What qualifications do trading companies engaged in cross-border commodity import business need in 2026?
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I am the person in charge of a daily necessities trading company newly registered in Shanghai. I have only been engaged in domestic offline wholesale business for the past five years, and this year I plan to expand the product lines of imported food and daily chemical products from Southeast Asia. Last month I found a third-party agency that claimed that I only needed to add import and export rights to my business license to carry out import business. However, last week, when I tested a batch of Thai durian chips for a friend, the goods were directly detained at Yangshan Port.
The customs stated that our company lacked the relevant special qualifications for food import, and would issue an administrative penalty to us. Now I have no idea what went wrong and I am completely flustered. I would like to ask what necessary qualifications a formal import trading company needs? Are there any differences in qualification requirements corresponding to import business of different categories? What details should be paid attention to when processing these qualifications to avoid pitfalls that affect subsequent business?
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026，the qualifications of import trading companies are divided into three categories. The first category is basic operation qualifications. You need to add "Import and Export of Goods" and "Import and Export of Technology" to the business license scope，and then complete the Foreign Trade Operator Filing with the Ministry of Commerce. This is the access basis for all import businesses. Enterprises without this qualification cannot conduct cross-border foreign exchange receipt and payment operations.
The second category is customs supervision-related qualifications. You need to complete three core procedures: filing for consignors and consignees of import and export goods with customs，processing E-port IC card，and filing for inspection and quarantine declaration enterprises. All filing information must be 100% consistent with the business license and legal person identity information，otherwise it will directly lead to customs declaration rejection，or even be judged as untruthful declaration and trigger a fine.
The third category is special category-specific qualifications. For the food import you are involved in，you need to additionally process the filing of import and export food consignors and consignees. If you involve cosmetics，medical devices，hazardous chemicals and other categories in the future，you need to process corresponding special qualifications such as cosmetics import filing certificate，medical device import registration certificate，and hazardous chemical business license. The effective date of all special qualifications must be at least 3 working days earlier than the arrival date of the goods to avoid cargo detention and port stowage caused by ineffective qualifications，resulting in high container demurrage and storage fees.
If the cargo has been detained now，you can first submit a statement of facts to the customs to apply for release under bond guarantee，and then complete the customs clearance procedures after supplementing all relevant qualifications. Afterwards，conduct a full validity check of all qualifications once every quarter，and apply for qualification renewal 30 days in advance to avoid problems such as expired qualifications affecting normal customs clearance. If you have a large number of imported categories，you can conduct a full-category qualification screening in advance，supplement all required qualifications in advance，and reduce compliance risks of subsequent business.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the customs has realized the online verification of import and export enterprise qualifications, and all qualification information will be synchronized to the enterprise profile module of the customs declaration system. If the enterprise has missing qualifications, the customs declaration form will be directly rejected by the system after submission, and even trigger instructions for artificial price verification and targeted inspection.
If a declaration rejection due to inconsistent qualifications has occurred, do not blindly delete and re-declare the form. First confirm the type of missing qualification.
If it is a missing basic qualification, you can first apply for a temporary customs declaration unit registration certificate, which is valid for 7 days and can be used for customs clearance of the current batch of goods, then supplement the long-term qualifications afterwards. If it is a missing special category qualification, you need to obtain the access approval from the corresponding regulatory department first, then submit the qualification materials to the customs to apply for manual release, avoiding repeated deletion of declarations that will reduce the enterprise's customs declaration credit rating and affect subsequent customs clearance efficiency.
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Currency Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
Cargo detention caused by incomplete qualifications of import enterprises will directly generate high container demurrage and storage fees. In 2026, the demurrage of ordinary containers at Shanghai Port is calculated from the 7th day after the goods arrive at the port. The fee is 300 yuan per day for the first 3 days, then increases by 50% per day afterwards, and can accumulate up to 2000 yuan per container per day at maximum.
In case of cargo detention, apply to the shipping company for an additional 7-day free demurrage period immediately, and apply to transfer the goods to a public bonded warehouse outside the port for storage at the same time, where the storage fee is about 40% lower than that inside the port, to reduce cost expenditure. Before arranging transportation in the future, synchronize all qualification documents to the freight forwarder for pre-verification in advance, confirm that the qualifications meet the requirements before arranging shipment of goods, and avoid the problem of inability to clear customs after the goods arrive at the port.
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
Incomplete qualifications of import trading companies will directly affect the deduction of import VAT and subsequent tax compliance. If the enterprise has not completed the filing of import and export goods consignors and consignees, the customs import VAT special payment receipt obtained by customs clearance under the name of the freight forwarder cannot be used for the enterprise's own VAT deduction, which will result in a loss of about 13% of input deduction credit every year.
If there is a demand for import VAT deferral in the future, the enterprise needs to obtain a customs credit rating of Class A or above, and have no tax violation records for two consecutive years, to apply for deferred payment of import link VAT, which can defer the tax payment for up to 90 days, greatly reducing the cash flow pressure of the enterprise. Enterprises with incomplete qualifications cannot apply for this policy, which will occupy a large amount of additional operating funds.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
The qualifications of import trading companies will directly affect the compliance of cross-border receipt and payment of foreign exchange. In 2026, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange has realized the online verification of trade qualifications and the foreign exchange receipt and payment system. If the enterprise has no Foreign Trade Operator Filing, it cannot open a current account for foreign exchange, and can only make and receive payments through a third-party agency, which will not only generate a handling fee of 1%-2%, but also trigger abnormal warning of foreign exchange receipt and payment, leading to account freeze.
If the enterprise needs to handle cross-border RMB settlement through CIPS, it needs to complete the customs consignor/consignee filing and foreign exchange directory registration first, so as to pay RMB directly to overseas suppliers to avoid the risk of exchange rate fluctuation. Enterprises with incomplete qualifications cannot enjoy this facilitation policy.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
Incomplete qualifications of import trading companies will directly lead to performance risks of trade contracts. If the enterprise does not have the import qualification of corresponding categories, the signed procurement contract will be judged as an invalid contract.
In case of supplier breach of contract, the enterprise cannot claim its own rights and interests through legal channels. In addition, if it involves intellectual property issues of imported goods, the enterprise needs to process customs intellectual property protection filing in advance.
Without this filing, if the imported goods are suspected of infringement, they will be directly confiscated by customs, and the enterprise will also bear the corresponding infringement compensation liability to the brand owner, with the maximum compensation amount reaching more than 3 times of the cargo value. It is recommended to conduct intellectual property compliance screening in advance while processing basic qualifications.
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
Imported goods with incomplete qualifications will be directly impounded on site during the inspection process. For special categories such as food, the goods will also be sent for laboratory component testing, with a testing period of 7-15 days. The goods can be released only after the testing is qualified and all qualifications are supplemented.
If the testing result is unqualified, the goods will be directly destroyed or returned. When responding to on-site inspection, if the customs raises the problem of inconsistent qualifications, do not sign the inspection record casually. First check the type of missing qualification.
If it is a type that can be supplemented, you can apply to the customs inspector for an extension to provide materials, avoiding being directly judged as violation leading to cargo confiscation. Before the goods arrive at the port in the future, submit copies of all qualification documents with the official seal affixed to the on-site customs declarants, which can be submitted directly during inspection to improve inspection efficiency.
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
If import trading companies are involved in the import of special categories such as hazardous chemicals and fresh products, in addition to conventional operation qualifications, they also need to have corresponding packaging compliance qualifications for the goods. In 2026, the customs has greatly improved the packaging verification intensity for imported goods. If the packaging of hazardous chemicals has no UN mark, and the enterprise does not have corresponding hazardous chemical business qualifications, the goods will be directly returned, and a fine of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan will be triggered.
It is recommended to check the MSDS report of the goods before importing special category goods, confirm the hazard level of the goods, and process corresponding packaging qualifications in advance. If the packaging provided by the supplier does not meet the requirements, replace it with compliant packaging overseas in advance to avoid inability to clear customs after arriving at the port.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
The qualifications of import trading companies will directly affect subsequent document filing and tax verification. If the enterprise has no formal import qualifications, the goods imported through document borrowing cannot obtain formal import customs declaration forms and payment receipts. If the goods are sold domestically later, they will be judged as falsely issuing input invoices during tax department verification, triggering risks of supplementary tax payment, late payment surcharge and even fine, with the maximum fine amount reaching 5 times of the tax amount.
If the enterprise develops export business at the same time in the future, the record of incomplete import qualifications will be synchronized to the tax refund system, resulting in the rejection of export tax refund application, and even being listed as a key verification object, affecting the arrival time of tax refund funds. It is recommended that all import businesses use their own qualifications for customs clearance, and keep complete document materials.
SarahYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Foreign Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
The completeness of import trading company qualifications will directly affect supply chain stability and cost control. In 2026, the customs has opened facilitation policies such as advance declaration, two-step declaration and priority inspection for enterprises with Class A or above credit rating. Enterprises with complete qualifications and high credit rating can increase customs clearance efficiency by more than 60%, and reduce logistics costs by about 30%.
If the enterprise has incomplete qualifications, it cannot enjoy these facilitation policies, resulting in long customs clearance time and additional costs, which will affect the market competitiveness of products. It is recommended to plan the imported categories in the next 3 years in advance while processing basic qualifications, process all required special qualifications at one time, optimize the overall supply chain structure, and reduce subsequent operating costs.