1. How to determine whether a customs brokerage firm holds valid and legal qualifications?

According to the latest 2025 regulations issued by the General Administration of Customs, a compliant customs broker must simultaneously meet the following conditions:

• Dual Filing Certificate: Holds the "International Freight Forwarding Enterprise Filing Form" issued by the Ministry of Commerce and the "Customs Declaration Entity Registration Certificate" issued by the General Administration of Customs
• AE010 ...Certification: Prioritize companies that have obtained the Customs AEO Advanced Certification, granting access to streamlined customs clearance in 48 economies worldwide.
• Hands-on Verification Method：
  • 「中國稅関企業輸出入信用情報公表プラットフォーム」で企業の信用等級を照會する
  • Please provide the customs duty payment records for the past three months.

II. What items are included in customs brokerage fees? How can hidden charges be avoided?

A typical fee structure should consist of two main components: the basic service fee and statutory fees:

• Basic service fee: Document review, declaration operations, exception handling
• statutory fees: Customs supervision fees, port construction fees, VGM weighing charges, etc.

Hidden fee traps to watch out for:

• Amendment fee exceeds RMB 500 per bill (2025 industry guidance price)
• Inspection coordination fee was not disclosed in advance
• The exchange-rate conversion difference exceeds ±2% of the central parity rate for the day

3. What is the fundamental difference between a professional customs brokerage agent and a general freight forwarder?

In terms of service depth:

• Document processing capability: Can it handle 15 special types of certificates of origin, such as FORM E and ECFA?
• Level of commodity classification: HS code error rate below 0.5% (industry excellence benchmark)
• Emergency response mechanism: Can you arrive on-site within 2 hours when an inspection anomaly occurs?

4. How to evaluate the cross-border service network of a customs broker?

「三點検証法」の採用を推奨します：

• Port Coverage Verification: Provide operational case studies for at least three major ports of entry.
• Overseas customs clearance capability: Is there a localized customs clearance team in the target market?
• System integration level: Does it support direct data connection with enterprise ERP systems?

V. What common risks exist in the customs declaration phase, and how can an agency prevent and control them?

2025 Customs Audit Priority Areas Alert:

• Risk of Reporting Accuracy: Logical validation of product price, quantity, and name
• : License Verification for Export-Controlled Items

Risk-control measures that a high-quality proxy should provide:

• Dual-person review system (preparer + reviewer)
• Historical refund rate is below 2%
• Provide a pre-filing compliance diagnostic report

VI. How to choose an agency service under special trade modes?

Model-selection recommendations for different trade patterns:

• 越境EC: Must have experience with 9710/9810 customs declarations
• Market procurement: Familiar with foreign-exchange settlement operations under the 1039 regulatory model
• Processing trade: Capable of handling the write-off procedures for deep-processing transfer transactions

It is recommended that, before signing the contract, the company require the agent to provide three complete customs declaration files (desensitized) for the same type of business for capability verification.