When using an export agent to handle customs clearance procedures, which party should be listed as the header on the customs declaration power of attorney?
Importing from China?
Need help with sourcing, customs or shipping?
Your China Import Partner
Reliable sourcing and import agency services.
I run a small home goods factory and just received my first foreign trade order this year. The profit margin is not high, so I don't want to build a complete export team myself. Instead, I hired an export agency to handle the entire process.
Yesterday, the freight forwarder urged me to submit the booking note, and now I'm totally confused—one minute they talk about the customs declaration power of attorney, the next about the booking note. I can't figure out which one should have my factory's name and which should have the agency's name.
A friend in the industry once said that filling it out incorrectly led to customs detention and affected the export tax refund, taking almost a month to fix. I'm really afraid of making a mistake now, which would delay the shipment and require me to pay liquidated damages to the customer. Can you clearly tell me who should be listed on the shipping instructions in different scenarios when using an export agent?
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
In the industry，the most common filling mistakes fall into two extremes: either filling all shipping instructions with the agency's name directly，or all with the factory/shipper's own name. Both ways hide risks. If the booking note is incorrectly filled with the shipper's own name，the freight forwarder will assume the shipper is the booking entity. All subsequent instructions for port changes，cargo release，and document exchange will require separate confirmation from the shipper，and the agency cannot operate directly. This easily leads to missing the cut-off time，resulting in container being rolled and port detention，incurring additional detention fees and space liquidated damages. If the customs declaration power of attorney is incorrectly filled with the agency's name，it will not meet the four-flows consistency verification requirement for export tax refunds，easily triggering a tax inquiry. In severe cases，it may be directly determined that no refund is allowed，causing losses ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
For regular export agency scenarios，you can directly follow the rules to isolate risks: For sea and air freight booking notes，uniformly fill in the export agency company，For the export customs declaration power of attorney，fill in the shipper's own name. If the agency exports under its own name，it can be changed to the agency's name. If the shipper wants to retain cargo ownership，it only needs to clearly mark the cargo ownership in the remarks column of the shipping instruction，and there is no need to change the consignor header.
If you find a filling error，you can handle it according to the loss prevention method: If the error is found before the cut-off time，contact the freight forwarder directly to correct the document—most cases will not incur additional fees. If it is found after the cut-off time，immediately contact the agency to coordinate with the shipping company and customs to correct the document. Do not delay，to avoid small problems turning into major risks such as customs detention and fines.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
Incorrectly filled shipping instructions entering the customs declaration system will directly lead to a mismatch in the domestic consignor column of the customs declaration form, triggering an early warning in the price assessment system. If the agency exports and declares customs under its own name, the principal on the shipping instruction must be consistent with the domestic consignor on the customs declaration form.
Otherwise, it will be determined as false declaration, requiring deletion and re-declaration. Deletion and re-declaration will incur manifest amendment fees and customs declaration service fees, and delay customs clearance by 1-3 working days. Goods that are rushing for the shipment schedule are easily missed as a result.
If the principal declares customs on its own as the domestic consignor, the principal on the customs declaration power of attorney must be the principal, and the authorized party must be the agency customs declaration enterprise—both are indispensable. The system will verify the qualifications of both parties during comparison; missing information from either party will directly result in document rejection.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
The filling of the consignor on the booking note needs to be adjusted based on trade terms and cargo ownership requirements. For FOB terms, where the overseas buyer designates the freight forwarder, the consignor can fill in the actual shipper's name, and only needs to clearly mark the contact person for the export agency operation in the booking note. For CIF/CFR terms, where the agency is responsible for booking and paying freight, the consignor must fill in the agency's name; otherwise, the freight forwarder will not release the bill of lading to the agency, and subsequent fee settlement will also have problems.
If a bill of lading endorsement transfer is needed, after filling in the agency's name as the consignor, the agency can complete the endorsement directly without the shipper needing to send additional documents for stamping, saving operation time. If it is incorrectly filled with the shipper's name, additional endorsement transfer is required, delaying the bill of lading submission time and triggering a letter of credit discrepancy.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
The principal filling on the shipping instruction indirectly affects the compliance of cross-border taxation. If exporting under the agency's name, when applying for VAT deferral, the consignor on the booking note must be consistent with the domestic consignor on the export customs declaration form. Otherwise, the tax authority of the overseas destination country will not recognize the VAT deferral application, requiring VAT to be paid after the goods arrive at the port, incurring additional storage fees and port detention fees, and increasing cash flow occupation.
If the shipper exports under its own name, the consignor on the booking note should be the shipper, and the VAT registration entity should also be consistent with the consignor; otherwise, it will be regarded as non-compliant declaration and trigger a fine. For export businesses with cross-border tax planning needs, confirm the consistency between the consignor filling and the tax entity in advance to avoid mismatches that increase tax costs.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
The foreign exchange collection and payment link requires the consignor on the booking note to match the foreign exchange collection and payment entity. If the agency is responsible for foreign exchange collection and payment, the booking note should fill in the agency's name, and the foreign exchange collection and payment entity should also correspond to the agency, in line with the compliance verification requirements of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
If the shipper handles foreign exchange collection and payment by itself, the booking note should fill in the shipper's name to keep the foreign exchange collection and payment consistent with the document principal, avoiding being determined as abnormal foreign exchange collection and payment and affecting subsequent foreign exchange collection and payment quotas. For businesses using CIPS RMB cross-border payment, the document principal must be consistent with the payment entity; incorrect filling of the booking note will lead to the message review failure, delay the arrival time, and increase exchange rate difference losses.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
The export tax refund verification requires four-flows consistency, and the core of the document flow is the matching of the shipping instruction principal with the cargo flow and capital flow. If the agency handles the export tax refund, the principal on the shipping instruction must be the actual supplier, i.e., the shipper itself.
The corresponding purchase invoice and foreign exchange receipt water bill must also be consistent with the principal on the shipping instruction; otherwise, it will trigger a tax inquiry. The inquiry process can take up to 2-3 months, directly affecting the tax refund arrival time.
If the filling error leads to inconsistent principals, re-issue the agency export agreement, correct the shipping instruction content, and submit it to the tax authority to explain the situation; otherwise, it will be directly determined as unqualified for tax refund and unable to get the tax refund. Long-term incorrect filling will also be listed as a key verification object, affecting the tax refund progress of all subsequent export businesses.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
Disputes over cargo ownership mostly come from non-standard filling of the consignor on the shipping instruction. If the cargo ownership belongs to the actual shipper, even if the consignor is filled with the agency's name, it is necessary to clearly mark in the 'Special Agreement' column of the shipping instruction that the cargo ownership belongs to the actual shipper, and the agency is only responsible for operation and does not have the right to dispose of the cargo.
If it involves letter of credit settlement, the consignor on the bill of lading must be consistent with the requirements of the letter of credit. Incorrect filling of the shipping instruction will lead to the consignor on the bill of lading not meeting the letter of credit requirements, triggering a soft clause refusal.
Overseas buyers can use this as a reason to refuse payment, resulting in the risk of losing both goods and money. For businesses that need to transfer cargo ownership, the shipping instruction filling must be consistent with the principal of the cargo ownership transfer agreement to avoid subsequent legal disputes.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
During on-site customs inspection, the customs will check the principal of the shipping instruction and the information of the actual owner of the goods. If the principal of the shipping instruction is inconsistent with the actual shipper and there is no indication of the agency relationship, the customs will suspect the existence of unlicensed products or infringing goods and require unpacking for re-inspection. Unpacking inspection will incur additional unpacking fees and handling fees, and extend the inspection time.
If the agency export relationship is clearly marked in the shipping instruction in advance, clarifying the identities of the actual shipper and the agency, the inspectors can quickly verify the information, shorten the inspection and release time, and reduce unnecessary expenses. When checking the seal, the principal of the shipping instruction must also be consistent with the manifest information; otherwise, it will require checking the authenticity of the seal, delaying the inspection progress.