After the official implementation of the document issued by the General Administration of Customs in 2026,the agentThe operating norms of the industry have undergone major adjustments—while the qualification filing process has been simplified,the requirements for verifying the authenticity of documents have been raised to the level of "through-the-wall verification".According to statistics from Guangzhou Customs,in the first quarter of the implementation of the new regulations,the number of cases where customs declaration was blocked due to compliance issues in the agency process increased by 47% year-on-year.The traditional "hands-off agent" model of entrustment has completely failed.

The core differences and risk matrix between the new and old regulations

Import and Export Compliance Operating Procedures for Agents (2026 Edition)

Step 1: Qualification verification and record update

Output:

• Logintothe"ChinaInternationalTradeSingleWindow"andcheckwhethertheenterprise’sregistrationinformationincludesthe"CustomsDeclarationAgency"type(individualbusinessesmustimmediatelychangetheirstatustoanenterpriseentity).
• Ifitinvolves"specialitems"(suchasfood,etc.),(Note:Thetranslationofthesentenceisasfollows:"However,forimportandexporttransactionsinvolvingdangerousgoods,aseparateapplicationisrequiredtoobtainthe’RecordofRegistrationforImportersandExportersofImportandExportGoods’(thenewregulationsrequirethattheagent’squalificationsmatchthoseoftheconsignor).")

Step 2: Establish the "Three-Review" Mechanism for Documents

Output:

• Firstreview:Theagentreviewsthecontract,invoice,andpackinglistprovidedbytheshipper,andfocusesonverifyingwhetherthe"tradeterms(Incoterms)"matchtheactualtransportationmethod(thenewregulationsprohibitfreightforwardersfrommakingpaymentsunderFOBterms)fees).
• SecondInstance:Requiretheconsignortoprovidea"TradeBackgroundStatement"(whichmustincludethepurchasecontract,paymentvouchers,andscreenshotsofthelogisticstrack),toprovetheauthenticityofthetransaction.
• Finalreview:24hoursbeforedeclaration,uploadalldocumentstothecustomspre-reviewsystemthroughthe"SingleWindow",andobtainthe"DocumentCompliancePre-CheckCode".

Step 3: Declaration and closed-loop management of foreign exchange

Output:

• Whendeclaringcustoms,theagentshallindicatethewords"AgentforImportandExport"inthe"Remarkscolumn"ofthecustomsdeclarationformandlinkittotheconsignor’s"EnterpriseCreditCode"(thenewregulationsrequirethatthecustomscandirectlytracetheconsignor’sresponsibility).
• Foreignexchangewrite-off:Theconsignorshallcompletetheprocessthroughthe"NationalForeignExchangeAdministrationApplicationServicePlatform"within90daysafterthecustomsclearanceandreleaseofthegoods.Forforeignexchangepaymentverification,theagentneedstosimultaneouslyuploadthe"AgencyAgreement"assupportingevidence.

Overlooked “Hidden Compliance”: Risks linked between tax and supply chain

Most enterprises only focus on customs compliance,but overlook the interconnected risks of "taxation-supply chain" in the process of import and export agency operations.

• VATdeductiontraps:Iftheagentdeclaresthegoodsinitsownname(underthe"doubleinvoice"model),theshippermustensurethatthe"commodityname"ontheVATspecialinvoiceissuedbytheagentfullycoincideswiththatonthecustomsdeclarationform(thenewregulationsrequireexactmatching),otherwisetheVATcannotbededucted.
• CompliancewithRelated-PartyTransactions:Iftheagentandthecargoownerhaveanequityrelationship(suchastheparentcompanyactingonbehalfofitssubsidiary),theyneedtosubmitanadditional"ExplanationofRelated-PartyTransactions"whendeclaringcustoms,otherwisetheymaybesubjecttoatransferpricingaudit.
• Traceabilityofresponsibilitiesinthesupplychain:Thenewregulationsrequireagentstoassumejointandseveralliabilityforthe"upstreamsupplierqualifications"oftheirclients(forexample,producersofimportedfoodmusthaveCIQregistration),anditisrecommendedthatagentsestablisha"supplierblacklist"mechanism.

72-hour Compliance Self-Inspection Action Checklist

• Logintothesinglewindow,exporttheenterprise’sfilinginformation,andcheckwhetheritincludesthequalificationof"agentdeclarationenterprises"(individualbusinessesneedtoimmediatelyinitiatethechangeoftheirmainbusinessentities).
• Randomlycheckthecustomsdeclarationsofthepastthreemonthstoverifywhetherthe"Remarkscolumn"indicates"AgentImportandExport"andtheconsignor’screditcode(thosewithoutsuchannotationneedtocontactthecustomsforsupplementaryrecording).
• Updatethesingledocumenttemplateandaddthe"TradeBackgroundDescription"attachmentclausetothe"AgencyEntrustedAgreement"(refertoChapter5oftheGeneralAdministrationofCustoms"GuidelinesforSingleDocumentStandardization").
• ContactataxconsultanttoverifywhethertheVATdeductiondocumentsunderthe"doubleheader"declarationmodelarecompliant(withafocusoncheckingtheconsistencybetweentheinvoicesandthecustomsdeclarations).
• Participateinthe"OnlineTrainingonNewRegulations"offeredbytheGeneralAdministrationofCustoms(searchfor"2026AgentImportandExportCompliance"ontheofficialwebsite),andobtainthe"ComplianceOperationCertificate"asafilingmaterialfortheenterprise.