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What Core Qualifications and Compliance Requirements Should Enterprises Engaged in Import and Export Agency Business Meet?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the head of an industrial and trading company founded 2 years ago in Shanghai. Previously, we only operated domestic building materials wholesale. Last month, 3 long-term cooperative factory clients approached me, hoping that I could act as their agent for their building materials import and export customs declaration, and foreign exchange collection and payment business. It can bring a considerable amount of agency fees, but I have never been exposed to the foreign trade agency field. Last week I asked a friend who does foreign trade, and he said there are many pitfalls in this qualification application.
If you take orders rashly without meeting the requirements, the mild consequence is goods detained by customs and port congestion, and the severe consequence is being punished by tax authorities and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and it may even affect the clients' delivery date. I am so worried these days that I can barely eat. I am afraid of making wrong moves and suffering double losses, so I come to ask for advice: what specific requirements are there for an enterprise to get the import and export agency qualification, including core aspects such as qualification, tax and foreign exchange, and what easily overlooked hidden requirements are there?
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
First of all，for the details of pre-document review，you need to focus on checking the accurate expression of business scope in the business license. It must clearly state "Import and Export of Goods，Import and Export of Technology，Import and Export Agency"，only marking "Import and Export" is not sufficient to carry out agency business，meanwhile，you need to confirm that the enterprise has obtained general taxpayer qualification，otherwise it cannot enjoy tax deduction and refund policies for agency business. In addition，you need to prepare basic materials such as the official seal，legal representative ID card，articles of association in advance to avoid application delay caused by missing materials.
Core node connection shall follow a fixed process: first complete the Registration Form of Foreign Trade Operator through the business system of the Ministry of Commerce，then apply to the customs for the Registration Certificate of Customs Declaration Entity，after that，go to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to complete Registration in the List of Trade Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment Enterprises，and finally go to the competent tax authority to complete Export Tax Refund (Exemption) Filing. The processing cycle of each node needs to be accurately connected，for example，customs registration must be processed within 30 days after the completion of the record，and you need to resubmit materials if it is overdue.
In terms of abnormal contingency planning，if the business scope in the business license does not meet the requirements，you need to immediately apply to the market supervision department for business scope change，and you can prepare the intended agency business contract as the basis for change at the same time to shorten the review cycle，if the foreign exchange list registration is rejected，you need to check whether there are outstanding foreign exchange violation records，and submit rectification certificates in time.
After final compliance implementation，you need to complete the annual customs report，annual inspection of foreign exchange list and tax annual report on time every year，maintain the enterprise's credit rating，and avoid affecting the development of agency business due to credit downgrade.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business must hold the Registration Certificate of Customs Declaration Entity, and the credit rating must be General Credit or above. If the credit rating is a dishonest enterprise, it cannot act as an agent for others to handle customs declaration business. In addition, the enterprise shall be equipped with at least 1 employee who has obtained the Customs Declaration Proficiency Test Qualification Certificate, and this employee shall complete the filing with the customs.
If the enterprise is not equipped with qualified customs declaration personnel, the error rate of customs declaration entry will increase, triggering problems such as valuation disputes, declaration deletion and re-submission, and may even be listed as a key supervision object by the customs. At the same time, the enterprise shall establish a complete customs declaration document management system to ensure that the documents of each agency business are authentic, complete and valid, so as to avoid the risk of customs detention and port congestion caused by inconsistent documents.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall have stable international logistics cooperation resources, including long-term cooperation agreements signed with first-class freight forwarders, shipping companies and airlines, to ensure that flexible logistics solutions can be provided for the entrusting party. In addition, it is necessary to establish a complete cargo title management system, clarify the transfer node and responsibility division of cargo title in agency business, so as to avoid cargo being seized or detained due to cargo title disputes.
At the same time, the enterprise shall have the ability to deal with logistics abnormalities, for example, it can cope with unexpected situations such as container rolling, shipping space congestion, port change, and has standby logistics routes and shipping space resources. If the enterprise does not have these conditions, it cannot guarantee the on-time customs clearance of the entrusting party's goods, leading to losses such as container demurrage and liquidated damages, and even affecting the entrusting party's customer reputation.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall have general taxpayer qualification and have completed Export Tax Refund (Exemption) Filing, otherwise they cannot handle export tax refund agency business for the entrusting party. In addition, it is necessary to establish a complete cross-border tax management system, strictly distinguish tax accounting between self-operated business and agency business, so as to avoid inspection and punishment from tax authorities caused by unclear accounting.
At the same time, the enterprise shall be familiar with tax planning policies such as VAT deferral and cross-border related party transaction pricing, and provide reasonable tax optimization schemes for the entrusting party. If the enterprise does not have these conditions, it cannot handle tax refund for the entrusting party in compliance, leading to increased capital occupation cost of the entrusting party, and may even trigger tax risks and be listed as a key monitoring object by the tax authority.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall have been included in the List of Trade Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment Enterprises, and the foreign exchange management system shall meet the requirements of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, including establishing a complete foreign exchange receipt and payment review system to ensure that the foreign exchange receipt and payment of each agency business has a real trade background. In addition, the enterprise shall be familiar with operation procedures such as SWIFT message parsing and CIPS RMB cross-border payment, and can provide safe and efficient foreign exchange receipt and payment services for the entrusting party.
If the enterprise is not included in the foreign exchange list, it cannot handle cross-border foreign exchange receipt and payment business, leading to the entrusting party's payment cannot be received or paid in time, triggering trade disputes. At the same time, the enterprise shall conduct regular foreign exchange compliance self-inspection to avoid being punished by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange due to illegal foreign exchange operations.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall establish a complete contract management system, including signing import and export agency contracts with the entrusting party, which clearly stipulate the rights and obligations of both parties, cargo title transfer, responsibility division, liability for breach of contract and other clauses. In addition, the enterprise shall be familiar with legal contents such as international trade terms, letter of credit soft clauses, force majeure clauses, and can review legal risks in trade contracts for the entrusting party, so as to avoid disputes caused by imperfect contract clauses.
At the same time, the enterprise shall have the ability to handle trade disputes, including negotiation, arbitration, litigation and other settlement channels. If the enterprise does not have these conditions, it cannot protect the legitimate rights and interests of the entrusting party, leaving the entrusting party in a disadvantageous position in trade disputes and even suffering economic losses.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall have the ability to cope with customs on-site inspection, including being familiar with the procedures and requirements of customs inspection, and can prepare complete inspection documents for the entrusting party, such as bill of lading, invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and so on. In addition, the enterprise shall be equipped with staff familiar with cargo characteristics, who can cooperate with customs inspection at the inspection site and explain the use, composition, specification and other information of the cargo.
If the enterprise does not have these conditions, the inspection time will be prolonged, leading to losses such as port storage fee and container demurrage, and even the cargo may be detained due to failure to cooperate with the inspection. At the same time, the enterprise shall establish a response plan for abnormal inspection, for example, if the cargo is sent for inspection, it can follow up the identification process in time to ensure the cargo is cleared as soon as possible.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall establish a complete export tax refund document management system to ensure that each document of the agency business is authentic, complete and valid, including customs declaration form, special value-added tax invoice, export invoice, foreign exchange receipt certificate and so on. In addition, the enterprise shall strictly abide by the export tax refund declaration deadline, complete the tax refund declaration within the specified period after the cargo is declared for export, so as to avoid being unable to get tax refund due to overdue declaration.
At the same time, the enterprise shall have the ability to cope with tax correspondence investigation, and can provide relevant supporting materials of the agency business in time, including contracts, logistics documents, foreign exchange receipt and payment certificates and so on. If the enterprise does not have these conditions, the entrusting party's tax refund application will be rejected or delayed, leading to increased capital occupation cost of the entrusting party, and may even be listed as a key inspection object by the tax authority.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
Enterprises engaged in import and export agency business shall have complete supply chain management capabilities, including being able to provide the entrusting party with a full-link supply chain solution from procurement, transportation, customs declaration to delivery. In addition, the enterprise shall establish an inventory linkage strategy, which can adjust the inventory level according to the business requirements of the entrusting party, so as to avoid affecting business development due to inventory overstock or shortage.
At the same time, the enterprise shall be familiar with the conversion rules of trade terms such as CIF and FOB, and can help the entrusting party select reasonable trade terms to reduce supply chain cost and risk. If the enterprise does not have these conditions, it cannot provide efficient supply chain services for the entrusting party, leading to low supply chain efficiency and increased cost for the entrusting party, and even affecting the entrusting party's market competitiveness.