1.Does export agency belong to service trade or goods trade?

According to the classification standards of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under the World Trade Organization (WTO),export agency is explicitly categorized underCommercial Services - Other Business Services - Freight Forwarding Services(CPC 748).Its service nature is reflected in three dimensions:

• ServiceObjective:Providingend-to-endcross-bordertradesolutions
• ServiceMethod:Professionalteamhandlescustomsclearance,logistics,documentation,andotherprocesses.
• Serviceremuneration:Commissionsarechargedbasedonserviceitemsratherthanearningpricedifferencesongoods.

2.What specific business modules does export agency service include?

According to the latest amendment of the General Administration of Customs in 2025,theBased on the "Cargo Agency Service Standards," compliant export agency services should include:

• Basicserviceitems:
  • ApplicationforExportLicenseandQuotaManagement
  • HScodeclassificationandcompliancereview
  • CustomsDeclarationDocumentPreparationandSubmission
• Value - added service items:
  • Cross-borderlogisticssolutiondesignandimplementation
  • Full-processhosting
  • TradeComplianceRiskEarlyWarningSystem

III.Why is export agency considered a professional service rather than an intermediary service?

According to international trade practices,professional export agents are required to fulfill three statutory obligations:

• Conductduediligenceontheauthenticityoftheclient’squalifications.
• Ensurethecompletenessandaccuracyofthedeclaredinformation.
• Jointandseveralliabilityforthecomplianceofdocumentarydocuments.

This is fundamentally different from the intermediary services that simply match buyers and sellers.A typical example is the case in 2024.The operator suffered the detention of the entire shipment at the destination port due to the agency’s failure to fulfill its obligation to verify the origin of the goods,and ultimately,the court ruled that the agency bears the primary liability for compensation.

IV.What legal boundaries should be considered when selecting export agency services?

According to the Cross-Border Trade Services Law that took effect in 2025,enterprises need to pay special attention to the following points:

• Proxiesareprohibitedfromdirectlyparticipatinginproductpricing.
• Itisstrictlyprohibitedtolinkagencyservicefeestothevalueofgoods.
• Acomprehensiveservicerecordtraceabilitysystemmustbeestablished.

A certainIn March 2025,the export enterprise was identified by the tax authorities as disguised transfer pricing due to signing an agreement with the agency company stipulating a "split of profits based on the value of the goods",and was ultimately required to pay an additional total tax amount of 870,000 yuan and late payment penalties.

V.What are the new forms of agency export services in the digital era?

The industry monitoring data for 2025 shows that innovative agency services exhibit three major trends:

• Theintelligentcustomsdeclarationsystemautomaticallyinterfaceswithdatafrom17governmentdepartments.
• Theblockchaintraceabilityservicecoverageratereaches78%.
• Real-timeexchangeratehedgingtoolshavebecomeastandardfeature.

A textile company in the Yangtze River Delta region,by integrating an agent’s intelligent customs clearance system,reduced the single customs declaration time from 4 hours to 18 minutes,while increasing the declaration accuracy rate to 99.6%.

6.How to evaluate the professional value of export agency services?

It is recommended to establish an evaluation system from five dimensions:

• CustomsAEOcertificationlevel
• Numberofcertifiedinternationaltradecomplianceprofessionals
• HistoricalAdministrativePenaltyRecords
• Intensityofdigitalsysteminvestment
• Industry-specificqualifications(e.g.medicaldevices,hazardouschemicals,etc.)

A car parts manufacturer increased its export volume by 210% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 by introducing an agent company with IATA dangerous goods transport qualifications,and no transport accidents occurred during this period.