Full Process Operation Guide for International Trade Export Agency, Covering the Whole Chain of Customs Declaration, Logistics, Tax Refund and Foreign Exchange Collection

I met Mr.Liang from Ningbo last year,who engages in hardware tools export to the EU.He previously cooperated with a small agency for shipment,which failed to give early warning of the EU’s increase in anti-dumping duty on Chinese hardware tools at the end of 2025.After the goods arrived at the port,he was required to pay an additional 22.7% anti-dumping duty,equivalent to more than CNY 1.6 million,and finally had to abandon the goods,suffering heavy losses.The core of international trade export agency is not only going through the customs declaration process,but also pre-checking risks across the whole chain.Any mistake in each step may lead to loss of both money and goods.

Pre-check of Destination Port Customs Clearance Certifications

Customs clearance certification rules of major global consumer markets were updated in 2026.Many enterprises still apply certification standards from 3 years ago,and the number of cases of goods being returned after arrival at the port has increased by 21% year on year.Mandatory certification requirements vary greatly in different regions.Completing certification review 30 days in advance can avoid 90% of the risk of visa refusal at the destination port.

Zhongshitong is headquartered in Shanghai,with cooperative customs clearance agency outlets in 120 countries around the world.We can obtain the latest certification requirements of the destination port in advance,check document inconsistencies,and shorten the certification review cycle by 30% for general cargo.

Early Warning of Anti-Dumping and Trade Barriers

In 2026,Europe and the US made a new round of adjustments to anti-dumping duties on Chinese photovoltaic,hardware and furniture products,with the highest rate reaching 78.4%.The previous classification schemes of many enterprises are no longer applicable.It should be reminded that accurate classification of HS codes is the core of compliance.Do not adjust the code arbitrarily to avoid anti-dumping duties.Once controlled and inspected by customs,you will not only have to pay the overdue taxes,but also be listed on the dishonest list,and all subsequent goods will be subject to key inspection.

Previously,Ms.Fan from Suzhou engaged in small machinery export to Thailand.The HS code classified by herself was not included in the RCEP zero-tariff list.After taking over the business,we rechecked the product parameters and adjusted it to the corresponding code category,helping her save 8% of tariffs,equivalent to CNY 120,000.For products involving anti-dumping duties,we will provide optional solutions such as third-country transshipment and tariff quota application in advance to help enterprises reasonably reduce tax burden costs.

Export Tax Refund Optimization and Cost Control

In 2026,Shanghai Port has implemented the "instant refund upon declaration" policy for export tax refunds.Eligible enterprises can get the tax refund within 3 working days at the fastest.However,many enterprises not only fail to get the tax refund due to non-standard operations,but also are inspected by the tax authority.There are three common tax refund pitfalls:

• The declaration elements of the customs declaration form must be completely consistent with the input invoice.There should be no deviation in the four core parameters of brand,model,material and specification.Even different names for the same product may lead to the rejection of the tax refund.
• Foreign exchange must be received within 90 days after customs declaration.If it is overdue,deferred declaration shall be made in advance,otherwise the tax refund qualification for this batch of goods will be directly cancelled,and the already received tax refund shall be returned in full.
• Enterprises applying for tax refund for the first time shall prepare materials such as supply contracts,logistics vouchers,factory qualification certificates in advance,and cooperate with the on-site inspection of the tax authority,to avoid 3-6 months delay of tax refund caused by missing materials.

We have a professional tax refund risk control team,which will check the consistency of all documents before customs declaration.For eligible enterprises,we can handle tax refund advance payment on their behalf,and they can get the tax refund within 7 days after customs declaration at the fastest,easing the cash flow pressure of enterprises.

Foreign Exchange Collection Security and Property Right Risk Control

The two-way fluctuation range of RMB exchange rate has increased in 2026,with an annual fluctuation range of more than 8%.Many enterprises have lost their whole year’s profit due to the lack of foreign exchange loss hedging.In addition,attention should be paid to the document exchange fee trap of designated freight forwarders,especially under FOB terms.Many foreign designated freight forwarders will charge demurrage fees and document exchange fees randomly,and even release goods without bill of lading,leading to loss of both money and goods for enterprises.

For all goods under our export agency,we provide free exchange rate trend warning,helping enterprises choose the appropriate settlement time to reduce exchange losses.At the same time,we will control the cargo right throughout the whole process.For orders with designated freight forwarders,we will require the other party to issue a cargo right guarantee to avoid the risk of releasing goods without bill of lading.We support remote declaration at all ports across the country.No matter which city your goods are produced in,we can arrange customs declaration and logistics nearby,avoiding unnecessary back-and-forth arrangements.

The core of international trade export agency is to leave professional matters to professional people.Only by checking risks in advance in each link can we ensure the smooth shipment of goods and safe collection of payment.