Industry status quo: The superposition effect of policy support and market demand

By the third quarter of 2024,the demand for equipment upgrades of China’s industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 17.2% year-on-year,with imported equipment accounting for 38.6% of the total.The latest "2025 Import Equipment Customs Clearance Facilitation Action Plan" released by the General Administration of Customs explicitly states that an import equipment customs clearance facilitation system will be established.Dedicated declaration channelandPre - ruling systemThe policy is valid until December 31,2025.These changes have created new business growth opportunities for agency service providers:

• SemiconductormanufacturingThetariffisreducedby5-8percentagepoints
• Theapprovalcycleofacertaincategoryisshortenedto15workingdays
• Transparencyoftheevaluationstandardsforusedequipmentimports

Success factors: The four core capabilities of professional agencies

The case of a certain Yangtze River Delta agency in 2024,where clients suffered losses due to misreporting of HS codes,indicates that the industry’s elimination rate has risen to 23%.Truly sustainable profitable enterprises must possess the following capabilities:

• QualificationMatrix
  • Power+specificindustrylicense(suchasmedicaldevicebusinessrecord)
  • AEO(AuthorizedEconomicOperator)AdvancedCertification
• Channel network
  • Directprocurementchannelsfromoverseasequipmentmanufacturers
  • Domesticbondedzonewarehousingcooperationresources
• Risk control system
  • Customscompliancereviewmechanism
  • Technicalparametercompliancepre-inspectionsystem
• Fund operation ability
  • Financingchannels
  • Applicationofexchangeratehedgingtools

Profit code: Hidden costs and value - added service design

Taking an imported German machine tool project as an example,professional agency companies create excess profits through the following methods:

• Taxplanningspace
  • Save7.2%oftariffsbyusingpreferentialtariffratesoffreetradeagreements
  • SavingcashflowthroughtheoperationofVATcreditrefund
• Value-added service packages
  • Localizedserviceforequipmentinstallationandcommissioning
  • Bondedwarehousingservicesforspareparts
• Risk premium
  • Chargesfortechnicalbarrierbreakthroughservices
  • Specialservicefeesforexpeditedcustomsclearance

Challenges and Strategies for Response in 2025

With the full implementation of RCEP and the advancement of CPTPP negotiations,the industry will face three major challenges:

• Responsetopolicyfluctuations
  • Establishadynamictrackingsystemforcustomspolicies
  • Reserve5-8%oftariffadjustmentreserves
• Breakthrough of technical barriers.
  • Formaprofessionalcertificationteam
  • Establishstrategiccooperationwiththird-partytestinginstitutions
• Upgrade of market competition
  • Developderivativeservicessuchasequipmentfinancialleasing
  • Establishprofessionalbarriersinindustry-specificsegments

Prediction of industry trends in the next three years

According to the import and export risk monitoring data of the General Administration of Customs,the following areas will become new growth poles:

• ImportofusedmachinerydrivenbyindustrialtransferinSoutheastAsia
• Importofspecialequipmentintheautomotiveindustrychain
• Importofsmallprecisioninstrumentsinthebiomedicalfield

The business structure of a leading agency company in 2024 shows that the above-mentioned three fields have contributed 42% of its revenue,and it is expected that this figure will exceed 55% in 2025.The overall profit margin of the industry remains within the range of 18-25%,but the income differentiation caused by differences in professional competence will become increasingly obvious.