Zhongshitong Import and Export Agency Firm: Full Analysis of 2026 Customs Clearance and Tax Refund

I.Port of Destination Certification: Compliance Clearance Code from RCEP to the Middle East

I once assisted a medical device company in Shanghai,which planned to export its products to Saudi Arabia.At first,they only prepared ordinary customs clearance documents and ignored the mandatory requirement of Saudi SASO certification.After the goods arrived at the port,they were detained by customs due to lack of certificates,with a detention fee of 12,000 US dollars per day,which lasted for 7 days.

This is a typical blind spot in port of destination certification.In 2026,the Certificate of Origin (FORM R) among RCEP member states has fully covered 15 countries.We recommend that enterprises complete pre-audit in advance through the ASYCUDA Pro,the APEC Certificate of Origin System of the General Administration of Customs,and focus on verifying the following items:

• Consistency between HS Code and export invoice.For example,some chemical products need to be marked with both CAS number and MSDS number at the same time
• The interval between export date and issuance date of certificate of origin shall not exceed 15 days,so as to avoid the timeliness risk of "customs declaration first and certificate supplementation later"
• For the EU market,additional EAC certification and REACH regulation compliance declaration are required.The SVHC substance list of REACH has been updated to the Q2 2026 version,with 12 new substances of very high concern added

Special attention should be paid to the Middle East market: Saudi SASO certification shall be completed during the production stage of goods,and cannot be supplemented during customs clearance; UAE COC certification requires that product labels must have Arabic instructions and be accompanied by third-party test reports.A lighting factory represented by us avoided the 30% extra tariff on finished lamps in Saudi Arabia by splitting the products into two batches of "lamp holder + light source" for declaration in advance.

II.Anti-dumping Early Warning: Tax Rate Game Under 2026 Trade Barriers

In 2026,the global anti-dumping early warning presents three new characteristics:

• The early warning cycle is shortened to 3-5 working days.For example,the EU’s anti-dumping investigation on Chinese aluminum profiles only took 45 days from case filing to final ruling
• The surrogate country price system is adjusted.In the US anti-dumping ruling on Chinese furniture,Vietnam has been used as the reference price of the surrogate country
• Technical anti-dumping is increasing.For example,the EU has added a "carbon emission compliance" verification for Chinese auto parts

The response strategies are divided into three levels: Declaration strategy adjustment (such as split declaration to avoid high tax rates),Origin structure optimization (setting up factories in Southeast Asia to complete some processes),Trade clause negotiation (signing a "tax rate fluctuation compensation agreement" with importers).A bicycle factory represented by us split some parts from finished products for declaration in advance,which reduced the applicable tax rate from 7.8% to 3.2%,saving 120,000 US dollars per batch.

Be alert to the "underreported price" trap: a luggage factory exporting to the EU triggered customs price audit and control because its declared price was 22% lower than similar products.Finally,it paid tax according to the average price,leading to a sharp drop in profit margin from 18% to 5%.

III.Export Tax Refund Optimization: The Lifeline of Consistency of Declaration Elements

Many factories only pay attention to the customs declaration amount,but ignore that the brand and model in the declaration elements must be completely consistent with the packing list.Last year,a lighting factory missed filling in the key parameter of "LED light source" during declaration,which made the customs think it was inconsistent with the actual goods.The tax refund was delayed for 3 months,with a direct loss of 870,000 yuan in tax refund quota.

In 2026,the customs implemented the "dynamic verification system for declaration elements",focusing on verifying the following three types of declaration contents:

• Material composition: For example,textiles need to clearly indicate the fiber content (cotton/polyester ratio),and leather products need to provide chrome tanning/vegetable tanning process instructions
• Production process: For example,ceramic tableware needs to distinguish between "underglaze color" and "overglaze color" to avoid applying different tax refund rates
• Packaging specifications: The EU market has strict requirements for "plastic-free packaging",so it is necessary to indicate the use of degradable materials in the remarks column of the customs declaration form

Pre-classification service is particularly critical.A chemical enterprise found through the "classification pre-audit system" that the HS Code corresponding to its product CAS number is 38249090 (tax refund rate 13%),rather than the originally declared 38249010 (tax refund rate 9%).Only adjusting the classification obtained an extra tax refund of 1.2 million yuan.

IV.Foreign Exchange Collection Security Guarantee: Full-link Risk Control from TT Telegraphic Transfer to Letter of Credit

A foreign trade company collected foreign exchange through TT telegraphic transfer.The other party deliberately paid in three installments,one of which was small in amount but delayed for 5 days,resulting in an exchange rate fluctuation loss of 20,000 US dollars.We recommend that customers adopt the strategy of "installment foreign exchange collection + exchange rate locking",and lock the exchange rate through bank forward foreign exchange settlement in advance.

Foreign exchange control is stricter in 2026,so special attention should be paid to the following risks:

• Letter of credit discrepancy: A customer received a fake letter of credit.We verified the authenticity through the SWIFT system,found the discrepancy and requested modification in time to avoid capital loss
• Third-party foreign exchange collection trap: A factory accepted the Hong Kong account provided by the intermediary for collection,and 2 million US dollars was frozen due to anti-money laundering verification of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
• Exchange rate fluctuation risk: Adopt the "exchange rate fluctuation hedging" scheme,and enable part of forward foreign exchange settlement when USD/CNY exceeds 7.3

Logistics and finance linkage: At Shanghai Port,we have realized the closed loop of "customs declaration pre-audit + manifest automatic matching + bank payment on behalf",which can complete all processes before the goods arrive at the port to ensure the complete matching of documents and real rights.

Conclusion: The value of foreign trade agency is restructured in 2026,and enterprises need to shift from "single customs clearance service" to "full-link compliance + risk hedging".Relying on Zhongshitong’s 20 years of practical experience at Shanghai Port,we provide not only agency services,but also a trade risk control system covering "production qualification pre-audit,transportation scheduling,foreign exchange settlement and tax refund declaration".