Which import and export sea freight agency can meet compliance requirements while controlling overall operating costs
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I am the head of a small and medium-sized enterprise engaged in cross-border consumer goods trade. Our business has expanded in the past two years, with 3 to 4 shipments of import and export sea freight passing through Shanghai and Ningbo ports every month.
We have changed two agents before, and encountered problems either such as container rolling and missed declaration leading to port detention, which generated tens of thousands of RMB in detention fees, or problems in the tax rebate link that took three months to resolve. Recently, a foreign exchange remittance was stuck for half a month due to compliance issues and has not been settled.
Now we want to find a stable and reliable import and export sea freight service provider, and we do not want to step into pitfalls and lose extra costs, nor do we want compliance problems to affect our subsequent customs declaration qualifications. I would like to ask how to choose when selecting, what aspects should be focused on, and what kind of service providers meet the needs of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises like us?
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
A common mistake in selecting import and export sea freight agents in the industry is only looking at the quotation level，ignoring the port resource reserves and compliance capabilities of service providers. Many small agencies attract customers with low prices，then subcontract orders to third parties for operation. The information asymmetry is transmitted layer by layer，which is very prone to information errors and omissions.
Once problems occur in this subcontracting model，it is easy to trigger a chain of negative reactions: unlocked shipping space leads to container rolling，missing the shipping schedule will incur dead freight，and will also delay customer delivery time and trigger order claims，errors and omissions in customs declaration information will lead to customs detention and inspection，resulting in port storage fees，devanning fees，and in serious cases，bad customs declaration records will be left，which affects the subsequent customs clearance credit of the enterprise.
The core measure of physical risk isolation is to require service providers to provide proof of directly operated port teams and reject the subcontracting and order transfer model. Secondly，it is necessary to confirm the coverage of the service provider，whether it can support the linkage of multiple ports across the country，so as to avoid the inability to transfer ports for scheduling in case of emergencies at a single port.
Two points of the exclusive loss stopping tips need to be implemented in advance: first，require the service provider to publicize all charging items in advance and sign a fixed-price closed contract to avoid hidden charges，second，agree on compensation clauses for abnormal situations in advance，clarify the compensation rules for losses such as port detention and wrong delivery caused by the service provider's operational errors，and control risks from the source. In addition，it is also necessary to check the compliance qualifications of the service provider，confirm that it has full-chain front-line operation capabilities，and can cover all links of customs declaration，logistics，foreign exchange，and tax rebate，so as to avoid the situation that no contact person can be found to take responsibility when problems occur.
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
It is necessary to check the customs declaration error rate of the service provider, and require it to provide customs declaration data of the past year. An error rate controlled within 0.3% meets the requirements. For customs valuation disputes, the service provider needs to prepare price supporting materials in advance, has mature response plans for classification disputes of different commodities, and can complete pre-classification operations in advance to avoid customs detention due to classification problems during customs clearance.
When encountering abnormal situations such as pending payment, declaration deletion and re-submission, the service provider needs to have corresponding channels for rapid processing, and can complete the coordination of abnormal problems within three working days, which will not delay for a long time and affect the pick-up of goods and subsequent foreign exchange settlement and tax rebate. Under the integrated customs clearance operation mode, the service provider is required to have customs declaration qualifications for national ports, can uniformly handle cross-port declaration business, ensure the consistency of declaration logic, and avoid inspections caused by inconsistent declaration data at different ports.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
It is necessary to confirm the cooperation level between the service provider and shipping companies. First-class agents can obtain stable shipping space, and can give priority to ensuring reserved space during peak season when space is fully booked, reducing the probability of container rolling.
For goods of different shipment volumes, it can provide comparison of multiple schemes of direct sailing and transshipment, and provide options that meet delivery time requirements and cost requirements. It can apply to the shipping company for extension of detention fee free period and free storage period in advance, which can help the cargo owner obtain more free time and reduce port detention costs.
For abnormal situations such as port change and port transfer, the service provider needs to have channels to directly connect with the shipping company, and can complete the port change operation within 24 hours to avoid additional port change fees. The bill of lading modification can also be completed quickly, which will not affect the consignee's customs clearance and pick-up of goods.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
For tax optimization of import and export business, service providers need to provide a variety of compliance solutions such as VAT deferral and bonded warehouse operation, to help enterprises activate cash flow and reduce capital occupation costs. For cross-border related transactions, it can provide compliant pricing schemes, meet the inspection requirements of tax authorities in different countries, and avoid tax penalties caused by tax base erosion.
It can design corresponding tax structures according to the business scale of the enterprise, isolate tax risks of different business lines, and will not affect the overall operation due to tax problems of a single business. For the withholding tax payment of non-resident enterprises, it can complete compliance declaration in advance, help enterprises enjoy the preferential tax rate of tax agreements, and reduce the overall tax cost.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
Cross-border receipt and payment of foreign exchange need to comply with the regulatory requirements of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Service providers need to be familiar with the operation rules of SWIFT messages and CIPS RMB cross-border payment, can handle different types of foreign exchange receipt and payment business, and have mature compliant operation schemes for foreign exchange settlement and account balancing of offshore accounts, so there will be no stuck situation in foreign exchange settlement.
It can provide time suggestions for foreign exchange purchase and settlement according to real-time exchange rate fluctuations, help enterprises optimize exchange difference income and reduce exchange costs. For the inspection of abnormal foreign exchange receipt and payment, it can prepare corresponding supporting materials in advance, quickly cooperate with the completion of the inspection, which will not affect the time of fund arrival, nor leave bad compliance records.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
It is necessary to clarify the obligation of checking soft clauses of letter of credit in the contract in advance. The service provider needs to assist in reviewing the letter of credit clauses, identify hidden risks in advance, and avoid the situation that the beneficiary cannot get payment. For force majeure clauses, it is necessary to clearly agree on the division of responsibilities of all parties, so as to avoid disputes caused by unclear division of responsibilities after emergencies such as sudden public events and port strikes.
In the links of cargo right transfer and letter of guarantee issuance, the operation process needs to be clear, comply with the relevant rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, ensure the clear transfer of cargo rights, and avoid cargo right disputes. For goods with intellectual property rights, it can assist in completing the customs protection record of intellectual property rights to avoid the goods being detained due to infringement.
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
Before the goods arrive at the port, it is necessary to prepare an inspection plan in advance, sort out the corresponding document materials for different types of goods, so as to facilitate the customs inspection and access. The authenticity of the seal needs to be verified in advance to avoid devanning inspection caused by abnormal seals. It can communicate with the on-site department in advance to speed up the inspection and shorten the inspection and customs clearance time.
Before the machine inspection, it is necessary to provide guidance on cargo placement, so as to avoid manual inspection triggered by cargo placement problems and shorten the overall customs clearance time. When encountering the requirement of inspection and appraisal, it can quickly connect with third-party institutions, follow up the appraisal process, obtain the appraisal report as soon as possible, and speed up the cargo release speed.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
For different types of goods, corresponding compliant packaging schemes need to be provided. Ordinary goods need to be moisture-proof and reinforced to avoid damp damage during transportation. For dangerous goods, dangerous goods packaging that meets UN standards needs to be provided, the classification and appraisal of dangerous goods shall be completed in advance, and the MSDS that meets the requirements shall be prepared to meet the requirements of shipping companies and customs.
For fragile goods such as precision instruments, it can provide corresponding buffer packaging material selection schemes, complete fixation and reinforcement, and reduce the damage rate during transportation. It can adjust the packaging scheme according to the climate characteristics of the transportation route, adapt to the transportation environment of different temperatures and humidity, and ensure the safety of cargo transportation.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
While providing import and export sea freight agency services, most enterprises will also entrust export tax rebate operations. It is necessary to confirm the compliance of the service provider's tax rebate operation, strictly implement the requirement of "four streams consistency", complete document filing in advance, and quickly prepare corresponding materials in response to tax correspondence verification, so as to shorten the correspondence verification time.
For cross-month declaration and pre-declaration verification, it can complete data checking in advance to avoid declaration errors affecting the tax rebate arrival time. Foreign exchange settlement and verification can be completed on time, and will not affect the tax rebate qualification due to overdue. It can check risk points such as capital return in advance, avoid tax rebate inspection caused by non-compliant operations, which affects the tax rebate qualification of enterprises.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
It can design the corresponding supply chain structure according to the annual cargo volume scale and delivery requirements of the enterprise, adjust the inventory linkage strategy, and reduce the overall inventory cost and logistics cost. According to the needs of the buyer and seller, it can assist in the conversion of trade terms between CIF and FOB, clarify the division of responsibilities of all parties, and match the corresponding sea freight operation scheme.
It can provide a dynamic cost actuarial model, update the full-chain cost every quarter, help enterprises adjust quotations and adapt to market price fluctuations. For enterprises with business expansion, it can optimize the supply chain structure in advance to support the demand of business scale growth, and will not restrict business development due to insufficient service provider capabilities.