Agency export,What is the entire payment settlement process?

The typical agency export collection process consists of four key stages:

• Prepayment stage: The buyer pays a 10-30% deposit, and the agency issues an advance payment guarantee through the bank
• Production and preparation period: The agency monitors production progress while simultaneously preparing customs clearance documents
• After goods shipment:
  • Submit full sets of negotiation documents within 3 working days after ocean bill of lading issuance
  • The collection cycle fluctuates between 15-90 days depending on the settlement method
• Foreign exchange verification stage: The agency handles foreign exchange verification using customs export data, with full electronic processing achieved by 2025

What are the new changes in mainstream collection methods for 2025?

According to the latest SAFE data, current major collection methods account for:

• Telegraphic Transfer (TT): 58% (down 7% from 2023)
• Cross-border RMBAccounting for 29% (newly added "Belt and Road" special settlement channel)
• Letter of Credit (LC): 11% (digital document presentation ratio exceeding 80%)
• DP Collection: 2% (mainly applicable to transactions with established clients)

Special notice: Starting March 2025,TT remittances below USD 500,000 per transactionare exempt from submitting trade background materials, but agencies must still maintain complete transaction records for inspection.

How to Prevent Export Risk?

Based on Fortune 500 risk control systems, the following measures are recommended:

• Three-tier customer credit verification:
  • Commission professional agencies for buyer credit investigations
  • Verify authenticity of customs import/export data
  • Require the provision of bank credit certificates.
• Contract Clause Setting:
  • Clearly define exchange rate fluctuation sharing mechanisms
  • Include third-party inspection clauses (SGS/BV, etc.)
  • Establish milestone payment schedules
• Financial instrument utilization: Recommend purchasing export credit insurance, with China Export & Credit Insurance Corporations short-term premium rates reduced to 0.8‰-1.2‰

AgentlyExport tax refundHow does it affect collection?

Key points of 2025 tax refund policy:

• The Tax Repayment Cycle: Tier-1 enterprises receive refunds within 3 working days (requires annual export volume exceeding USD 30 million)
• Collection correlation

  According to Announcement No. 1 of 2025 from the State Taxation Administration, export agency businesses must meet the following requirements:

  • Foreign exchange receipt timeframe: Before the end of the VAT filing period in April following the year of export
  • Special case handling:
    • Cross-border RMB settlement is treated as foreign exchange receipt
    • Failure to receive foreign exchange due to force majeure requires supporting documentation
  • 49. Risk warning: A foreign exchange receipt rate below 85% for 12 consecutive months will trigger tax inspection

  What factors influence payment settlement cycles?

  Based on our service data from 287 export enterprises, the main influencing factors include:

  • Transportation Method:
    • Average 45 days for sea freight (including customs clearance time after port arrival)
    • 32 days for China-Europe Railway Express
    • 7 days for air freight but with 40% cost increase
  • Settlement currency:

     
    Average 38 days for USD settlement
      
    42 days for EUR settlement
      
    27 days for cross-border RMB settlement
     

• Bank processing efficiency: By 2025, SWIFT gpi service covers 92% of cross-border remittances, reducing receipt time to 1-2 working days