What types of enterprises require import and export shipping and receiving agency services?

According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs in 2025, 83% of China's import and export enterprises opt for professional agency services. The following three types of enterprises are particularly in need:

• First-time foreign trade enterprise: Handling professional documents such as HS code classification and certificates of origin.
• Special cargo import and export merchants: Involving special regulated goods such as hazardous materials/cold chain/artwork
• High-frequency trading enterprises: For more than 5 customs declarations per month, a systematic customs clearance plan must be established.

How can the qualifications of an agency be reliably verified?

It is recommended to verify qualifications according to the following priority order:

• Level 1 verification:
  • Customs AEO Certification Qualification (View Certificate Number)
  • 40. Member of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA)
• Secondary verification:
  • No major violations in the past three years (Customs Enterprise Credit Publicity Platform).
  • Purchase professional liability insurance (the recommended coverage amount should not be less than 5 million yuan).

What items are included in the 2025 agency service fee?

Formal agency quotations should include:

• Basic service fee: document preparation, system entry, customs consulting
• Government fees: customs declaration and inspection fees, port construction fees, THC, etc.
• Special Service Fee (On-Demand):
  • Pre-classification service (2025 new HS intelligent matching system usage fee)
  • Inspection Assistance Fee (including site usage and relocation fees)

How to Avoid Legal Risks in Customs Brokerage?

The newly revised "Customs Administrative Penalty Regulations" in 2025 clearly stipulates:

• The risk of dual-penalty system: Both the agent and the cargo owner may be penalized simultaneously (refer to the 2024 case of inaccurate declaration of auto parts).
• Key points for prevention:
  • Sign a written agency agreement (the allocation of declaration responsibilities must be clearly specified).
  • Maintain complete communication records (recommended to use the enterprise version of DingTalk/WeCom).
  • Regularly verify the consistency between customs declarations and contracts.

What should be noted when handling special cargo agency?

Taking the strict regulation of lithium battery exports in 2025 as an example:

• The UN38.3 test report + MSDS in both Chinese and English versions must be provided.
• The packaging must comply with the PI 965 Section II standard.
• Declaration elements must specify:
  • Rated energy (Wh) accurate to the single digit.
  • Lithium content (g) should be declared according to the actual test value.

How to evaluate the customs clearance efficiency of an agency company?

It is recommended to require agency companies to provide:

• Average release time at the declared port in the past 6 months
• Customs clearance cases for specific commodities (e.g., the average clearance time for electromechanical products in 2025 was 2.8 hours)
• Emergency response capability (contingency plan for when the inspection rate exceeds 5%)

How to handle abnormal situations in proxy receiving and shipping?

It is recommended to establish a three - level response mechanism:

• Level 1 Anomaly (Documentation Issue): Supplement and correct within 2 hours.
• Secondary anomaly (inspection and detention of goods): Submit a written explanation within 24 hours.
• Level 3 Anomaly (Suspected Illegal Activity): Immediately initiate legal counsel intervention.

A clothing importer was temporarily detained in 2024 due to mismatched tag information, and the agency company completed the rectification and secured release within 8 hours by implementing a pre-recorded contingency plan.

Year 2025The RCEPThe impact of policies on agency services?

After the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement:

• Increased application of origin accumulation rules (It is recommended to select an agent familiar with accumulation rule calculations)
• Requirements for Electronic Certificate Transmission Upgrade (Confirmation Needed on Whether the Agency System Has Accessed the RCEP Dedicated Channel of the General Administration of Customs)
• The proportion of preferential customs declarations increased to 67% (Source: Customs statistics for the first quarter of 2025).