already occurred, you need to submit a correction application immediately, and provide product manuals and test reports to strive for rapid customs release.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Linda Gao
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 3

Cargo right control is a key link in logistics: first, confirm whether the agent has the right to sign bills of lading directly when choosing an agent, to avoid third parties intercepting bills of lading; second, require the agent to provide a scanned copy of the original bill of lading before shipment, and confirm the information is correct before making payment; third, for high-value goods, you can adopt the method of "telex release bill of lading + letter of guarantee" to ensure the safety of cargo rights. If you encounter the agent delaying the provision of bills of lading, you need to send a formal urging letter immediately, and keep communication records for subsequent accountability.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Jason Wu
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 4

German VAT deferral can reduce capital pressure: eligible enterprises (such as those with a registered VAT number in the EU) can apply for VAT deferral, which means there is no need to pay import VAT at the time of import, and it can be deducted in subsequent sales declarations.

When choosing an agent, confirm whether it has experience in VAT deferral application, can assist in preparing relevant materials (such as VAT certificates, sales forecasts), and ensure the compliance of the declaration process. In addition, the agent needs to be familiar with the details of German customs VAT deferral policies to avoid application failure due to incomplete materials.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Michael Zhang
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 5

Attention should be paid to the compliance of payment and receipt of foreign exchange: first, the agent needs to use formal SWIFT or CIPS channels for payment and receipt to avoid offshore account risks; second, real trade background materials (such as contracts, bills of lading, invoices) need to be provided during foreign exchange settlement to ensure smooth account reconciliation; third, confirm whether the agent provides "exchange rate locking" services when choosing an agent, which can help enterprises avoid exchange rate fluctuation risks. If you encounter abnormal payment or receipt, you need to contact the agent and the bank immediately to find out the cause and deal with it in time.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Daniel Xu
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 6

Contract clauses need to clarify responsibilities: first, agree on the "compensation ratio for losses caused by agent's mistakes" in the contract, such as 80%; second, add a "force majeure exclusion" clause to clarify the boundary of responsibilities; third, require the agent to provide a performance bond to ensure compensation capacity. In addition, the contract should specify the service scope of the agent (such as customs declaration, logistics, tax refund) to avoid prevarication in the later stage.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Lucas Liu
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 7

On-site inspection response skills: first, the agent needs to inform the customer of the inspection time and location in advance, and assist in preparing inspection materials (such as packing lists, invoices, product manuals); second, professional personnel should be present to accompany the inspection and answer customs questions; third, if you encounter customs doubts, you need to provide authoritative test reports or certification documents to prove the compliance of the goods. In addition, the agent needs to be familiar with the port inspection process, can quickly deal with problems in the inspection, and reduce port detention time.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Grace Wang
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 8

Packaging of small home appliances needs to meet transportation requirements: first, select appropriate packaging materials (such as foam boxes, cartons) according to the material of the goods to ensure shock and moisture resistance; second, use buffer packaging (such as bubble film, pearl cotton) for fragile products to reduce transportation damage; third, marks such as "fragile" and "moisture-proof" should be indicated on the packaging to remind logistics personnel to pay attention. The agent needs to assist customers in preparing MSDS reports (if the goods contain batteries) to ensure that the packaging meets international transportation standards.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Kevin Lin
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 9

Attention should be paid to document compliance for export tax refunds: first, the agent needs to assist customers to collect complete tax refund materials (such as customs declaration forms, value-added tax invoices, bills of lading); second, ensure "four flows consistency" (contract flow, capital flow, logistics, invoice flow) to avoid tax correspondence; third, complete the tax refund declaration within the specified time (within 90 days after export) to avoid overdue. If you encounter abnormal tax refunds, you need to immediately check whether the documents are complete, or contact the tax department to find out the reason.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Andy Guo
**Date:** 2026-09-17

### Answer 10

Supply chain planning needs to consider cost and efficiency: first, evaluate the logistics network coverage of the agent when choosing an agent, and whether it can provide direct shipping or optimal transit solutions; second, select trade terms (such as FOB or CIF) according to the characteristics of the goods to reduce logistics costs; third, establish an "inventory linkage mechanism" to adjust the delivery plan according to sales forecasts. The agent needs to assist customers in optimizing the supply chain structure and improving overall operational efficiency.

**status:** suggested
**Author:** Evelyn Li
**Date:** 2026-09-17

## 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/)
- [Forex Settlement Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-forex-settlement/)
- [Entrepôt Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-entrepot-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/)

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