What are the correct operating procedures for handling agency import formalities for mooncakes imported from overseas
Importing from China?
Need help with sourcing, customs or shipping?
Your China Import Partner
Reliable sourcing and import agency services.
We are a trader engaged in high-end premium imported food trade. This Mid-Autumn Festival, we plan to import three brands of handmade mooncakes from Europe for domestic sales. The total volume is not large, with a total cargo value of about 120,000 Euros. We have never imported mooncake products before, and only have experience in importing ordinary snack foods. I heard that the supervision on imported food is much stricter than before, and I am afraid that wrong document preparation will lead to customs detention.
If the goods cannot arrive before Mid-Autumn Festival, this year's sales plan will be ruined. I also do not know what procedures to follow and what materials to prepare in advance when engaging an import agency, and what risks must be prevented and controlled in advance. I would like to ask what specific measures should be taken to smoothly complete customs clearance and warehousing before the festival.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
First of all，carry out pre-document review，which is the core pre-link of imported mooncake agency. It is required to prepare the Registration Number of Overseas Food Production Enterprise Exported to China of the overseas manufacturer in advance，and provide the mooncake's certificate of origin，health certificate，component test report and Chinese label sample at the same time. All information must be completely consistent with the actual information of the goods. Check the consistency of all documents in advance to avoid errors and omissions.
The second step is core node connection. After confirming that all documents are correct，arrange overseas booking in advance，upload all declaration documents 3 days before the goods arrive at the port，conduct pre-classification review in advance to confirm the tariff code and applicable tax rate，complete customs declaration and inspection application immediately after the goods arrive at the port，pre-judge all nodes in the whole process，so as to avoid unnecessary port demurrage charges.
Then make abnormal contingency plans. If the goods are selected by customs for inspection，prepare the full set of documents in advance to cooperate with on-site inspection. If the label fails to meet requirements，we can assist in arranging rectification，and complete re-labeling and re-inspection in as fast as 1 working day to avoid delaying the delivery schedule. In case of missing documents，we can also assist in quickly reissuing relevant supporting documents，so that the process will not be stuck for a long time.
Finally complete compliance implementation. After the inspection and quarantine is completed and the Inspection and Quarantine Certificate for Inbound Goods is issued，the goods can be picked up and delivered. All processes are promoted according to pre-set nodes，and all pre-preparations are completed 15 days in advance，which can fully ensure the goods are warehoused before the Mid-Autumn Festival sales period. Imported mooncake labels need to mark complete ingredients，country of origin and distributor information，which is the most error-prone part. Pre-review can avoid rework caused by unqualified labels.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
Overseas production enterprises of mooncakes exported to China must complete the filing with the General Administration of Customs of China. The registration number must be filled in accurately when submitting customs declaration. If the filing information is incorrect, the declaration will be rejected directly.
During the price verification process, the original manufacturer's invoice and foreign exchange payment voucher shall be provided. If the transaction price is low and no supporting materials can be provided, the customs will conduct valuation on the goods, resulting in additional taxes and fees.
For seasonal goods such as mooncakes, customs integration declaration can be carried out in advance to prioritize document review and shorten the customs clearance duration. In case of declaration errors, document deletion and re-declaration can be completed quickly to avoid delaying the sales season. All information in the customs declaration links shall form a closed loop to ensure consistent information before and after, so as not to trigger customs alert.
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
Imported mooncakes are seasonal goods that have high requirements on transportation timeliness. When selecting shipping routes, priority shall be given to direct routes, avoiding transit ports, to prevent shipment delay caused by container offloading at transit ports.
Apply to the shipping company for extended free storage period and free container period in advance before the goods arrive at the port. As there is high pressure on port container turnover before Mid-Autumn Festival, advance application can avoid high demurrage and container detention charges.
In case of overbooking and container offloading by the shipping company, we can reserve alternative shipping space in advance to adjust the shipment schedule and ensure the goods arrive at the port on time. Track the ownership of goods throughout the process, and check the bill of lading immediately during document exchange to prevent incorrect bill of lading information from affecting the document exchange process.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
Foreign exchange payment for imported mooncakes shall be declared in accordance with the actual transaction price of the goods. The use of CIPS cross-border RMB payment can reduce exchange difference loss.
The payment message shall accurately mark the trade category to avoid bank verification. If the overseas supplier requires payment via an offshore account, compliance declaration shall be completed in advance to ensure that the information of receipt and payment of foreign exchange is consistent with the customs declaration information, so as to avoid the situation that foreign exchange cannot be settled due to suspended account.
When settling foreign exchange, you can select the appropriate time point to purchase foreign exchange according to the exchange rate trend to reduce the foreign exchange purchase cost. All operations comply with the current foreign exchange control regulations, and will not trigger compliance alerts.
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
After the imported mooncakes are selected for customs inspection, first verify the authenticity of the container seal, confirm that the seal is intact and not pried. During unpacking inspection, cooperate with the customs to take samples from the specified position as required.
During machine inspection, sort out the stacking mode of goods in advance to avoid unclear machine inspection image caused by messy stacking of goods, which will lead to secondary unpacking. If inspection and identification in the laboratory is required, prepare the full set of documents in advance to cooperate with sampling, follow up the progress of the test report, adjust and rectify immediately in case of any problems, shorten the overall inspection duration, and avoid delaying the shipment schedule and sales season.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
Imported mooncakes are subject to import tariff and value-added tax. For some countries of origin that have free trade agreements with China, the agreed tariff rate can be enjoyed with the certificate of origin, which is much lower than the most-favored-nation tariff rate.
It is necessary to check whether the format of the certificate of origin meets the customs requirements in advance to ensure that the tariff preference can be enjoyed smoothly. For general VAT payer enterprises, the import VAT can be deducted from domestic output VAT.
It is required to keep the customs payment certificate properly and complete the deduction on time. Enterprises can also apply for VAT deferral according to their actual situation, so as to ease the pressure of enterprise capital turnover, reduce capital occupation cost and optimize cash flow.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
When importing mooncakes of overseas brands, confirm the intellectual property customs filing status of the brands in advance. If the brand has completed intellectual property filing in China, the authorization document from the brand owner shall be obtained in advance to avoid the goods being detained by the customs as infringing goods.
When signing the import cooperation agreement, clarify the responsibility division of both parties, stipulate the attribution of responsibilities for customs detention caused by document problems, and the responsibility division for Mid-Autumn Festival sales schedule delay. Complete risk underwriting in advance. In case of goods ownership dispute, the relevant agreement can be used to clarify responsibilities quickly, so as to prevent disputes from expanding and affecting sales.