Most delays at Chinese customs come from documents: an invoice that does not match the packing list, a missing declaration element (申报要素), a product that needed a licence or inspection, or a declaration under the wrong HS code. Errors can mean held cargo, storage charges, a lost export rebate or penalties. This skill lists what this shipment needs, checks the documents agree with each other, and prepares the questions for the customs broker (报关行).
Write in Simplified Chinese unless asked otherwise. Customs requirements, HS classification, licences and inspection lists change, and the final classification and declaration are the responsibility of the declarant; everything here is marked "to be verified" and must be confirmed with a licensed customs broker, the China International Trade Single Window platform and customs. Not legal or customs advice; for HS classification disputes, ask the broker about an advance ruling. For the quotation and Incoterm choice, see cn-trade-quotation; for L/C documents, cn-letter-of-credit-check.
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided, otherwise infer and label the assumption:
- Direction: export or import under general trade (一般贸易), processing trade, cross-border e-commerce or another trade arrangement
- Goods: description, material, use, brand, model, HS code if known, quantity and units, value
- Parties: the exporter or importer of record and its customs registration, the consignee, the broker
- Shipment: mode, ports, container or LCL, Incoterm, planned dates
- Documents already prepared: contract, invoice, packing list, any certificates
- Special features: batteries, chemicals, food, wood packaging, dual-use items, brands (intellectual property risk), samples
Output Structure
1. Documents required for this shipment
| Document | Required | Provided by | Status | Remarks (to be verified) |
- Customs declaration data (prepared by the broker through the Single Window platform (单一窗口))
- Commercial invoice, packing list, trade contract
- Customs declaration power of attorney and the electronic authorisation
- Bill of lading or booking confirmation
- Licences where the goods require them (export licence (出口许可证), dual-use item licence)
- Inspection and quarantine certificates where required (now handled by customs since the 2018 merger of inspection into customs, to be verified)
- Certificate of origin if the buyer needs preferential duty under an FTA (the importing side's rules apply)
- Dangerous goods documents (MSDS, packaging certificate) for batteries or chemicals
- Wood packaging fumigation or IPPC mark
2. Document consistency check
| Field | Contract | Invoice | Packing list | Customs declaration documents | Consistent | Names, addresses, goods descriptions, quantities and units, net and gross weights, values and currency, Incoterm, marks and numbers, container numbers. Flags any mismatch.
3. Preparing declaration elements (to be verified)
For the HS code: the declaration elements customs requires (product name, use, material, brand type, export preferential-treatment status, model and so on), with the person's answers filled in and gaps flagged. A reminder that the broker confirms the code and elements.
4. Regulatory and risk notes
Whether the goods may need a licence, inspection, a dangerous goods route, or a brand authorisation (intellectual property checks at the border); the consequence of a wrong declaration (held cargo, rebate loss, penalties).
5. Timeline
| Milestone | Time | Owner | Documents to the broker, declaration, inspection if any, release, cut-off for loading.
6. Documents to retain for export tax rebate (at export)
The records to keep: the export declaration data, invoices, contract, logistics documents, and the timeline for declaring the rebate, all to confirm with the tax bureau and the company's accountant.
Quality Checks
- The checklist is specific to the goods, direction and trade mode
- Cross-document fields are compared and mismatches flagged
- declaration elements are listed for the HS code with gaps flagged
- Licence, inspection, dangerous goods and IP flags are considered
- Every requirement is marked to be verified with the broker or customs named
- The output states that the declarant and broker are responsible for the final declaration
Anti-Patterns
- Picking the HS code with the lowest duty or highest rebate. Classification follows the goods, not the outcome; misdeclaration has penalties.
- Invoice and packing list prepared by different people without a check. Mismatches are the commonest delay.
- Undervaluing to save duty. It is a customs offence and can follow the company.
- Brand goods without authorisation. Border IP checks can seize them.
- Leaving documents to the cut-off day. Inspection or a query can take days.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "We are exporting lithium battery power banks to the US for the first time; what documents do we need to prepare for customs declaration?"
- "The gross weights on the invoice and packing list do not match; will that cause a problem with the customs declaration?"
- "How do I fill in the declaration elements for this product? The HS code is 8516.79."
- "Which documents need to be kept for the export tax rebate?"
- "List the customs documents for exporting furniture from China."