Why do enterprises need to entrust export to agency companies?

According to 2023 General Administration of Customs data, Chinas SMEs accounted forAgency export,63.7% of the total. Choosing professional agency companies mainly brings four advantages:

• Cost optimization:Shared scale benefits in customs declaration, logistics, and foreign exchange settlement
• Compliance assurance:Avoid common risks such as HS code misdeclaration and certificate of origin issues
• Integration of resources:Access strategic partnership resources including premium shipping companies and overseas customs clearance agents
• Risk transfer:Professional risk transfer for letter of credit document submission and foreign exchange verification

What core aspects are included in an agency companys service scope?

Standard foreign trade agency services should include 12 basic full-process services:

• Document preparation (commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin)
• Customs declaration (including classification ruling application)
• Foreign exchange receipt and settlement (handling cross-border RMB settlement)
• Export tax refundAdvance payment (under 2025 new policy, average cycle shortened to 7 working days)
• Logistics solution design (optimized multimodal transport by sea, land, and air)

What precautions should be taken regarding the cost structure of agency export?

Typical fee structure consists of three modules:

• Basic service fee:0.8%-1.2% of goods value (including customs declaration and documentation services)
• Capital cost fee:Tax rebate advance interest approximately 0.015%/day
• Special service fee:
  • Express customs clearance: 500 yuan/shipment
  • Special document certification: 200 - 800 yuan per copy

Beware of low-price traps - one company in 2024 chose an agent with ultra-low 0.5% rate, resulting in $200,000 cargo port detention and additional costs of 42,000 yuan.

How to prevent financial risks in agency exports?

Recommend adopting a triple safeguard mechanism:

• Fund supervision:Require agency company to provide bank co-management account
• Rights and responsibilities agreement:Specify fund recovery time (recommended not exceeding T+3)
• Insurance Coverage:Purchase export credit insurance (ECIC) to cover buyer default risk

How will the 2025 customs new policies affect agency export?

According to General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 178, major changes include:

• Electronic customs declaration retention period extended to 10 years
• Textile exports require additional digital labels (RFID)
• Validity period of transport identification reports for lithium battery goods shortened to 6 months

Professional agencies have established pre-review systems that can detect declaration abnormalities 3 days in advance to avoid clearance delays.

How to evaluate the true service capabilities of an agency company?

Recommend evaluation from four dimensions:

• Qualification Verification:Verify customs AEO certification and SAFE registration
• System verification:Request demonstration of real-time customs declaration status tracking system
• Case study:Request service case studies from peers (requires anonymization)
• Emergency testing:Simulate emergency scenarios (e.g., customs detention at destination port) handling procedures

What special service support is needed for emerging market exports?

For emerging markets like Southeast Asia and Africa, premium agents should provide:

• Localized customs clearance services (e.g., Indonesia SPAJK certification agency)
• Religious-cultural adaptation (e.g., Ramadan logistics solutions for Middle Eastern markets)
• Special payment methods (integration with Africas M-Pesa mobile payment)
• Anti-dumping alerts (real-time EU CBAM carbon tariff monitoring)

Priority recommendation: Select agency companies with branches in target markets, improving response speed by over 40%.