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Trade Q&A
Is customs declaration required at domestic ports when conducting transit trade business?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am the person in charge of a foreign trade enterprise based in Shanghai specializing in hardware accessories export. This is our first time handling transit trade: stainless steel hinges purchased from Southeast Asia will be shipped to the EU, and we originally planned to transit via the Port of Shanghai.
Previously I heard from peers that some transit trade does not require customs declaration, but last week I learned that a peer's goods were detained at the Port of Shanghai for 3 days because they failed to complete declaration, which incurred nearly CNY 20,000 in port demurrage fees and almost led to liquidated damages for delayed delivery. Yesterday the freight forwarder suddenly urged me to provide declaration documents, and I am completely confused now.
I do not know whether transit trade requires customs declaration in China at all, and whether there are differences under different scenarios. Going through unnecessary declaration processes will waste time and cost, while failure to declare may lead to cargo detention risks. I am so anxious that I can barely eat, and I want to figure this out as soon as possible.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
First，we need to clarify a common industry misconception: many practitioners mistakenly believe that transit trade goods only transiting in China do not need to go through any customs procedures，which is a wrong cognition that can easily trigger compliance risks.
Failure to operate in accordance with regulations will lead to a chain of negative consequences: goods will be temporarily detained by customs，resulting in high port demurrage and container detention fees. If not handled within 15 days，goods may be auctioned in accordance with the law. Meanwhile，the enterprise will be listed in customs credit rating Class B or lower，the customs clearance efficiency of all subsequent cross-border trade operations will be reduced by more than 50%，and cross-border payment and receipt permissions will also be affected.
Physical risk isolation measures require strict distinction between two scenarios: if goods enter domestic bonded supervision areas (such as bonded warehouses，bonded port areas)，only bonded transit filing is required，no general trade declaration is needed，if goods enter domestic non-bonded areas (such as ordinary yards，enterprise warehouses)，transit trade customs declaration procedures must be completed.
Exclusive loss mitigation tips: If port detention occurs due to failure to file or declare，you shall immediately submit the Explanation of Ownership Transfer for Transit Trade Goods and full set of freight documents to customs，and entrust a professional foreign trade agency to assist in applying for supplementary filing，which can reduce port demurrage fees to the greatest extent.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
From the perspective of customs policies and valuation, declaration requirements for transit trade shall be determined based on the goods supervision status: if goods adopt the "direct transit departure" mode, which means they are directly transshipped after arrival without entering domestic terminal yards, you need to submit the Entry and Exit Goods Filing List to customs instead of the general trade declaration form; if goods enter domestic bonded supervision areas, you need to complete bonded transit filing, and documents including purchase contracts, resale contracts and bill of lading copies shall be provided during filing to ensure a logical closed loop of ownership transfer. In 2026, customs has realized real-time linkage of transit trade data with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
If filing information does not match payment and receipt data, it will trigger valuation disputes, leading to delayed cargo clearance. Enterprises shall complete cross-audit of documents in advance to ensure consistency of goods flow, capital flow and document flow.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
The logistics path of transit trade directly determines domestic declaration requirements: if you choose the "anchorage direct transit" mode, goods do not need to dock after arrival, and transshipment is completed directly at the anchorage, no domestic customs procedures are required, but you need to apply for direct transit permission from the shipping company 72 hours in advance, and submit pre-filing of transit trade manifest to customs; if you choose the "bonded transit" mode, goods enter domestic bonded warehouses for storage before transshipment, you need to complete bonded transit filing, no import tariff and value-added tax are required, and you can enjoy a maximum bonded storage period of 6 months; if goods enter ordinary yards due to special reasons, you must complete transit trade declaration, otherwise goods cannot be picked up or transshipped.
In addition, you need to confirm the free storage period in advance. If storage in bonded warehouses exceeds the free storage period, a storage fee of CNY 5 per cubic meter per day will be incurred.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
The domestic declaration status of transit trade directly affects tax processing: if goods only go through bonded transit filing, no import value-added tax and tariff are required, and the enterprise's transit trade income can be declared as cross-border service income to enjoy the zero value-added tax rate policy; if you complete transit trade declaration, you need to note that the trade mode on the declaration form shall be marked as "transit trade", otherwise it will be misjudged as general trade import, and you need to pay retroactive import tariff and value-added tax, which will also affect the compliance of subsequent tax declarations. In 2026, tax authorities have realized real-time data sharing with customs.
If the trade mode on the declaration form does not match tax declaration content, it will trigger tax audits. Enterprises shall retain documents properly in advance to ensure consistency of ownership transfer and capital receipt and payment for transit trade.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
The declaration operation of transit trade directly affects the compliance of cross-border payment and receipt: if you fail to complete filing or declaration in accordance with regulations, the enterprise's cross-border payment and receipt will be listed as abnormal transactions by the foreign exchange administration, and normal foreign exchange settlement or purchase cannot be carried out; if you have completed bonded transit filing, the enterprise shall submit a copy of the filing list to the bank when handling payment and receipt to ensure that the payment and receipt amount is consistent with the recorded cargo value; if you have completed transit trade declaration, you need to provide a copy of the declaration form to the bank, and the foreign exchange administration will compare declaration data with payment and receipt data through the system, and any deviation will trigger foreign exchange audits.
In 2026, the CIPS system has realized linkage with customs data. Enterprises shall ensure that the payment and receipt path of transit trade is consistent with the goods flow path to avoid being listed as compliance risk enterprises.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
The declaration status of transit trade directly affects ownership risks: if you fail to complete filing or declaration in accordance with regulations, after goods are temporarily detained by customs, the enterprise cannot claim ownership with valid documents, which may lead to goods being auctioned or confiscated; if you have completed bonded transit filing, the enterprise shall clarify ownership attribution during filing to avoid ownership disputes during transit; if you have completed transit trade declaration, you need to ensure that the operating unit on the declaration form is consistent with the cargo owner, otherwise it will cause ownership disputes.
In addition, enterprises shall clarify declaration responsibilities for the transit link in transit trade contracts. If a freight forwarder is entrusted to handle declaration, compensation liability for declaration violations shall be agreed in the contract to avoid losses caused by operational errors of the freight forwarder.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
When transit trade goods are transiting at domestic ports, if no filing or declaration is completed, on-site inspection will be triggered: customs will conduct unpacking inspection of goods to verify ownership transfer documents. If valid documents cannot be provided, goods will be temporarily detained; if you have completed bonded transit filing, customs will conduct X-ray inspection of goods without unpacking, leading to higher customs clearance efficiency; if you have completed transit trade declaration, customs will conduct targeted inspection according to the information on the declaration form, focusing on verifying whether the product name and quantity of goods are consistent with the declaration form.
In 2026, customs has launched the AI X-ray inspection system. If the X-ray image of goods does not match the information on the declaration form, it will automatically trigger unpacking inspection. Enterprises shall ensure that documents are consistent with goods in advance.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
The packaging status of transit trade goods will affect declaration operations: if goods use dangerous goods packaging, you need to provide the MSDS report and dangerous goods packaging appraisal certificate when handling filing or declaration, otherwise you cannot pass customs review; if goods use ordinary packaging, you need to ensure that the shipping mark on the package is consistent with that on the declaration form or filing list to avoid triggering inspection; if goods enter bonded warehouses for storage, the packaging shall meet the requirements of bonded warehouses to avoid damage to goods during storage and affect subsequent transshipment.
In 2026, customs has required that dangerous goods in transit trade must use UN certified packaging, otherwise filing or declaration cannot be handled. Enterprises shall confirm packaging compliance in advance.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
The declaration status of transit trade directly affects the compliance of export tax refund: transit trade is not within the scope of export tax refund. If an enterprise mistakenly declares transit trade as general trade export, it will trigger export tax refund audits, and the enterprise needs to repay the refunded tax and face fines; if you have completed bonded transit filing, the enterprise shall clearly mark it as transit trade income when declaring tax to avoid confusion with export tax refund income; if you have completed transit trade declaration, you need to ensure that the trade mode on the declaration form is "transit trade", otherwise it will be misjudged as general trade import, affecting the compliance of tax declaration.
In 2026, tax authorities have realized real-time comparison with customs declaration data. Enterprises shall ensure that tax declaration content is consistent with the information on the declaration form.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
The declaration operation of transit trade shall be included in supply chain planning: if you choose the bonded transit mode, you can reduce logistics costs, no import tariff and value-added tax are required, and you can enjoy storage preferential policies of bonded warehouses; if you choose the direct transit departure mode, you can shorten transit time and improve logistics efficiency, but you need to coordinate direct transit permission with the shipping company in advance; if you need to enter non-bonded areas due to business needs, you need to plan the declaration process in advance to avoid affecting supply chain timeliness.
In 2026, cross-border supply chains have realized digital linkage. Enterprises shall include declaration information in the supply chain management system to realize real-time synchronization of goods flow, document flow and capital flow, and improve the transparency and compliance of the supply chain.