Market Status and Operation Difficulties of Importing Japanese Daily Necessities

In the first quarter of 2026,the import declaration volume of Japanese daily necessities at Shanghai Port increased by 17.3% year-on-year,among which three categories: kitchen and dining products,personal care products and home storage products account for more than 60%.Such products are characterized by scattered SKUs,multiple batches and low cargo value per declaration,which bring threefold pressures to importers: classification disputes,quarantine access,and label compliance.In particular,food contact materials products must comply with both the national standards of GB 4806 series and the notifications of Japan’s Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare; while washing and care products containing plant ingredients are subject to the access list verification of the Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine of the General Administration of Customs of China.Most small and medium-sized enterprises lack professional customs affairs teams,and often get their declarations rejected at the document pre-audit stage,leading to a sharp increase in port storage charges and warehousing costs.

Positioning of Zhongshen in the Import Chain of Japanese Daily Necessities

Since 2006,Zhongshen has been focusing on import customs declaration for Japanese routes,and has processed more than 43,000 customs declaration forms for daily necessities.Our value lies not in simple document transmission,but in proactive risk identification and process embedding.Specifically,we will intervene in the pre-assessment of product compliance before customers sign contracts with Japanese suppliers,and issue a list of regulatory requirements based on the material,function and sales channel of the proposed imported goods.For example,for a Japanese lacquerware tableware,we will confirm in advance whether its coating meets food contact material standards,whether the wood blank has been fumigated,and whether the outer packaging is marked with the production batch number.This proactive service reduces the overall customs clearance time by more than 40% and keeps the inspection abnormality rate below 3%.

Phased Decomposition of Import Process and Compliance Key Points

Stage 1: Document Pre-audit and Classification Determination

Daily necessities cover a wide range of HS codes,spanning more than 20 chapters from 39241000 (plastic tableware) to 96170000 (vacuum insulated mugs).Zhongshen’s standard practice is to complete the pre-classification opinion within 48 hours after receiving the customer’s product catalog.Three key points are verified: first,whether the function description is accurate,for example,whether electric toothbrush heads should be classified under 8509 or 9603; second,whether the material declaration is complete,for bamboo fiber blended floor mats,the proportion of chemical fiber must be clarified; third,whether special regulatory certificates are required,for example,imported pacifiers need to submit the Safety Commitment for Infant and Toddler Products.In 2026,China Customs launched a new version of declaration elements,and we implement "double-post review" for each shipment to avoid abnormal inspection instructions caused by incomplete declaration elements.

Stage 2: Port Customs Declaration and Tax Calculation

The RCEP agreement entered its fourth year of implementation in 2026,and the tariff concession for Japanese daily necessities has reached 85% of the base tariff rate.However,the premise for enjoying tariff preferences is to submit a certificate of origin that meets the requirements.During the customs declaration process,Zhongshen will focus on verifying whether the product details on the back of the certificate of origin are consistent with the actual arrival of goods,and pay special attention to the rules of de minimis processing.There was once a batch of Japanese-style storage boxes,the COO provided by the Japanese supplier showed that the raw material was PP particles produced in Japan,but the bottom of the actual product was marked "Made in Vietnam".After verification,the product was designed in Japan and injection-molded in Vietnam,which did not meet the RCEP rules of wholly obtained products.We promptly advised the customer to declare according to the general tariff rate,avoiding the subsequent risk of inspection and tax supplementary payment.In terms of tax calculation,for goods imported through cross-border e-commerce channels,we will proactively remind customers to apply the "online shopping bonded import" mode,and tax is calculated according to the goods tax rate instead of the personal article tax rate.

Stage 3: Commodity Inspection and Sampling Testing

Daily necessities are a high-frequency spot check category for commodity inspection.In 2026,the inspection rate for such goods at Shanghai Port remains between 12% and 15%.Zhongshen has established data connection with inspection terminals at Pudong Waigaoqiao and Yangshan Port,and can obtain the content of inspection instructions in real time.For goods selected for inspection,we will assign dedicated staff to assist with unpacking on site,and focus on guiding customers how to respond to the queries of customs inspectors regarding product labels,instructions and warning statements.There was once a shipment of Japanese-style iron pans,the customs inspector questioned the Japanese marking of "PFOA-free" on the inner coating of the pan.We presented the third-party test report from the Japanese supplier on site,and explained that the marking meets the requirements of Japan’s Chemical Substance Control Law,and the goods were released smoothly finally.For goods that require sampling for testing,we prepare samples of the same model in advance to avoid detention of the entire batch of goods due to sampling.

Stage 4: Warehousing Management and Distribution Connection

After import,daily necessities often have distribution and delivery needs,especially for orders supplying chain supermarkets in the Yangtze River Delta region.Zhongshen provides "bulk-in,small-batch-out" service in the free trade zone bonded warehouse.Customers can first ship the entire 40-foot container cargo to our bonded warehouse,and then complete customs declaration and exit in batches according to downstream orders.The advantages of this model are: first,tax deferral: goods in bonded status do not need to pay tariffs and value-added tax immediately; second,flexibility: it can respond to customers’ emergency replenishment demands,and achieve T+1 delivery at the fastest; third,value-added services: we can complete Chinese label pasting,small packaging repackaging and other value-added services in the warehouse.In 2026,customs increased the frequency of inventory verification for bonded warehouses.We use the WMS system to compare with customs account books in real time to ensure the consistency of inventory data.

Stage 5: Foreign Exchange Settlement and Cost Optimization

Japanese suppliers usually require settlement in Japanese yen,while domestic sales proceeds are mostly in RMB,so exchange rate fluctuations directly affect costs.Zhongshen provides a combined solution of forward foreign exchange locking and spot exchange settlement.Customers can lock the exchange rate for 70% of the payment when signing the contract,and retain 30% for flexible operation.For customers with an annual import volume exceeding 5 million US dollars,we assist in applying for Class A enterprise rating from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE),and enjoy a more convenient foreign payment review process.In 2026,SAFE promoted the "Cross-border Financial Blockchain Service Platform",we have connected to this system,realized automatic verification of three documents: customs declaration form,invoice and contract,and shortened the foreign payment time from T+3 to T+0.

Typical Case: Ms.Dai’s Tableware Import Project

Ms.Dai runs an e-commerce business specializing in Japanese-style kitchen and dining products.At the end of 2025,she planned to import a batch of cherry blossom season limited tableware sets,with a total of 8 SKUs,covering three materials: ceramic,glass,bamboo and wood.After accepting the order,Zhongshen found that the bamboo and wood tray did not come with a fumigation certificate,and the product label did not mark the applicable temperature range.We immediately contacted the Japanese supplier to reissue the phytosanitary certificate,and guided them to redesign the label to add the warning statement "Suitable for -20℃ to 120℃".After the goods arrived at the port,since bamboo products are legal inspection commodities,we booked the inspection time slot in advance through the single window,arranged dedicated staff to accompany the inspection,and answered the customs officer’s questions on the standard of lead and cadmium dissolution of ceramics on site.The entire shipment only took 4 working days from arrival to release,which is 2.5 days faster than the average time of franchise enterprises.Ms.Dai subsequently increased her annual import volume from 300,000 US dollars to 1.2 million US dollars,and all imports are entrusted to Zhongshen as agent.

Long-term Value of Professional Import Agency Service

Import of Japanese daily necessities is not a simple customs declaration procedure,but a risk management project running through the entire supply chain.The value accumulated by Zhongshen over 20 years is reflected in three aspects: first,the ability to transform regulatory information: we convert the regulatory provisions of the General Administration of Customs,the State Administration for Market Regulation,and the National Health Commission into actionable operation checklists; second,the abnormal disposal experience database: the Top 50 Frequent Inspection Questions for Import of Japanese Daily Necessities compiled by us has become training material for customers; third,the space for cost structure optimization: through tariff research,origin planning and bonded warehouse utilization,we save an average of 8%-12% of the comprehensive cost for customers.In 2026,the General Administration of Customs of China promoted the construction of "Smart Customs",Zhongshen has upgraded its customs management system,realized the integration of customs declaration data,logistics and capital flow,and provides customers with more transparent import visualization services.

• CoredocumentlistforimportingJapanesedailynecessities:Commercialinvoice,packinglist,billoflading,certificateoforigin,sanitarycertificate(forfoodcontactproducts),phytosanitarycertificate(forbambooandwoodproducts),ingredientproportionlist(forcosmetics),Chineselabeldraft,importer’sbusinesslicense(withimportandexportoperationright).
• ServiceresponsetimeofZhongshen:Pre-auditopinionissuedwithin24hours,on-sitedisposalwithin2hoursforinspectionabnormalities,foreignpaymentcompletedT+0,bondedwarehouseoutboundreservation4hoursinadvance.
• KeyPolicyReminder2026:AnnouncementNo.15oftheGeneralAdministrationofCustomsexpandstheregistrationscopeofoverseasproductionenterprisesofimportedfood.ProductscontainingfoodcontactmaterialingredientsindailynecessitiesneedtocompletetheregistrationandfilingofoverseasfactoriesinChinainadvance.