Agency export serviceWhat costs are actually included?

In the practice of foreign trade in 2025, professional export agency service fees typically consist of three major modules:

• Basic Service Costs: Preparation of customs declaration documents, logistics coordination, foreign exchange verification, and other routine operations (accounting for approximately 0.8%-1.5% of the contract amount).
• Fund advance costs: Including tax refund advance interest (referencing an LPR rate increase of 20%-30%) and exchange rate locking fees.
• Special services fees: Additional service fee for special trade methods (such as cross-border e-commerce 9810 model)

What are the new risk points in VAT refund calculations?

According to the Latest 2025Export tax refundPolicy, special attention is required to:

• Different tax refund rates apply to goods across different categories (e.g., the refund rate for mechanical and electrical products remains at 13%, while textiles drop to 9%).
• The foreign exchange collection cycle affects the tax refund efficiency (a written explanation is required if the collection period exceeds 90 days).
• The calculation method for the service fee of tax refund collection by the agent:
  • Fixed percentage fee: Charged at 1%-2% of the tax refund amount.
  • Tiered pricing: The first transaction is free, and interest will be charged daily for any amount exceeding the agreed time limit.

How does corporate income tax prepayment affect the final profit?

Key Points of Income Tax Calculation Often Overlooked by Foreign Trade Enterprises:

• Under the agency export model, the timing of revenue recognition must be confirmed (based on the export date stated on the customs declaration form).
• Adjustment for differences between estimated costs and actual foreign exchange receipts (adjustments within a ±5% range are permitted)
• Cross-border payment service fee withholding and remittance of income tax (generally withheld at 10% of the total income)

What hidden costs might erode corporate profits?

Audit cases in 2025 reveal 4 commonly overlooked costs for enterprises:

• Exchange rate difference settlement (the buying and selling spread adopted by the agent can reach 0.5%-1%).
• Handling fee for exceptional circumstances (charges for sudden situations such as order modifications or cancellations range from 300-2000 yuan per instance).
• Minimum Charge Clause in the Annual Service Agreement (Guaranteed Fee Payment Required Even If Agreed Volume Is Not Reached)
• System Interface Maintenance Fee (EDI Data Transmission Service Annual Fee: 8,000-15,000 RMB)

How to verify the reasonableness of an agency companys fees?

It is recommended to perform cross-validation using three sets of data:

• Conduct a horizontal comparison of the price difference rates among more than three agents (the normal fluctuation range should be less than 15%).
• Check the foreign exchange settlement deviation records for the past three years (the deviation rate for high-quality agents should be below 0.3%).
• Calculate the implicit benefits brought by capital turnover (early receipt of foreign exchange by 15 days is equivalent to a 1.2% reduction in financial costs).

How to Avoid Tax Risks Under the 2025 New Regulations?

Key compliance focus areas include:

• The "Consignor in China" field on the customs declaration form must display the actual cargo owner (anonymous agency is strictly prohibited).
• New Policy on Collection Account Management (Agent accounts must be labeled with "Foreign Trade Comprehensive Service" identifier)
• The remarks column on the VAT invoice must be fully completed with export information (including contract number and trade method).

Practical Case: Cost Analysis of an Electromechanical Enterprise's Export Agency

Taking the export of $500,000 worth of goods in Q1 2025 as an example:

• Basic service fee: 500,000 × 1.2% = $6,000
• Tax refund service fee: 65,000 × 1.5% = $975 (Tax refund amount = 500,000 × 13%).
• Cost of Funds: 45 days advance × LPR 3.85% × 120% = 2,310 yuan
• Exchange rate locking cost: 0.3% spread × 500,000 = $1,500
• The total cost accounts for 2.8% of the export value., significantly higher than the cost of self-operated export by enterprises.