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What Are the Core Nodes and Key Compliance Audit Details of the Full Process of Export Customs Declaration?
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I am the person in charge of a Shanghai-based company focusing on customized solid wood furniture, and I am a complete novice in foreign trade. This is our first time exporting a batch of customized solid wood furniture worth 800,000 RMB to Germany, and container loading is scheduled at Yangshan Port next Wednesday. But I have never been exposed to the customs declaration process before. Yesterday my cooperating forwarder suddenly sent a pile of document requirements. Right now I only have commercial invoice and packing list, I haven't even applied for the certificate of origin. I'm getting more and more anxious: if I miss any key document which leads to customs detention and port congestion, I will not only pay high port detention fees, but also may delay the client's exhibition schedule and pay penalty for breach of contract. I was too anxious to sleep last night. I'd like to ask how should I advance the customs declaration step by step now, what pitfalls I should focus on, and how can I control customs declaration related costs in a compliant way?
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
First of all，you need to urgently complete the supplement and review of pre-positioned documents: Solid wood furniture is a legally inspection-required commodity，and you can enjoy tariff reduction by virtue of certificate of origin when exporting to Germany. You need to apply for GSP Certificate of Origin via CCPIT online platform within 1 day，and supplement the inspection declaration form and accurately pre-enter the customs declaration form. Pay special attention to **accurate classification of HS code**，it must match the material，craftsmanship and specification of the solid wood furniture. Wrong classification will directly trigger customs valuation query or customs detention. In addition，commercial invoice must clearly mark the cargo value and country of origin，packing list must correspond to the size，gross and net weight of each package，and all document information must be completely consistent.
Core nodes need to be closely connected: you still have 3 days before container loading，you can promote certificate of origin application and pre-audit by customs broker at the same time. Contact the commodity inspection bureau 1 hour in advance on the container loading day to complete on-site sampling inspection，**customs manifest declaration must be completed within 24 hours after container loading**，otherwise your cargo will be listed as non-compliant by customs and trigger a port detention warning. After the customs broker submits the official customs declaration，you need to follow up the review status in real time. If manual document review is required，immediately cooperate to provide supporting materials such as purchase contracts and cost details.
Prepare contingency plans for abnormalities in advance: If customs questions the cargo value，you need to immediately submit export invoices or purchase certificates of similar goods in the past 3 months，if inspection is required，arrange personnel familiar with cargo characteristics to coordinate，ensure the cargo placement meets inspection requirements during devanning，and avoid additional costs caused by cargo damage，if there are minor errors in documents，you can apply for document amendment，avoid direct declaration cancellation and re-declaration which delays the shipment schedule.
After the final compliant implementation，you need to keep all customs declaration and document materials for at least 3 years for subsequent customs verification，and follow up the release notice from the forwarder at the same time to ensure the cargo is loaded on time and complete compliant customs clearance.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The accuracy of HS code in export customs declaration directly determines customs clearance efficiency. If your solid wood furniture involves carving craftsmanship, it needs to be classified into the HS code with craftsmanship attribute, instead of the code for ordinary solid wood furniture, so as to avoid triggering customs valuation or detention due to inconsistent classification. If customs raises a valuation query, you need to provide complete chain documents such as purchase contract, raw material invoice, processing craftsmanship sheet, do not blindly undervalue the cargo, otherwise you will be included in the customs key monitoring list, and subsequent exports will face high-frequency inspection. If you need to amend or cancel and re-submit the declaration, you need to submit the application before customs release; amending after release will incur additional costs and affect the enterprise's credit rating. In addition, under the integrated customs clearance mode, you can complete pre-audit at Shanghai Customs in advance, no need to submit paper documents on site at Yangshan Port, which saves time.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
The free storage period for export cargo at Yangshan Port is 3 days, you need to ensure customs clearance is completed within 24 hours after container loading. If the free storage period is exceeded, a storage fee of about 150 RMB/TEU per day will be charged. When loading the container, pay attention to moisture-proof treatment of solid wood furniture, mark shipping marks on the outside of each package, which correspond to the shipping mark information on the customs declaration, to avoid triggering inspection due to inconsistent shipping marks. In addition, next Wednesday is a small shipment peak at Yangshan Port, you need to confirm the space locking status with your forwarder in advance to avoid being rolled out due to space congestion. You can choose a direct route to Germany to reduce the risk of cargo damage in transit. If the cargo cannot be loaded on time after release, you can apply for an extension of free storage period, you need to provide the delay certificate from the shipping company and submit the application to the terminal management.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
For solid wood furniture exported to Germany, you can apply for EU VAT deferral, no need to prepay VAT in the importing country, and you can directly deduct it in the declaration period, which can relieve your capital pressure. To apply for VAT deferral, you need to ensure that the word "VAT Deferral" is marked on the customs declaration, and provide the VAT number of the German importer, and the cargo value must meet the access threshold for EU VAT deferral (single shipment value is not less than 150 Euro). In addition, if your solid wood furniture is originated from China, you can enjoy German tariff reduction with GSP Certificate of Origin, the tariff rate can be reduced from 5% to 0%, and you can save about 40,000 RMB of tariff cost for this single shipment (calculated based on the 800,000 RMB cargo value). It should be noted that VAT deferral declaration must be completed within 10 days after the cargo arrives at the port, otherwise a late payment fine will be incurred.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
The 800,000 RMB payment for this export can be collected via CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System) in RMB, which avoids exchange rate fluctuation risk, and the arrival time of CIPS is T+1, which is 1-2 days faster than SWIFT system. The collection must be completed within 30 days after the customs declaration is released, and the collected amount must be consistent with the cargo value on the customs declaration. If there is a balance payment, it must be clearly marked in the contract, and noted as "balance to be collected later" on the customs declaration. In addition, you need to keep the foreign exchange receipt, contract, customs declaration and other materials for subsequent verification by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). If the deviation between the collected amount and the customs declaration value exceeds 5%, you need to submit a situation statement to SAFE, otherwise it will affect your subsequent foreign exchange collection quota.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
The inspection of export cargo at Yangshan Port is divided into machine inspection and devanning inspection. Due to the special material of solid wood furniture, it is very likely to be inspected by machine, and no devanning is required after passing machine inspection; if abnormality is found in machine inspection, it will be transferred to devanning inspection. During devanning, you need to ensure the cargo packaging is intact, avoid being identified as cargo damage due to packaging damage, and provide the material inspection report of the cargo to prove that the solid wood furniture does not carry diseases and pests (solid wood belongs to the scope of animal and plant inspection and quarantine). You need to cooperate with the requirements of customs staff during inspection, do not move the cargo without permission. If it is found that the cargo does not match the description on the customs declaration, you need to immediately feedback to the customs broker and apply for document amendment, so as to avoid punishment for concealment declaration. In addition, the inspection notice must be confirmed within 24 hours, overdue confirmation will be regarded as automatic waiver, and the cargo will be detained.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
The solid wood furniture exported this time can enjoy the export tax refund policy, the tax refund rate is about 13%. You need to ensure that four flows are consistent: contract flow, capital flow, cargo flow and invoice flow are completely matched. You need to complete the export tax refund declaration within 90 days after the cargo is exported. When declaring, you need to provide the tax refund copy of the customs declaration, special VAT invoice, foreign exchange receipt, contract and other materials. Document filing requires retaining both paper and electronic versions, including packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, etc., and the retention period is 5 years. If there is missing document, you can apply to the customs for re-printing the tax refund copy of the customs declaration, which takes about 3-5 working days. In addition, if the foreign exchange collection time exceeds 180 days after export declaration, you need to submit a deferred collection application to the tax authority, otherwise it will affect your tax refund qualification.