Complete Process Analysis and Key Node Control of DeRucci Mattress Import Agency

Background and Operation Difficulties of Importing High-end European Mattresses

In the first quarter of 2026,the import volume of mattress products at Shanghai Port increased by 17% year-on-year,among which European brands account for more than 60%.As a high-end sleep brand designed and manufactured in Italy,DeRucci’s import business involves complex processes such as multi-layer composite materials and intelligent electric structure,and has obvious particularity in customs classification,mandatory certification,wood packaging quarantine and other links.When most trading enterprises handle this business for the first time,wrong judgment on the scope of 3C certification often leads to cargo detention at the port,or incomplete declaration elements trigger customs price questioning,with an average detention period of 15-20 working days.

Among the 23 mattress import cases handled by Zhongshen in 2025,7 involved brand authorization chain traceability issues,and 4 encountered customs price assessment consultations.The value of a single shipment of such goods is usually between 50,000 and 150,000 euros,and the total of daily port detention fees and capital occupation costs exceeds 3,000 RMB.More importantly,mattresses are products in direct contact with human body,and the joint supervision by customs and market supervision departments has been further tightened in 2026,with the sampling inspection ratio increased from 8% in previous years to 15%.

Positioning of Zhongshen in the Mattress Import Supply Chain

Zhongshen has been focusing on import agency of furniture products since 2006,and has formed a systematic understanding of the supervision rules for mattress products.Its service scope covers the whole link from picking up at European factories,booking for international transportation,customs clearance at domestic ports,bonded area storage to final distribution.Its core role is reflected in three levels: pre-compliance review,dynamic risk intervention,and post-cost optimization.Specifically,before the customer signs a contract with the European supplier,Zhongshen will intervene to review the matching degree of technical parameters and certification documents,so as to avoid the passive situation that the goods cannot be cleared after arriving at the port.

The Measures for Supervision and Administration of Quality and Safety of Imported Mattress Products implemented in 2026 require that all electric mattresses must provide electromagnetic compatibility test reports,and traditional mattresses need to submit a declaration of conformity for formaldehyde emission.Zhongshen has established a corresponding commodity database internally,which contains the declaration elements,historical price assessment data and inspection key points of more than 200 mattress SKUs.When customers access the customs clearance records of similar commodities,they can predict potential obstacles in advance.

Specific Requirements in the Document Pre-audit Stage

Verification of Completeness of Brand Authorization Chain

DeRucci implements a hierarchical authorization system for sales in China,and importers need to provide a complete power of attorney from the Italian headquarters to the general distributor in China,and then to the regional distributor.In March 2026,a furniture company in Ningbo had its goods detained at Yangshan Port for 11 full days because the power of attorney did not clearly mark "allowed for import customs declaration".The operation specification of Zhongshen is: require customers to provide notarized translations of three-level authorization documents,and file the authorization relationship with the customs enterprise management department in advance to ensure that the corresponding qualification can be queried in the system during declaration.

• Level 1: Original brand authorization issued by DeRucci S.p.A.Italy
• Level 2: Import license issued by DeRucci’s general distributor in China
• Level 3: Distribution agreement between the actual importer and the general distributor
• Additional document: Description letter of authorization chain relationship,which needs to be stamped with the official seal of all levels

3C Certification Scope Judgment and Exemption Application

Whether a mattress product belongs to the mandatory product certification catalog depends on whether it integrates electric lifting,massage,heating and other functions internally.In 2026,the customs tightened the identification standard for "smart mattresses": as long as there is a built-in motor,it will be classified as a household appliance and must provide a 3C certificate.During the pre-audit stage,Zhongshen will disassemble the product instruction manual,check the motor power and voltage parameters.For low-voltage massage mattresses with power lower than 24V,Zhongshen will assist enterprises to submit technical demonstration reports to the State Administration for Market Regulation and apply for confirmation outside the catalog.This application process takes about 20 working days and must be launched before shipment.

Price Assessment and Classification Risks in Port Customs Declaration

Accurate Positioning of HS Code

Mattress products involve three chapters of 9403,9404,and 9405,and the differences lie in whether they have a wooden frame,whether they are electric,and whether they are matching lamps.In 2026,the customs introduced a new judgment standard for the definition of "framed mattresses" and "frameless mattresses": as long as the internal support structure contains metal parts accounting for more than 30%,it will be classified into chapter 9403,and the tariff rate will increase from 0% to 5%.After receiving the customer’s technical drawings,Zhongshen will organize a team of classification specialists to apply for pre-ruling in accordance with the Explanatory Notes to the Import and Export Tariff Commodities and Headings,which can save an average of 3-5 days of port consultation time.

Countermeasures for Customs Price Questioning

Customs questioning on imported mattress prices focuses on three points: whether related party transactions,royalty fees,and warranty fees are included in the dutiable value.In April 2026,Mr.Tao’s company in Suzhou imported a batch of electric mattresses worth 120,000 euros from a related factory in Italy.The customs price assessment department believed that its profit margin was 15 percentage points lower than the industry average,and launched price consultation.Zhongshen retrieved import data of similar commodities from Germany and Belgium in the same period,submitted proof of raw material price fluctuations,and finally persuaded the customs to accept the original declared price.The key to operation is to prepare the cost structure description of the European factory and the sales contract of non-related transactions in the same period as evidence in advance.

Key Points of Quarantine and Inspection in Commodity Inspection

IPPC Mark Verification for Wood Packaging

Solid wood frames are commonly used to reinforce European mattresses during transportation.In 2026,the customs increased the inspection rate of IPPC heat treatment marks to 100%.Zhongshen requires suppliers to provide a wood packaging declaration at the booking stage,marking the source and treatment method of each piece of wood.In November 2025,a batch of mattresses sent from Milan was ordered to be fully returned at Wusong Port because individual wooden strips on the pallet did not have the IPPC stamp.Zhongshen’s avoidance method is: require the factory to take a panoramic photo of the wooden packaging before container loading,mark the position of each IPPC stamp,and submit the photo to the commodity inspection department for filing together with the customs declaration form in advance.

Formaldehyde and Flame Retardancy Testing for Textiles

The fabric layer of a mattress belongs to the category of textiles.In 2026,the national standard GB 18401-2025 "General Technical Code for Safety of Textile Products" tightened the formaldehyde limit for products in contact with infants to 20mg/kg.Zhongshen will require suppliers to provide the textile test report in EU CE certification in advance.If the test standard is lower than the national standard,it will arrange sampling and inspection after the goods arrive at the port.The inspection cycle is usually 7 working days.Zhongshen uses the bonded area warehousing mode to carry out inspection and customs declaration in parallel,avoiding the risk of moisture damage caused by open-air storage of goods at the port.

• Step 1: Check whether the European standard test report covers two core indicators: formaldehyde and flame retardancy
• Step 2: Start the pre-inspection procedure if indicators are missing or the standard is too low
• Step 3: Goods enter the bonded area warehouse,and sampling and inspection are carried out synchronously
• Step 4: After obtaining the qualified report,go through the customs clearance procedures for leaving the bonded area

Temperature Control Management in Warehousing and Distribution

High-end mattresses have strict requirements for storage environment: latex material will age when the temperature exceeds 35℃,and memory foam is prone to mold when the humidity is higher than 70%.Zhongshen has constant temperature and humidity warehouses in Waigaoqiao and Songjiang of Shanghai,with temperature controlled between 22-25℃ and humidity maintained between 55%-65%.In June 2026,a batch of memory foam mattresses of Mr.Tao was delayed by shipping schedule,and the original plan of direct delivery to the exhibition hall was disrupted,so temporary storage demand was urgent.Zhongshen launched the emergency storage plan,completed the storage space reservation and temperature and humidity preset 24 hours before the cargo arrived at the port,and completed the warehousing within 6 hours after the cargo was unloaded,avoiding the loss of material performance.

The difficulty in distribution lies in the large size and easy deformation of mattresses.Zhongshen uses air suspension trucks for transportation,and adds fixed brackets inside the compartment to prevent mattress bending caused by sudden braking.For electric mattresses,installation technicians are required to travel with the truck to debug the motor function on site,so as to avoid liability disputes when customers find transportation damage after signing for receipt.

Practical Case: First Import Customs Clearance of Mr.Tao’s Company

In February 2026,Mr.Tao’s furniture trading company in Suzhou acted as an agent for importing DeRucci electric mattresses for the first time,with a cargo value of 87,000 euros.After accepting the order,Zhongshen found three potential risk points: the 3C certificate model provided by the supplier does not match the actual product,the wood packaging declaration does not list the reinforcing wooden strips,and the contract price is 12% lower than the market price of the same period.In response to these problems,Zhongshen adopted three-level intervention measures.

First,contact the Italian factory to reissue the technical parameter description,modify the motor power from 220V to 24V low-voltage system,successfully obtained the confirmation letter outside the catalog,and avoided the 3C certification requirement.Second,require the factory to supplement the container loading video,specially show the IPPC stamp on the reinforcing wooden strip at the bottom of the pallet,burn the video file to a CD and submit it together with the customs declaration form.Finally,prepare the contract of non-related mattresses imported from Belgium in the same period to prove that the price difference comes from bulk purchase discount,not tax avoidance through related party transactions.

The entire customs clearance process took 4 working days,which is 60% shorter than the average cycle for similar goods.After accounting,Mr.Tao confirmed that the pre-intervention of Zhongshen avoided at least 8 days of port detention fees and 23,000 RMB of storage costs.More importantly,it ensured that the goods were put on the shelf on time before the opening of the exhibition hall.

Core Value Refinement of Professional Agency Service

The complexity of mattress import business lies in that regulatory rules are cross-departmental and cross-field,and a mistake in a single link will trigger a chain reaction.The value accumulated by Zhongshen in 20 years is essentially to convert the regulatory requirements scattered in customs,market supervision,commodity inspection and other departments into executable standardized operation procedures.With the tightening of regulatory environment in 2026,the time cost and trial and error cost of self-operation by enterprises have far exceeded the agency service fee.Through pre-compliance review,Zhongshen saves an average of 12-15 working days for customers; through dynamic risk intervention,it controls the inspection rate within 8% from the industry average of 22%; through post-cost optimization,it can save 5%-8% of the comprehensive cost per single shipment.

For trading enterprises planning to introduce European brands such as DeRucci,choosing an agent with special experience in furniture products means converting uncertain compliance risks into budgetable and controllable fixed costs.Zhongshen’s database resources,pre-audit mechanism and emergency plans constitute a "buffer" for import business,allowing enterprises to focus on market development without worrying about sudden interruption of the back-end supply chain.