I. to enterExport agentWhat qualifications does the company need?

In accordance with the latest Foreign Trade Law of 2025 and the regulations of the General Administration of Customs, legally operating import and export agency companies must possess:

• Basic Qualifications:
  • CustomsAEOCertified enterprise qualification (priority given to advanced certification)
  • Foreign Trade Operator Registration Record
  • Electronic Port IC Card andcustoms clearanceUnit Registration
• Industry-specific certification:
  • Dangerous goods transportation requires MSDS certification (with the new lithium battery special certification added from 2023)
  • Food products require the importer record-filing for imported food and cosmetics.

II. What core services can the agency provide?

Professional agency companies should have full-chain service capabilities:

• Basic Service Modules:
  • HS Code Classification and Compliance Declaration
  • Processing of documents such as Certificate of Origin/C/O, FORM E, etc.
  • Cross-border Logistics Solution Design (including sea-land-air multimodal transportation)
• Value Added Services Modules:
  • Export tax refundFull托管 (including foreign exchange verification and cancellation)
  • Overseas Warehouse VAT Tax Declaration
  • The RCEPTariff planning under the free trade agreement

Three, how to verify the professionalism of an agency?

It is suggested to conduct the investigation through three dimensions:

• Case verification: Request to provide customs clearance records of the same category of goods for the past 3 years
• System Verification: Confirm the use of the Customs Single Window docking system (non-manual entry)
• Personnel Verification: The customs declaration team must hold a customs affairs proficiency certificate (above intermediate level)

IV. How is the agency fee structured? Are there any hidden charges?

2025 industry standard fees include:

• Explicit costs:
  • Basic service fee: 800-2000 yuan per ticket (depending on the complexity of the business)
  • Logistics all-inclusive fee: 0.8%-1.5% of the cargo value will be charged
• Potential risk cost:
  • Customs Inspection Surcharge (it is recommended to set an upper limit in the contract)
  • Exchange rate hedging cost (special attention required for long-term orders exceeding 3 months)

V. What are the precautions during the cooperation process?

It is recommended to focus on the following when signing the service agreement:

• Terms of Rights and Responsibilities:
  • Clarify the responsible party for fines caused by declaration errors
  • Agreed time limit for document transmission (especially for special documents such as dangerous goods packaging certificates)
• Information Security:
  • Request to sign a customer data confidentiality agreement
  • Verify the data encryption level of the system (AES-256 standard is recommended)

6. How do small and medium-sized enterprises choose an agency?

Recommendations for enterprises with an annual export value of less than 5 million US dollars:

• Regional Selection Strategy:
  • Priority Localization Service Team (response speed increased by 40%)
  • Choose an agent with experience in industrial cluster services (e.g., Yiwu small commodities, Shenzhen 3C products dedicated lines)
• Service Portfolio Strategy:
  • Adopt a modular service of "basic customs declaration + customized logistics"
  • Leverage the centralized purchasing advantages of agency companies to reduce ocean freight costs