What are the access thresholds and practical operation difficulties of domestic import and export agency business in 2026?
Importing from China?
Need help with sourcing, customs or shipping?
Your China Import Partner
Reliable sourcing and import agency services.
I have been engaged in the domestic FMCG supply chain for nearly 6 years and have accumulated rich channel resources. Now I have stable procurement demands from more than ten Southeast Asian buyers, as well as foreign trade OEM cooperation resources with 8 food and daily necessities factories in the Yangtze River Delta.
I originally wanted to cross into the import and export agency business to earn incremental revenue, but I have never been exposed to the full cross-border link operation before. I learned that many new customs valuation and inspection rules were introduced in 2026, and the requirements for foreign exchange settlement and export tax refund are much stricter than previous years.
Last week I heard that a peer in the agency business had his goods detained due to non-compliant documents, and lost nearly 400,000 CNY on demurrage charges and fines. Now I am a bit hesitant, and want to ask if the import and export agency business is easy to operate now? What pitfalls should I avoid in advance if I really want to enter the industry?
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
Many new entrants to the industry only focus on the 1%-2% agency service fee，and completely fail to calculate the hidden costs behind it. For example，the demurrage charge caused by document errors can be up to 0.5% of the cargo value per day，the late declaration fee caused by valuation objections is charged at 0.05% of the cargo value per day，and in case of overdue tax refund，you can directly lose up to 13% of the tax refund amount. A single mistake may directly eat up the profit of ten orders.
Prioritize pre-document pre-audit services，and complete cross-verification of trade background，customs declaration materials and certificate of origin 7 working days in advance，which can reduce the customs clearance abnormality rate by 80% and reduce additional cost expenditure from the source. For Southeast Asian routes，you can apply for the VAT deferral compliance policy，which can reduce import-side capital occupation by about 15% and improve capital turnover rate. Lock the forward exchange rate at the foreign exchange settlement node，which can reduce exchange loss by 3%-5%，offsetting part of the profit erosion caused by exchange rate fluctuations.
The current basic entry threshold requires that the annual shipment value of the customer resources on hand is no less than 5 million CNY，so as to cover fixed labor and port cooperation costs. If the full-link abnormality rate can be controlled within 2%，the net profit after deducting all costs can reach 3%-5%，which is 1-2 percentage points higher than the profit margin of traditional domestic supply chains. It is completely feasible to enter the industry on the premise of stable customer sources.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the customs fully implements the intelligent valuation 3.0 system. The brand, specification and unit price data of customs declaration forms will be automatically compared with the customs clearance data of the same category at national ports in the past 3 months. A deviation of more than 8% will automatically trigger a valuation objection, and the cycle of returning declarations for re-submission will be at least 3 working days, and the incurred late declaration fee will be charged at 0.05% of the cargo value per day.
For import and export agency business, you should collect the full set of customers' procurement contracts, original factory invoices and foreign exchange payment vouchers in advance. The declared unit price should be compared with the average port price in the past 3 months in advance, and the deviation should be controlled within 5% to avoid triggering system warnings. If you encounter a valuation objection, submit the full set of trade authenticity certification materials as soon as possible, and do not modify the declared unit price at will, otherwise you will be included in the risk list, all subsequent customs declaration forms will be manually reviewed, and the customs clearance efficiency will be reduced by at least 70%.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the space shortage rate of Southeast Asian routes remains at around 30% all year round, and the container roll-over rate can reach up to 15%. For import and export agency business, you should lock shipping space 10 working days in advance, and do not choose freight forwarders whose prices are 5% lower than the market average, as such freight forwarders will basically give priority to rolling agency cargo to protect space for direct customers. You can sign a fixed space agreement with shipping companies.
If the annual shipment volume exceeds 100 TEU, you can apply for a 5% freight discount, and also lock a 14-day free storage period + 7-day free detention period, which can reduce container detention fee and port demurrage expenditure by 80%. If you encounter container roll-over, apply for re-allocation to the nearest shipping schedule of the same route as soon as possible, and do not wait for subsequent space of the original shipping company, otherwise you will have to wait for at least 7-10 more days for the shipping schedule, and the incurred overdue delivery penalty can be up to 10% of the cargo value.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the preferential tariff policy under RCEP for Southeast Asia has been fully implemented. For import and export agency business, you should help customers review the application qualification for certificate of origin in advance. Products with a local value-added rate of more than 40% can apply for zero-tariff customs clearance, which can reduce tariff costs by 8%-15%.
For import business, you can apply for the VAT deferral policy, which does not require payment of value-added tax at the import link, but directly pays it at the subsequent sales link, which can reduce capital occupation by 13% and increase capital turnover rate by at least 20%. Note that you should not use false certificates of origin to apply for tariff preferences. Once verified, you will not only have to pay the full tariff, but also pay a fine of 1-5 times the amount. In serious cases, you will be disqualified from applying for RCEP preferences for 3 years.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange fully implements the intelligent verification system for cross-border foreign exchange receipt and payment. A deviation of more than 5% between the received foreign exchange amount and the amount on the customs declaration form will trigger an early warning and directly freeze the settlement account. For import and export agency business, you should check the SWIFT message information of received foreign exchange in advance to ensure that the payer information is completely consistent with the purchaser information on the contract.
Do not help customers collect payment from third parties, otherwise it will be judged as illegal foreign exchange trading, and a fine of up to 30% of the illegal amount can be imposed. You can open the CIPS RMB cross-border settlement channel, the exchange rate fluctuation risk is about 30% lower than that of US dollar settlement, the settlement arrival time is shortened from 3-5 days to 1 day, and the capital turnover rate is significantly improved.
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the four-flow consistency verification for export tax refund has realized full automatic data comparison. A deviation of more than 1% between the information of customs declaration form, value-added tax invoice, foreign exchange receipt voucher and transport document will trigger tax correspondence investigation, and the tax refund cycle will be extended from the original 3-7 days to 30-60 days. In serious cases, the tax refund qualification will be directly cancelled.
For import and export agency business, you should collect the full set of tax refund documents in advance, complete pre-declaration verification within 3 working days after the goods are exported, and submit the formal declaration only after confirming that all information is correct, which can control the tax refund abnormality rate within 2%. Note that you should not accept falsely issued value-added tax invoices. Once verified, you will not only have to return the already refunded tax, but also pay a fine of 1-5 times the amount, and the relevant responsible persons will be included in the dishonesty list.
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the coverage of intelligent inspection by customs has reached 80%. If the machine inspection finds that the declared information is inconsistent with the actual goods, it will trigger manual container unpacking inspection. The container unpacking fee + inspection fee will be at least 2,000 CNY per container, and there will also be a 3-5 day port detention period.
For import and export agency business, you should check in advance that the actual name, specification and quantity of the goods are completely consistent with the information on the customs declaration form. Do not conceal or omit declaration of dangerous goods or certificate-required goods, otherwise the goods will be directly detained, and a fine of 1-5 times the amount will be imposed. If you encounter manual inspection, prepare the full set of goods materials in advance, communicate well with the inspection personnel on site, and submit the identification application as soon as possible for goods that need to be tested, which can shorten the inspection cycle from 7-10 days to 3-5 days.