With the full launch of the "Digital Foreign Exchange Management System" of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange,87% of the foreign exchange transactions are now conducted online.Enterprise AgentThe foreign exchange receipts and payments operations are undergoing a compliance reconstruction.In the past,the model relied on manual ledgers,but now it is necessary to complete the full-chain data penetrating declaration within T+1 days.Any slight delay may trigger risk control alerts.

I.The underlying logic of ensuring the compliance of foreign exchange receipts and payments: a triangular interplay among regulations,technology,and processes

In 2026,the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued the "Notice on Further Optimizing Foreign Exchange Management and Improving the Level of Cross-Border Trade Facilitation" (No.2026-X),which explicitly requires that agents engaged in import and export business must ensure "transparent transaction backgrounds,traceable capital flows,and well-defined rights and responsibilities".Under digital supervision,the traditional simple model of "agency agreement + invoice" can no longer meet the requirements.Enterprises need to establish a "qualification-documentation-declaration" triad process:

II.SOP for Agency Forex Receipt and Payment (With risk verification checklist)

Step 1: Qualification and Directory Management

Output:

• Logintothe"NationalForeignExchangeManagementBureauApplicationServicePlatform"andcompletetheregistrationforthe"EnterprisesListofForeignExchangeReceiptsandPaymentsforGoodsTrade"(boththeagentandtheclientmustbeonthelist);
• Theclientisrequiredtoprovideascannedcopyofthe"RecordationFormforForeignTradeOperators"orthe"ApprovalCertificateforForeign-InvestedEnterprises";
• Theagentshallclearlydefineitsidentityasan"agentforforeignexchangereceiptsandpayments"intheagreementandretainthe"PowerofAttorney"signedbytheclient’slegalrepresentative.

Step 2: Building a document chain and verifying the transaction background

Output:

• Signthe"AgencyImportandExportAgreement":Itshallincludethe"ForeignExchangePaymentandReceiptResponsibilityClause"(suchas"theagentshallberesponsiblefordeclaringthereceiptofforeignexchange,andtheprincipalshallprovideauthentictransactiondocuments").
• Forgoodstrade,thefollowingdocumentsarerequired:customsdeclarationforms(exportedfromthee-port),billsoflading/cargomanifests,andcommercialinvoices(whichmustindicatethewords"agentedimport/export").
• Forservicetrade(suchasfreightforwardingandinsurancefees),thefollowingdocumentsmustbeprovidedseparately:aserviceagreement,adetailedlistoffees,andavalue-addedtaxinvoice.

Step 3: Declaration and verification (T+1 timeliness requirement)

Output:

• Withinoneworkingdayafterreceiving/payingforeignexchange,theagentshalllogintothe"DigitalForeignExchangeManagement"systemandselectthe"ForeignExchangeReceiptandPaymentforGoodsTrade"module;
• UploadthesingledocumentchainPDF(whichneedstobemergedintheorderof"contract-invoice-customsdeclarationform-billoflading"),andfilloutthe"TradeForeignExchangeReceiptsandPaymentsEnterpriseReportForm";
• Automaticverificationbythesystem:Ifthe"incompletedocuments"alertistriggered,youneedtoprovidea"situationexplanation+supplementarydocuments"(suchastheallocationagreementfortheadvancepayment)within24hours.

Step 4: Exception Handling and File Retention

Output:

• IfyoureceiveanoticefromtheForeignExchangeBureaufor"on-siteverification",youneedtosubmitthe"TransactionAuthenticityStatement"andallsetsofdocumentswithin5workingdays;
• Alldocumentsmustbekeptforfiveyears(includingelectronicfiles),anditisrecommendedtousethearchivingfunctionofthe"GoldenGateII"systemforstorage;
• Attheendofeachquarter,exportthe"ForeignExchangeReceiptsandPaymentsLedger"andreconcileitwiththefinancialaccounts(withafocusonthebalanceofthe"OtherPayables-ForeignExchange"account).

III.Expert insights: 2026 hidden risk points and response

90% of enterprises overlook the declaration boundary between "foreign exchange receipts and payments of service trade" and "goods trade".The new regulations in 2026 specifically require that the "advance payment of freight charges" for imported goods be declared separately as service trade,otherwise,the enterprise will be downgraded to Category A.It is recommended that enterprises:

• Intheagencyagreement,separatelylistthe"servicetradefees"(suchasfreight,insurance,andcommissions)andstipulatethat"whodeclares,whoisresponsible".
• Everyquarter,conductaspecialauditofthe"advancedpayments"toensurethattheproportionofservicetradedeclarationsis≤15%ofthetotalforeignexchangereceipts(industrysafetythreshold);
• Payattentiontothe"RiskWarning"moduleofthe"DigitalForeignExchangeManagement"systemandhandlethedeclarationswiththe"PendingVerification"statusinadvance(failingtoprocessthemwithinthreedayswillaffectthecreditrating).

IV.Take immediate action: Three actions that can be implemented this afternoon

• Checktheforeignexchangeprovisionsoftheagencyagreement:Addclausessuchas"responsibilityforforeignexchangedeclaration"and"timelimitforsubmittingdocuments"(thetemplatecanbereferredtothe"ModelClausesforForeignExchangeReceiptandPaymentAgents"ontheofficialwebsiteoftheStateAdministrationofForeignExchange).
• Exportthecollectionoffundsdataforthepastthreemonthsandconduct"through-the-looking-glassverification":Checkwhetherthe"operatingunit"onthecustomsdeclarationcorrespondingtoeachcollectionoffundsistheclient,andwhetherthetrademodeis"generaltrade".
• Registerandfamiliarizeyourselfwiththedeclarationmoduleofthe"DigitalForeignExchangeManagementSystem":Completethesimulationdeclaration(youcanusetestdata)andensurethattheoperationpermissionsareconfiguredcorrectly.