I thought I had found a way inIs it just third-party services?90% of them?Everyone has overlooked a crucial detail—the agency you’re working with is likely also selling similar products under its own brand.This hidden scenario poses five major risks,yet few people are warned about them in advance.

The underlying logic and risk map of the agent company’s self-operated business

The essence of the agency company’s self-operated business is to utilize the supply chain resources it controls (such as customs declaration,logistics,and customer information) to transform from a "service provider" to a "trade participant".While this model reduces its own operating costs,it also poses three potential risks to cooperating enterprises: compliance issues,conflicts of interest,and information security concerns.

• ConflictofInterestRisk:Theagencymayprioritizepromotingitsownproductsorusetheclient’spurchasingdatatooptimizeitsownsupplychain,leadingtodirectcompetitionbetweenthem.
• Theriskofregulatorycomplianceconfusion:Theagencybusinessistaxedbasedontheservicefee(6%value-addedtax),whiletheself-operatedbusinessistaxedbasedonthesalesofgoods(13%value-addedtax).Ifthereisnoindependentaccounting,bothpartieswillfacetaxinspections.
• Informationleakagerisk:Theclient’ssupplierlist,targetmarketpricerange,andproductcoreparametersmightleaktocompetitorsthroughtheself-operateddepartmentoftheagencycompany.

5-step compliance operation: from risk identification to business isolation

To completely avoid the risks brought by agency companies’ self-operation,it is necessary to establish a full-process control system of "qualification verification - agreement binding - information isolation - tax audit - dynamic monitoring".The following are five directly implementable steps:

Step 1: Check the qualifications and business scope of the agency company

Output:

• Requiretheagencytoprovidethelatestversionofitsbusinesslicense(stampedwiththeofficialseal),andpayspecialattentiontowhetherthe"scopeofbusiness"includesthesaleofproductssimilartothoseofyourcompany.
• ThroughtheNationalEnterpriseCreditInformationPublicitySystem(Verifythelicenseinformationandcheckwhetherthecompanyhasboth"importandexportagency"and"importandexportofgoods"qualifications;
• Comparethelistoftheagentcompany’sself-operatedproductswithyourcompany’sprocurement/salescategories.Iftheoverlaprateexceeds30%,ariskearlywarningshouldbeinitiated.

Step 2: Sign an agreement with business isolation clauses

Output:

• Adda"BusinessSegregationClause"totheagencyagreement:Clearlystipulatethattheagencycompanyshallnotoperateitsownproductsthatareidenticaltothoseofyourcompany(whichcanbelimitedbythefirstfourdigitsoftheHScode),oritshallnotifyyouinwritingthreemonthsinadvanceandcommittosegregatingtheoperatingteam;
• Adda"breachofcontractcompensationclause":Iftheagencyviolatestheisolationagreement,itshallpayabreachofcontractpenaltyof200%oftheannualagencyfeeandbearalllossessufferedbytheclientasaresultoftheviolation;
• Itisrequiredthattheagencycompanyaffixthe"BusinessIsolationSpecialStamp"andhaveitsignedandconfirmedbythelegalrepresentative.

Step 3: Establish an information firewall

Output:

• Encryptcorebusinessinformation(suchassuppliercontactforms,targetmarketpricingstrategies,andproducttechnicalparameters)andprovideonlythenecessaryanonymizedinformationtotheagency(e.g.productdescriptionsforcustomsdeclarationshouldexcludebrandnamesandproprietaryprocesses).
• Inemailsandsysteminterfaces,clearlymarkthe"dedicatedchannelforagencyservices",andprohibitemployeesoftheagency’sself-operateddepartmentsfromaccessingtheinformationinthischannel;
• Replacethecontactpersonfortheagencyeveryquartertopreventasingleemployeefromhavingaccesstotoomuchclientinformation.

Step 4: Tax Compliance Audit

Output:

• Theagencyisrequiredtoprovidetwotypesoffinancialstatementsonamonthlybasis:DetailedListofAgencyServiceFeeIncome(Mustcorrespondtospecificcustomersandservicecontent),DetailedStatementofSelf-operatedBusinessRevenue(Mustcorrespondtoproductsandsaleschannels);
• Checkthetypeofinvoicesissuedbythem:Foragencyservices,invoicesmustbeissuedwiththedescriptionof"*BrokerageandAgencyServices*ImportandExportAgencyServiceFees"(6%taxrate);forself-operatedbusinesses,invoicesmustbeissuedwiththedescriptionof"*GoodsorTaxableLaborandServicesName*"(13%taxrate).Ifanymixedinvoicesarefound,theymustberectifiedimmediately;
• Everyyear,wehirethird-partyauditfirmstoconductspecialauditsoftheagentcompany’sbusinessisolationandtaxaccounting,andissuecompliancereports.

Step 5: Dynamic Risk Monitoring

Output:

• Everyquarter,theagencyisrequiredtosubmitthe"Self-operatedBusinessChangeReport",whichmainlydisclosesthenew/eliminatedself-operatedproducts,salesregions,andchangesincorecustomers.
• Setthe"ProductSimilarityWarningThreshold":Whentheoverlapbetweentheagentcompany’sself-operatedproductsandyourcompany’sproductsexceeds50%,thesupplychainalternativesolutionwillbeautomaticallytriggered(suchasinitiatingthecooperationprocesswithasecondagentcompany);
• Establishanindustryintelligencemonitoringmechanismandcollectinformationthroughcustomsdata.)querytheagencycompany’sself-operatedexportdatatoverifytheauthenticityoftheirreports.

Hidden clauses ignored by 90% of firms: "Business compatibility" traps in agency agreements

In most enterprise agency agreements,agencies often insert vague clauses such as "reasonable compatibility" and "business expansion," for example,"the agency may engage in similar businesses without affecting the client’s operations." The core loophole of such clauses is that the right to define "without affecting" lies entirely with the agency,making it difficult for enterprises to provide evidence when seeking legal protection.

Countermeasures: Amend the terms to read "During the service period and within 2 years after the service ends,the agency shall not operate its own products that are identical to those of the client (based on the first six digits of the HS code),and shall not contact the client’s exclusive supplier resources." Additionally,require the agency to provide a list of its shareholders and executives’ affiliated companies to prevent them from circumventing the restrictions through related companies.

There are three urgent actions that can be carried out today.

• Immediatelyretrievethelatestbusinesslicenseofthecooperativeagencyandcheckwhetherthe"businessscope"includesself-operatedsimilarproducts.Ifthereisanyoverlap,alettershallbesentwithin24hourstoinquireaboutthebusinessisolationmeasures;
• Opentheexistingagencyagreement,markallclausesinvolving"businessscope"and"competitionrestrictions"withredannotations,highlightambiguousexpressions(suchas"reasonable"and"appropriate"),andrequestwrittenclarificationwithinthreeworkingdays.
• Sendalettertotheagency,requiringthemtoprovidealistofself-operatedproductsalesforthepastsixmonths(classifiedbyHScode,salesregion,andcustomertype)withinsevenworkingdays.Iftheyfailtoprovidethelistwithinthespecifiedtimeframe,theirnewbusinesscooperationwillbesuspended.