What Required Application Materials and Qualifications Are Mandatory for Registering an Import and Export Trade Company in 2026
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I have been engaged in cross-border supply of small home goods to Southeast Asia for nearly two years. Previously, I always processed orders under the name of a foreign trade agency company.
Last month, the agency encountered problems in tax audit verification, and three of my tax rebates were frozen for nearly three months, with over 200,000 yuan of capital tied up. I dare not continue the affiliation mode anymore, and plan to register a fully self-operated import and export trade company.
Under the latest 2026 policies, I have no clear idea of how many procedures I need to go through from enterprise name verification to the point where I can independently collect foreign exchange and handle export tax rebates normally, and which links need pre-arranged compliance settings, fearing that I will step into pitfalls that cause problems in subsequent tax rebate processing. I want to obtain a complete set of practical operation procedures.
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Currency Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
First complete the compliance verification of the registered address in the pre-procedure stage. In 2026，the industrial and commercial system has been interconnected with the port supervision system，and invalid falsely filled affiliated addresses in industrial parks will trigger customs filing rejection within 30 days. It is recommended to prioritize addresses in official foreign trade demonstration parks of corresponding districts and counties，which can directly complete the pre-examination of import and export qualifications synchronously，without submitting additional paper site proof documents.
The connection of core nodes is divided into four steps. The first step is to complete the processing of the industrial and commercial business license within 3 working days，with the business scope clearly marked as "Import and Export of Goods" and "Import and Export of Technology"，without adding vague general trade expressions. The second step is to submit the online filing for customs consignor and consignee of import and export goods，and the Ukey medium of the electronic port can be obtained within 3 working days. The third step is to apply for the registration in the foreign exchange bureau list synchronously. In 2026，the whole process is verified online，no offline branch visit is required. The fourth step is to open a separate pending-verification foreign exchange account after the basic bank account is opened，so that all cross-border foreign exchange collections are directly transferred to the pending-verification account for compliance verification.
For abnormal contingency plans，if your business scope involves categories requiring pre-approval for commodity inspection，apply for the corresponding business license for these categories synchronously at the industrial and commercial registration stage，instead of making supplementary applications after subsequent customs declaration，otherwise the system will directly reject your first export declaration，extending the delivery cycle of the first order.
In the final compliance implementation stage，complete the export tax rebate filing synchronously within 7 working days after all registration procedures are completed，and pre-establish internal retention templates for the "four flows consistency" document rule. For each subsequent order，file the contract，logistics document，foreign exchange collection voucher and invoice in one-to-one correspondence，so as to avoid the core risk points of subsequent tax audit verification from the registration stage.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the customs filing for consignors and consignees has realized automatic information synchronization with the industrial and commercial system. However, if the business categories filled in by the enterprise involve special control categories under customs supervision, such as mechanical and electrical products requiring 3C certification or endangered species related products, the system will automatically trigger manual review.
At this time, do not arbitrarily check categories beyond the main business scope, fill in the main ordinary home goods categories first, and apply for additional scope through the online change channel later, otherwise the manual review period may be extended to 15 working days. When applying for the filing for the first time, upload the official seal specimen and customs declaration special seal specimen of the enterprise to the system for retention in advance.
When you declare export for the first time later, the system will automatically match the seal specimen information and will not trigger additional document review. If you find that the filled information is wrong after filing, directly submit an application in the enterprise information change module of the Single Window, and the review and update can be completed within 2 working days.
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
During the registration stage, you can lock in commonly used international logistics partners synchronously, and send the enterprise's customs code and English company name to shipping lines and freight forwarders in advance for pre-entry into the booking system, so as to avoid booking delays caused by information matching problems when you arrange the first shipment later. For the agreements on free storage period and demurrage, you can sign a long-term cooperation framework with freight forwarders in advance.
The default free storage period for common Southeast Asia routes can be applied for 14 days, which is twice the conventional 7 days, and can avoid high demurrage costs caused by port congestion in peak seasons later. The consignee name on the bill of lading must be completely consistent with the English name of the newly registered company, no spelling errors are allowed, otherwise problems will occur in subsequent telex release or endorsement transfer. Check the consignee information of all documents repeatedly before the first shipment to avoid huge losses caused by minor errors.
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
The newly registered import and export trade company can directly apply for VAT deferral qualification. This policy has been fully implemented at all national ports in 2026. There is no need to pay import value-added tax on the spot when importing goods, and the deduction is calculated uniformly in the monthly value-added tax declaration stage later, which can greatly reduce the capital occupation cost in the import link.
Settle all the old accounts from the previous affiliation period completely, and do not carry over the remaining payable or receivable funds from the former agency company to the new company's accounts, otherwise the tax authority will trigger a related party transaction risk warning during the first tax audit later. Sort out the relevant rules on non-resident enterprise withholding tax in advance, and clearly stipulate the tax bearing clause when signing procurement contracts with overseas suppliers later, to avoid extra tax costs.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
After the foreign exchange list registration is completed, all overseas foreign exchange collections must go through the pending-verification account for compliance verification. Do not transfer money directly from the overseas account to the basic account, otherwise the SWIFT message will be marked as a suspicious transaction and trigger manual verification of the CIPS system. In mild cases, the foreign exchange settlement will be delayed for 3-7 days, and in severe cases, the payment will be directly returned.
You can submit the application for opening an offshore account after completing the first 3 normal foreign exchange collections. The approval rate for a newly registered shell company applying for an offshore account is less than 10%, and the approval rate can rise to over 80% after there is actual transaction flow record. You can choose the time window when the monthly exchange rate is at a relatively high level for foreign exchange settlement, instead of settling immediately after receiving the money, so as to obtain stable spread income.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
After getting the business license, complete the customs intellectual property protection filing immediately. If you own the brand, directly upload the trademark information to the customs intellectual property filing system.
When your exported goods face infringement inspection later, you can directly show the filing certificate quickly to avoid goods detention. When signing trade contracts with overseas clients later, clearly include situations such as port congestion and temporary customs control into the exemption scope under the force majeure clause.
Do not accept soft clauses in the letter of credit issued by clients, such as unreasonable clauses requiring quality inspection certificates issued by institutions designated by the clients. All the nodes of cargo right transfer must be completely matched with the circulation nodes of the bill of lading, to avoid the risk of losing both goods and payment.
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
The inspection rate for the first 3 export shipments of a newly registered import and export company is about 30% higher than that of normal enterprises, which is a routine new enterprise verification of the customs system, so there is no need to be overly nervous. Check the declaration elements of all goods clearly before shipment, make sure the quantity, weight and HS code are completely matched with the actual goods, and the seal number is completely consistent with the information filled in on the customs declaration form, to avoid situations such as seal falling off or seal replacement.
If you receive an inspection notice, print out the corresponding packing list, contract and invoice in advance and send them to the site, instead of preparing the materials after being notified by the customs, which can greatly shorten the inspection processing time. Arrange the goods to go through the machine inspection channel first for priority inspection. 90% of ordinary goods can be released directly once the machine inspection is passed, without the need for manual unpacking inspection.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
For the export of your main business small home goods categories, complete the MSDS report for each main product in advance, upload and store them in the enterprise's document library. When the customs requires inspection and appraisal, you can submit the reports directly, no need to rush to make reports temporarily which will generate extra costs. For the packaging of ordinary home goods, prioritize the standardized moisture-proof and reinforcement solution.
The humidity on Southeast Asia routes is high, add a layer of pearl cotton waterproof film inside the package to prevent the goods from getting damp and damaged during sea transportation. If you plan to export small home appliances with batteries later, complete the UN dangerous goods packaging appraisal in advance, do not declare directly as ordinary goods, otherwise the container will be detained directly once inspection is conducted, generating high disposal costs.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
After the new company is registered, establish the document retention system for four flows consistency first. The information of purchase and sales contract, logistics document, foreign exchange settlement slip and value-added tax invoice for each export order must be completely corresponding, and the situation that the contract consignee name is inconsistent with the foreign exchange receiver name shall not occur. Submit the pre-declaration verification for the first export to the system 7 days in advance, correct any doubts immediately after discovery, instead of handling them at the time of formal declaration.
The cross-month tax rebate declaration process will take 7 more working days for verification than normal declaration. When the tax authority conducts audit verification later, sort out all corresponding documents into files and submit them. Under the condition of no non-compliance records, the reply can be completed within 3 working days, which will not affect the arrival speed of the tax rebate. The document filing materials shall be retained for more than 10 years, and shall not be discarded arbitrarily.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
After the new company is registered, make a 3-month transition plan for small-scale taxpayers first. Control the export sales volume of the first quarter within 300,000 yuan, so that you can enjoy the policy dividend of value-added tax exemption. After the order volume is stable later, upgrade to general taxpayer to enjoy the export tax rebate policy.
The overall income is about 12% higher than directly registering as a general taxpayer company. Prioritize the FOB Shanghai trade term, transfer all the cost and risk of the international transportation segment to overseas clients, and do not bear the uncontrollable costs during sea transportation. You can connect with the public bonded warehouse at Shanghai port in advance for the inventory linkage strategy, store the commonly prepared goods in the bonded warehouse, and directly deliver the goods from the bonded warehouse after receiving overseas orders later, which can greatly shorten the overall logistics cycle.