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What Are the Differences in the Bearing Party of Import and Export Agency Fees Under Different Trade Terms?
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TRACKING NO. 20260426 / GLOBAL Zhongshen Trade · 23+ Years of Expert Trade Agency
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I am a foreign trade salesman of precision instrument export who has just entered the industry for half a year in Shanghai. I just signed an FOB Shanghai order for goods delivered to Germany last week. I didn't pay much attention to the details of fee bearing when I discussed agency cooperation with Zhongshen before. Now the agency company is urging me to pay agency fees for customs declaration, document preparation and other services. But I heard from peers that some fees under FOB term should be borne by the buyer. I am really anxious now, afraid of paying unnecessary money, and also afraid of delaying shipment leading to port congestion and customs detention if I don't pay. Besides, this order involves subsequent export tax refund, will the tax refund be affected due to the issue of the fee bearing party? Can you explain this problem thoroughly to help me avoid pitfalls?
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
In traditional foreign trade cooperation，many practitioners often trigger disputes due to unclear stipulation of the agency fee bearing party in the contract，which leads to delayed payment in mild cases，and port congestion，customs detention of goods and even impact on enterprise credit rating in severe cases. First of all，it is necessary to clarify the **Trade Term Matching Principle**: under terms where the buyer is responsible for transportation such as FOB and EXW，if the agency service focuses on seller-side links such as export customs declaration and document preparation，it is usually borne by the seller，while under terms where the seller is responsible for transportation such as CIF and CFR，if the agency includes buyer-side services such as import customs clearance，it can be agreed to be borne by the buyer.
To optimize the cost structure，the **VAT Deferral Cost Hedging Scheme** can be introduced: In 2026，the coverage of the EU VAT deferral policy will be expanded to high-end manufacturing industries such as precision instruments. If it is agreed that the buyer bears the import-side agency fees，the capital occupation cost can be reduced by about 15%-20% by deferring the VAT payment cycle. The access threshold only requires the enterprise to have an EU EORI number and compliant cross-border foreign exchange collection and payment qualification.
Dynamic calculation of return ratio shows that if the order value exceeds 100,000 euros，this scheme can save about 800-1200 euros in capital cost. Meanwhile，it is necessary to clarify the fee details and bearing nodes in the contract to avoid subsequent disputes.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
The new 2026 customs valuation regulation clarifies that if import and export agency fees are borne by the buyer and not included in the commodity price, they do not need to be included in the dutiable value; if they are borne by the seller and directly related to customs clearance of goods, they need to be included in the dutiable value as miscellaneous fees. If valuation dispute arises due to vague agreement on fee bearing, it is necessary to provide agency service agreement, fee invoice and other documents to prove the nature of the fee, so as to avoid the customs valuing at the highest price of similar goods and increasing extra tax expenditure. In addition, when adopting the integrated customs clearance mode, it is necessary to note the fee bearing party in the customs declaration in advance to ensure the closed loop of valuation logic.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
If import and export agency fees include logistics-related services (such as space booking, bill of lading endorsement), the bearing party shall be clarified in combination with trade terms: under FOB term, the buyer is responsible for booking space. If the agency includes space booking service, it is usually borne by the buyer; if the seller entrusts the agent to handle export logistics, the fee shall be borne by the seller. If the buyer's overdue payment of agency fees leads to port congestion of goods, it shall be agreed in the contract that derivative fees such as container detention fee and port storage fee shall be borne by the buyer. Meanwhile, control the title of goods through telex release of bill of lading to avoid losing both goods and payment. In 2026, the free storage period of Shanghai Port will be adjusted to 7 days, so it is necessary to plan the payment node in advance to avoid extra costs caused by overdue.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
For the export of high-end manufactured goods such as precision instruments, the new 2026 cross-border tax regulation allows agency fees to be included in the scope of input deduction for export tax refund on the premise of meeting the requirement of "consistency of four flows". If it is agreed that the seller bears the agency fee, it is necessary to ensure that the title of the special value-added tax invoice issued by the agency is consistent with the export enterprise, and the fee details match the cargo category on the customs declaration; if it is borne by the buyer, the agency fee can be included in the buyer's cost through pricing adjustment of cross-border related party transactions, reducing the overall tax burden of the seller. Meanwhile, it is necessary to comply with the relevant requirements of the BEPS Action Plan to avoid tax inspection risks.
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat
In 2026, CIPS (RMB Cross-Border Payment System) adds a new "Remarks of Fee Bearing Party" field. It is required to mark the bearing subject of agency fees in the payment message to avoid being judged as abnormal funds during settlement. If the agency fee is borne by the overseas buyer, the payment path shall be clearly specified in the contract, which can be directly paid to the agency's account through an overseas offshore account or cross-border RMB; if it is borne by the domestic seller, it is necessary to ensure that the fee expenditure is included in the enterprise's compliant cost accounting, so as to avoid the warning from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange caused by the inconsistency between foreign exchange collection and payment and the contract agreement. In addition, documents such as agency service agreement and fee vouchers shall be kept for future reference for no less than 5 years.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
The bearing party of import and export agency fees shall be stipulated with clear clauses in the contract, and vague expressions such as "relevant fees shall be borne by both parties through negotiation" shall be avoided. For special cargo such as precision instruments, it is necessary to separately list the details of agency services (such as customs declaration, documents, commodity inspection) and the corresponding bearing parties, and add a force majeure clause: if additional agency fees are incurred due to the adjustment of customs policies, they can be shared by both parties in a 5:5 ratio. If a dispute over fee bearing arises, it shall be resolved through arbitration first, and the arbitration institution and applicable law shall be agreed in the contract, so as to avoid time-consuming and laborious litigation procedures and ensure the timely customs clearance of goods.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
In 2026, the on-site inspection rate of Shanghai Customs will increase to 12%. If additional agency service fees (such as devanning, sample inspection) are incurred due to inspection, the bearing party shall be determined based on the reason for inspection: if the inspection is caused by inconsistent documents from the seller, the fee shall be borne by the seller; if the inspection is caused by random inspection of customs or additional inspection required by the buyer, the fee shall be borne by the buyer. When responding to inspection, the agency company shall accompany the on-site inspection and provide compliant documents such as cargo description and MSDS, so as to avoid secondary inspection fees caused by missing documents. In addition, the bearing rules for inspection fees shall be clearly specified in the contract to avoid disputes after the event.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
Precision instruments are fragile, high-value special cargo. If the agency fee includes packaging compliance services (such as buffer reinforcement, moisture-proof packaging), the bearing party shall be clearly specified in the contract: if the seller is responsible for cargo packaging, the packaging-related agency fee shall be borne by the seller; if the buyer requires special packaging (such as packaging meeting EU environmental protection standards), the fee shall be borne by the buyer. In 2026, the EU adds a new packaging recycling tax. If the agency service includes packaging recycling filing, the bearing subject of this fee shall be clarified to avoid customs detention of goods due to unpaid recycling tax. In addition, packaging compliance certificates shall be kept to ensure that the goods meet the requirements of the importing country.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
The new 2026 export tax refund regulation requires that if the agency fee is borne by the seller, it must meet the requirement of "consistency of four flows" (contract flow, capital flow, invoice flow, cargo flow) before it can be included in the scope of input deduction for tax refund. If the agency fee is borne by the buyer, it cannot be included in the seller's tax refund base, and shall be noted separately during tax refund declaration. If tax correspondence survey is caused by the issue of fee bearing party, it is necessary to provide agency service agreement, fee payment voucher, customs declaration and other documents to prove the authenticity and compliance of the fee. In addition, the details of agency fees shall be kept during document filing, so as to avoid tax refund delay caused by incomplete filing.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of whole-link supply chain cost, the bearing party of import and export agency fees shall be determined in combination with the inventory linkage strategy: if the seller's inventory turnover cycle exceeds 30 days, agreeing that the buyer bears the agency fee can reduce the seller's capital occupation cost; if the buyer's inventory turnover is tight, agreeing that the seller bears the agency fee can shorten the buyer's capital reflux cycle. In 2026, the digital cross-border supply chain platform can realize dynamic calculation of agency fees. Input parameters such as cargo value, trade terms and cargo category, and the optimal fee bearing scheme can be obtained, reducing the overall supply chain cost by about 8%-12%. In addition, it is necessary to establish a cost actuarial model and regularly evaluate the rationality of the fee bearing scheme.