Does Nansha Port allow all types of transit trade businesses? What core compliance requirements and operational standards need to be met?

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  • Jul 12, 2026 at 04:22
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I am the head of a foreign trade company mainly engaged in building materials transit trade with Southeast Asia. Last week, a batch of marble tiles was detained at Shenzhen Yantian Port due to non-compliant transit documents. I have spent more than 20,000 RMB on port detention charges and lost a subsequent long-term order, which makes me extremely anxious now.

We have just received a large order of granite that is to be transited from Thailand to Germany. We heard that Nansha Port is located in a Pilot Free Trade Zone with rich policy dividends and high customs clearance efficiency, but I am not sure if Nansha Port allows transit trade?

Can it handle the transit of bulk building materials like ours? Will the pre-document review and core customs clearance process be more strictly compliant? Are there targeted contingency plans to avoid the loss of customs detention and port detention like before?

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Kevin Lin
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat

First of all，regarding the details of pre-document review，it is necessary to focus on checking three core documents: **certificate of origin of transit goods，bill of lading endorsement，and transit warehouse rent agreement**. Ensure that the certificate of origin does not mark any processing traces within China，the bill of lading endorsement must clearly state the annotation "for transit only"，and the transit warehouse rent agreement must be signed with the designated bonded warehouse of Nansha Port，to avoid customs valuation doubts caused by ambiguous documents.

In terms of core node connection，after the goods arrive at the port，the bonded warehouse entry declaration must be completed within 24 hours，and the manifest information of the transit goods shall be pushed to the Nansha Customs Cross-Border E-Commerce and Logistics Supervision Platform simultaneously，to realize real-time data linkage between port，warehouse and customs，avoiding port detention caused by information asymmetry. At the same time，a dedicated operator shall be arranged to connect with the port tally and customs inspection departments，to ensure that transit goods only undergo operations that do not change the form of the goods such as storage and sorting，and any processing behavior is strictly prohibited.

Contingency plans need to cover three major scenarios: if customs control and inspection is encountered，the pre-prepared authenticity proof documents of transit trade (such as overseas purchase contract，overseas sales contract) must be submitted immediately，if the shipping company encounters space congestion and cargo rolling，an emergency space agreement shall be signed with the backup shipping company of Nansha Port in advance，if document modification is required，the information update in the customs system shall be completed 2 hours before warehouse entry，to avoid triggering the secondary declaration process.

In the final compliance implementation stage，within 10 working days after the goods depart from the port，the full-process logistics documents and capital payment and receipt vouchers of the transit goods shall be submitted to Nansha Customs for compliance filing，to ensure the consistency of four flows，and provide a basis for subsequent application for policy dividends.

Reference: 6 Core Differences Between Transit Trade and Entrepot Trade & 2026 Practical Selection Guide
Daniel Xu
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat

Attention shall be paid to the construction of "logical closed loop" in the customs declaration link of Nansha Port transit trade. The core is to ensure that the whole "entry-storage-exit" process of the goods does not enter the circulation within China. When declaring customs, the "transit trade manifest" shall be declared separately, and must not be mixed with general trade manifests, and the "trade method" column of the customs declaration must be clearly marked "Transit Trade (Code 0130)". If there is inconsistency between the customs declaration data and the manifest data, the shall be submitted within 12 hours, to avoid triggering the "customs control and inspection upgrade mechanism" of the customs. In addition, for transit goods involving endangered species and controlled building materials, the shall be submitted in advance, and declaration solely based on certificate of origin is strictly prohibited.

Eric Zhou
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat

The logistics route of Nansha Port transit trade shall give priority to the "bonded warehouse direct transit" mode, to avoid the goods entering ordinary yards. After the goods arrive at the port, fleets with transit logistics qualification shall be arranged for short-haul transportation, and customs-supervised vehicles shall be used throughout the whole process to ensure no transfer of cargo ownership. In terms of free storage period, transit goods can enjoy a maximum free storage period of 14 days. If an extension is required, the shall be submitted 3 days before the expiration of the free storage period, and a deposit equal to 50% of the extended storage fee shall be paid. In addition, the bill of lading endorsement shall adopt the form of "blank endorsement + transit annotation", to ensure that the subsequent overseas consignee can pick up the goods directly with the endorsed bill of lading, without additional transit certification documents.

Michael Zhang
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

Nansha Port transit trade can enjoy the VAT deferral policy, which means that it is not necessary to pay value-added tax within China, and the corresponding tax is only paid at the final destination of goods sales. However, two conditions must be met: first, the transit goods do not enter the consumer market within China; second, the capital receipt and payment are completed through the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). In addition, for the tax base erosion risk of transit trade, it is necessary to ensure that the related party transaction pricing complies with the "arm's length principle", that is, the purchase and sale price difference of transit goods shall be controlled within ±10% of the average level of the same industry, to avoid triggering transfer pricing investigation by tax authorities. If you need to apply for VAT deferral, the shall be submitted within 5 working days after the goods enter the warehouse.

Cindy Chen
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Key Account ManagerStart a Chat

The receipt and payment of foreign exchange for Nansha Port transit trade must be completed through the CIPS system, and the use of offshore accounts for fund transfer is prohibited, so as to avoid compliance inspection by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange caused by opaque capital paths. When receiving and paying foreign exchange, "transit trade capital receipt and payment" shall be clearly marked in the "Remarks" column of the SWIFT message, and the purchase contract and sales contract of the transit goods shall be submitted simultaneously as the capital background certificate. In addition, if the payment and receipt currency of the transit goods is inconsistent with the contract currency, the shall be submitted to explain the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on the transaction price, so as to avoid being identified as "abnormal foreign exchange receipt and payment". At the same time, the deviation between the amount of foreign exchange receipt and payment and the contract amount shall be controlled within ±5%, and the excess part shall be reported to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in advance.

Andy Guo
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat

The contract for Nansha Port transit trade shall clearly specify the "division of transit liability" clause, that is, the liability for cargo damage and port detention during the transit at Nansha Port shall be borne by the bonded warehouse operator, so as to avoid disputes caused by ambiguous contract terms.

In addition, for transit trade settled by letter of credit, the clause of "allowing third party bill of lading (i.e. bill of lading issued by the bonded warehouse of Nansha Port as the carrier)" shall be clearly specified in the letter of credit, to avoid payment refusal caused by non-compliant bill of lading. At the same time, "transit cargo transportation insurance" shall be purchased for the transit goods, and the insurance coverage covers the storage, short-haul transportation, loading and unloading of the goods at Nansha Port, to ensure timely compensation in case of cargo damage.

Victor Sun
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat

For on-site inspection of Nansha Port transit trade, you shall focus on cooperating with customs to complete the "cargo authenticity verification", that is, provide certificate of origin, overseas purchase invoice, overseas sales contract and other documents to prove that the goods are only for transit rather than for sale within China. If devanning inspection is required, qualified tally personnel shall be arranged on site in advance to ensure that the packaging and marking of the goods are consistent with the documents, and it is strictly forbidden to mark the production address within China on the packaging. In addition, the electronic seal uniformly distributed by the customs shall be used, to avoid cargo detention caused by the authenticity problem of the seal. If inconsistency between goods and documents is found during inspection, the shall be submitted immediately, and the correction procedures shall be completed with the cooperation of the customs.

Linda Gao
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0

Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat

The supply chain planning of Nansha Port transit trade shall prioritize matching the "Southeast Asia-Nansha Port-Europe/North America" hub route. Relying on the deep-water port advantage of Nansha Port, select shipping companies with a direct sailing rate of more than 90% to reduce the number of transits and lower the risk of cargo damage. In terms of inventory management, the "JIT (Just-in-Time) transit" mode shall be adopted, that is, the departure declaration is completed within 3 days after the goods arrive at the port, avoiding warehouse rental costs caused by long-term storage.

In addition, a cost actuarial model for transit shall be established, including port charges, warehouse rent, insurance premium and other expenses into the cost accounting system, to ensure that the profit margin of transit trade is controlled above 15%. At the same time, a long-term cooperation agreement shall be signed with the bonded warehouse of Nansha Port to enjoy a 10%-15% discount on warehouse rent, further hedging operating costs.

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