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What Are the Full-process Compliance Operation Steps and Core Nodes of Nanjing Transit Trade?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of a hardware and electromechanical export enterprise in Nanjing. Last week I just received notice from an EU customer that the anti-dumping duty has been increased to 45%, which almost ruined the order. Later I heard from peers that transit trade can bypass the tax, but I have no operation experience at all. Now 12 containers of goods have been piled up in the yard of Nanjing Longtan Port for 3 days.
The freight forwarder I contacted before only said they can handle it but refused to mention specific risks. A friend's client had goods detained by customs for forged transit documents, and spent more than 100,000 yuan on port detention fees. I am too anxious to sleep now, I just want to know how to operate Nanjing transit trade specifically, every detail from documents, logistics to payment and receipt, and how to avoid the pitfalls that will lead to customs detention and foreign exchange warning?
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
First carry out pre-verification of document authenticity: verify the certificate of origin and manufacturer invoice issued by the third-party agency of the transit country in advance，ensure that the document title is completely consistent with the trader in the transit country，and strictly prohibit the use of forged or套用 fake documents. According to the latest 2026 supervision requirements of Nanjing Customs，the customs detention rate for inconsistent transit trade documents reaches 32%，so you need to keep the transit country warehousing agreement and cargo transit photos as supporting evidence.
Lock cargo ownership for core node connection: use order bill of lading when shipping from Nanjing Port，and the cargo ownership is controlled by the transit country agent designated by us，the transit declaration to local customs shall be completed simultaneously in the document exchange link of the transit country，ensure that the export declaration form of the transit country is synchronized to Nanjing Customs within 24 hours after the ship leaves the port，so as to avoid supervision warning caused by information lag.
Exception contingency plans shall be implemented in advance: if the transit country customs triggers inspection，submit the pre-stored non-processing certificate of goods (issued by the transit country warehousing institution) immediately，and start the transshipment plan of the backup transit port (such as Port of Singapore) at the same time. If the port detention exceeds 72 hours，you can apply for the cross-border customs transit permission under remote supervision of Nanjing Port，for payment and receipt，use the CIPS RMB cross-border payment channel to ensure the logical closed loop of capital flow and document flow，all operations shall comply with the *Guidelines on Compliance of Payment and Receipt for Transit Trade* issued by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in 2025.
For final compliant implementation，you need to keep the full set of documents for more than 5 years，including logistics bills of lading，transit country declaration forms，payment and receipt vouchers，for post-event verification by Nanjing Customs and the foreign exchange bureau.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
Nanjing transit trade declaration shall strictly follow the "closed-loop logic of double declaration", that is, mark the supervision mode of "transit trade" (code 0139) when declaring export at Nanjing Port, and strictly prohibit wrong declaration as general trade (code 0110). The key point of Nanjing Customs' valuation for transit trade in 2026 is to verify the necessity of cargo transit.
If the declared value deviates from the price of the same category of goods in the transit country by more than 15%, valuation dispute will be triggered, and you need to provide the market research report of the transit country and warehousing fee vouchers as supplementary explanation. If you need to cancel and resubmit the declaration, submit the application 48 hours before the goods leave the port, otherwise it will directly trigger the port detention supervision warning and affect the subsequent foreign trade credit rating.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
For the logistics path of Nanjing transit trade, priority should be given to direct transit ports (such as Port Klang, Malaysia, Port of Singapore), so as to avoid increasing cargo ownership risks by stopping at multiple ports; apply for 7 days of free detention period before shipping from Nanjing Port. If container rolling occurs at the transit country port, start the backup shipping company space plan immediately.
The international container capacity tension will still exist in 2026, with a container rolling rate of 8%. When locking the space in advance, you need to agree on the "container rolling compensation clause" to clarify that the container detention charge shall be borne by the ship owner.
The bill of lading shall use the "To Order" title, and the endorsement shall be completed by the transit country agent. It is strictly prohibited to endorse directly to the customer of the destination country to avoid the risk of cargo release without bill of lading.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
Nanjing transit trade can optimize costs through the tax exemption policy of the transit country. For example, Malaysia exempts import VAT for transit trade goods, and only needs to pay 0.5% warehousing management fee; note that the related party transaction pricing shall comply with the requirements of BEPS Action 13 Report, and the profit margin of transit trade shall be controlled within 10%-20% of the average profit of the same industry in the transit country, so as to avoid being identified as transfer pricing tax avoidance by the tax authority.
If Hong Kong is used as the transit node, ensure that the actual business premises of the Hong Kong company meet the requirements. The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has intensified the inspection of offshore companies in 2026, and companies without actual business premises will not be able to enjoy offshore tax exemption treatment.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
Nanjing transit trade payment and receipt shall adopt the "back-to-back" mode, that is, the destination country customer pays the payment to the transit country trader's account, and then the transit country trader pays to the domestic enterprise's account, direct payment and receipt is strictly prohibited; the key point of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange's review of transit trade payment and receipt in 2026 is "consistency of three flows", that is, capital flow, document flow and logistics flow shall be completely matched.
If the time difference between payment and receipt exceeds 30 days, you need to submit the warehousing agreement of the transit country and the ship arrival certificate as supplementary materials. You can complete payment and receipt through the CIPS RMB cross-border payment channel, which can not only reduce the risk of exchange rate fluctuation, but also improve the compliance review pass rate.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
Three independent contracts shall be signed for Nanjing transit trade: the procurement contract between the domestic enterprise and the transit country trader, the sales contract between the transit country trader and the destination country customer, and the warehousing contract between the domestic enterprise and the transit country warehousing institution. The "exclusive clause for transit trade" shall be specified in the contract, that is, the goods are only stored in the transit country without any processing or change of cargo form; avoid soft clauses of letter of credit, such as the clause requiring the destination country customer to provide the Chinese certificate of origin, and specify in the contract that the transit country certificate of origin is the only valid certificate of origin; at the same time, handle the customs recordation of intellectual property rights to avoid the goods being detained due to infringement in the transit country or destination country.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
In the machine inspection session before shipping from Nanjing Port, submit the packaging photos and cargo details of the goods to the inspection section of Nanjing Customs in advance, mark "transit trade goods without processing demand", so as to avoid physical container inspection triggered by abnormal machine inspection images; if the transit country customs triggers physical container inspection, submit the cargo transit description issued by the transit country warehousing institution, photos and videos of unprocessed goods immediately, and the transit country agent shall assist in communication, so as to avoid port detention fees caused by too long inspection time; pay attention to the authenticity identification of seals, use electronic seals recognized by the customs when shipping from Nanjing Port, replace with new electronic seals when changing containers in the transit country, and record the seal number in all documents simultaneously.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The cargo packaging of Nanjing transit trade shall meet the packaging standards of the transit country and the destination country. For hardware and electromechanical products, use moisture-proof reinforced packaging, that is, add EPE foam buffer layer inside the carton and wrap stretch film outside, so as to avoid cargo damage caused by bumps during transit transportation; if the goods contain dangerous parts such as lithium batteries, make dangerous goods packaging in accordance with UN3480 standard, submit the MSDS report to Nanjing Customs and the transit country customs, and strictly prohibit the use of ordinary packaging to transport dangerous parts; the International Maritime Organization has intensified the inspection of dangerous goods packaging in 2026, goods with unqualified packaging will be prohibited from boarding the ship, and the packaging inspection shall be completed 7 days in advance.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
Nanjing transit trade does not fall into the scope of export tax rebate. Domestic enterprises shall declare the transit trade income as "tax-exempt income" when declaring VAT, and strictly prohibit wrong declaration as export tax rebate income. The key point of Nanjing tax authority's tax rebate inspection for transit trade in 2026 is "actual export status of goods".
If it is found that the goods have not actually left the country or are directly transported to the destination country, the refunded tax will be recovered and tax warning will be triggered; keep the full set of documents for more than 5 years, including logistics bills of lading, transit country declaration forms, payment and receipt vouchers, contracts, for the letter verification of the tax authority. If the documents are missing, it will be identified as false trade, facing fines and credit rating downgrade risks.