What Manufacturers Need to Prepare Before Importing and Exporting
Author: Junanda ConsultingReviewed by: Junanda Service Team2026-09-19
Once a manufacturer starts taking overseas orders or importing raw materials, the business shifts from a single domestic set of books to three parallel tracks: customs, foreign exchange and tax. Where preparation is inadequate, the usual outcomes are goods that arrive but cannot be declared, documents that are incomplete so no refund can be claimed, and foreign exchange receipts that never come back. The sensible order of progress is to settle the operating model first, then obtain the qualifications, and finally build the processes. This article follows that order and sets out the points to confirm in advance.
Choosing the Model: Self-Operated Import and Export or a Trading Agent
The two routes involve different trade-offs, and the choice should be made against your own order profile.
- Self-operated import and export: the business handles customs declaration, foreign exchange receipts and payments, and the refund claim itself. The advantages are that the refund belongs to the business, customer relationships stay under its own control, and the long-run overall cost is lower. The price is that the qualifications must be obtained up front, customs staff must be in place, and all compliance risk rests with the business.
- Entrusting a foreign trade agent: the agent company handles customs declaration and foreign exchange collection on the business's behalf while the business focuses on production. The advantages are a fast start and a low threshold. The price is the agent's fee, a refund that is normally claimed by the agent and settled afterwards — which means funds are tied up and there is a timing gap — and weaker control over customs compliance.
Three questions should drive the decision: who claims the refund and who ultimately receives it; how long funds will be tied up; and who bears responsibility if a compliance problem arises. Businesses with a steady flow of overseas orders and larger transaction values tend to choose the self-operated route.
A simple signal is also worth watching. If the business exports continuously, generates a large volume of documents, and wants to control both customer relationships and the refund, self-operation is the better value. If orders are occasional and there is no customs specialist yet, running a few shipments through an agent to learn the process before deciding whether to switch to self-operation is a reasonably prudent path.
The Registration Chain for Import and Export Rights
The steps are generally taken in the following order. Requirements vary somewhat between localities, so the local competent authority's rules apply.
- Business scope: first add wording such as "goods import and export" and "technology import and export" to the business scope on the business licence.
- Customs registration: register with customs as a declaring entity and obtain the declaration entity registration information.
- Electronic port: apply for electronic port network access and obtain the operator card and other digital certificates.
- Foreign exchange directory registration: complete trade foreign exchange receipts and payments enterprise directory registration with the foreign exchange authority.
- Export VAT exemption and refund registration: complete export VAT exemption and refund registration with the competent tax authority. Only once this is done can a refund be claimed.
The steps depend on one another in sequence, so it is advisable to work through them in order and avoid repeated supplementary filings and trips back and forth. Once the qualifications are in place, operational readiness for declaration staff and the declaration system must also be established.
Processing Trade, Bonded Materials and Substitution Risk
The two common models differ mainly in the ownership of materials and the settlement method:
- Toll processing: the materials are supplied by the overseas party, the business receives only a processing fee, and ownership of the materials does not transfer.
- Import-and-processing: the business purchases the materials itself using foreign exchange, processes them and exports the finished goods on its own account.
Both models involve customs handbook or account book management, and follow the same core logic of registration, import, processing, export and verification:
- Registration: declare the imported materials, exported finished goods and unit consumption to customs in accordance with the contract.
- Unit consumption registration: unit consumption, the quantity of materials used per unit of finished product, is the key parameter for verification. An incorrect declaration leads directly to a mismatch between the records and the physical goods.
- Verification: complete verification within the statutory period after export, explaining the actual use of the materials.
Bonded materials. Bonded materials remain goods under customs supervision until customs formalities are completed, and must be used exclusively for their designated purpose with records matching the physical goods. The main practical risks are:
- Substitution: using bonded materials to produce goods for the domestic market, or using non-bonded materials in place of bonded materials for export, both of which are breaches of the rules.
- Records not matching physical stock: inventory quantities that do not agree with the handbook or account book, preventing normal verification.
- Unauthorised domestic sale: selling bonded materials domestically without paying the required duty.
The management priorities are physical segregation, clear labelling, a continuous ledger, regular stocktakes, and periodic reconciliation between the customs ledger and the warehouse ledger, with any difference investigated immediately.
How Export VAT Exemption and Refund Works
The "exemption, credit and refund" mechanism is a common method of export refund for manufacturing enterprises. In broad terms it is understood as follows:
- Exemption: VAT is exempted at the export sales stage.
- Credit: the input VAT attributable to the exported goods is first applied to offset the tax payable on domestic sales.
- Refund: any amount remaining after that offset is calculated and refunded in accordance with the rules.
The specific refund rates, calculation basis and filing deadlines are subject to the latest rules issued by the State Taxation Administration. One point deserves particular emphasis: a refund claim depends on complete and consistent customs declarations, invoices and foreign exchange receipts. If any link is missing or the data does not agree, the refund may not be obtainable.
Certificates of Origin, FTAs and AEO Certification
- Certificate of origin: used to certify the originating status of goods and an important basis on which the importing country grants tariff treatment. It can be applied for from institutions such as the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade or from customs. Certificate formats and completion requirements differ between agreements.
- Preferential tariff under an FTA: an importer may enjoy the agreement rate on presentation of a compliant certificate of origin. Exporters should understand the rules of origin in the target market in advance — for example, requirements on regional value content — and manage sourcing and supplier structure accordingly.
- AEO certification: Authorised Economic Operator certification is customs recognition granted to enterprises with a good credit record and sound compliance systems. Once certified, an enterprise benefits from certain facilitation measures such as streamlined customs clearance and a lower inspection ratio. The certification has clear standards and conditions and is applied for voluntarily.
Documentation and Archive Management
Import and export documents are best filed on a one-shipment-one-file basis, covering at least the contract, commercial invoice, packing list, customs declaration, bill of lading or waybill, certificate of origin, foreign exchange receipt and payment vouchers, and refund claim materials. The retention period should follow the longest of the periods required under customs, tax and accounting archives rules, subject to the latest official provisions. Where electronic archiving is adopted, a traceable version record must be kept so that the original documents can still be retrieved.
It is also advisable to designate a single person responsible for customs affairs and to connect the data chain of orders, customs declaration, foreign exchange receipts and refunds within the system. Otherwise the export data held by finance and the customs ledger can drift apart, and the mismatch is discovered only when the filing period arrives.
Self-Check Checklist
This article is general business information prepared by Junanda Consulting. Specific policy positions, tax rates, deadlines and procedural requirements are subject to the latest official versions issued by the competent authorities. To understand how these requirements apply to your business, please contact Junanda Consulting for further information and support.