Furniture Customs Clearance Service (Exporting from China)

According to relevant national regulations, most furniture, especially wooden furniture, must undergo export commodity inspection to obtain the Customs Clearance Certificate for Export Goods issued by the inspection and quarantine department (CIQ) before proceeding with export customs declaration at the customs. For exporting wooden furniture to Australia and New Zealand, fumigation and disinfection procedures are also required to obtain the Fumigation/Disinfection Certificate.

When applying to CIQ for the Customs Clearance Certificate for Export Goods, the following documents must be submitted:

• Guangzhou Export Wood Products Enterprise Inspection and Quarantine Result Sheet

• Export enterprise contract

• Export commercial invoice

• Packing list

• Factory Inspection Record for Export Bamboo and Wood Products

• Application Form for Export Goods Inspection

To obtain the Guangzhou Export Wood Products Enterprise Inspection and Quarantine Result Sheet, the manufacturing enterprise shall submit an application to CIQ. CIQ staff will conduct an on-site inspection of the enterprise; upon passing the inspection, CIQ will issue the sheet, which is generally valid for half a year. After obtaining this sheet, CIQ will not need to conduct on-site inspections for each export application, but only conduct random checks when deemed necessary. If the enterprise fails to obtain the sheet, in accordance with CIQ regulations, on-site inspections at the manufacturing enterprise are generally required for each export application. Due to the heavy workload of Guangzhou CIQ, scheduling on-site inspections may take several working days, which easily leads to delays in export shipping schedules.

The following documents must be submitted to CIQ when applying for the Result Sheet:

• Factory floor plan of the manufacturing enterprise

• Production process and flow chart

• Copy of business license

• Corresponding epidemic prevention measures and quality management documents

• Export contracts with a term of half a year or more

• If required by CIQ, provide material testing reports for main raw materials (such as plywood, fiberboard, paint, etc., which can be obtained from suppliers)

The product type, name, quantity, unit price, and amount on the export contract, export commercial invoice, and packing list must be completely consistent, and the product type and quantity shall not be less than those of the current inspection application.

The Factory Inspection Record for Export Bamboo and Wood Products shall be filled out truthfully by the manufacturing enterprise in the standard form provided by CIQ.

For the Application Form for Export Goods Inspection, the enterprise shall enter information such as product name, HS code, quantity, unit price, amount, port of shipment, port of destination, mode of transportation, and export port into a dedicated software on the computer, then submit the information to CIQ via the Internet. After passing the preliminary review, CIQ will feed back an electronic inspection application number. Once the enterprise obtains this number, it can print the Application Form for Export Goods Inspection.

After preparing the above documents, the enterprise can proceed to CIQ to handle the inspection application. Generally, CIQ does not need to send staff for on-site inspection, and the Customs Clearance Certificate for Export Goods can be issued within one working day. If the export customs declaration port is within the Guangzhou Customs jurisdiction, CIQ will issue a Certificate for Replacement of Documents, and the enterprise can use this document to apply for the Customs Clearance Certificate for Export Goods from the Guangzhou inspection and quarantine department.

A key consideration when handling commodity inspection procedures is that the type and quantity of the inspected goods shall not be less than those of the actual exported goods. Currently, many enterprises encounter situations where customers temporarily increase the quantity of a certain product type before shipment. In such cases, the enterprise shall promptly handle the inspection application for the additional quantity and shall not take chances to avoid affecting the customs clearance and export of the entire batch of goods. Another consideration is that due to the uncertainty of the time required for commodity inspection application, the procedure shall be initiated one or two days in advance.

According to the Customs Law, only enterprises with import and export operation qualifications that have completed registration and registration with the customs, foreign exchange administration, tax bureau, and electronic port can directly handle export customs declaration procedures at the customs. Otherwise, they can only entrust companies with such qualifications to handle the export and customs declaration procedures. Currently, Guangzhou Customs stipulates that non-local enterprises must entrust local customs declaration companies to handle general trade export declaration procedures within the Guangzhou Customs jurisdiction.

The following documents must be submitted to the customs when handling furniture export customs declaration procedures:

• Export contract

• Commercial invoice

• Packing list

• Customs Clearance Certificate for Export Goods

• Export Foreign Exchange Verification Certificate

• Export Customs Declaration Form

• If entrusting a customs declaration company to handle the procedures, a Customs Declaration Power of Attorney shall also be submitted

Before handling export customs declaration procedures, the enterprise must first obtain the foreign exchange verification certificate from the foreign exchange administration and complete the online filing of the foreign exchange verification certificate through the electronic port via the Internet, specifying the customs declaration port for the verification certificate according to actual needs. In addition, the HS code of each exported product shall be verified accurately to fill out the export customs declaration form correctly. If there is any doubt about the HS code of a product, consultation with the relevant customs department shall be conducted in advance.

When handling export customs declaration procedures, the customs declaration company first enters customs declaration information (such as the operating unit, consignor, trading country, final consumer country, mode of transportation and means of transport, product name, quantity, amount, etc.) into the computer system, verifies the information, prints the customs declaration form, and submits the computer information to the customs computer system. Then, the declarant of the enterprise or the customs declaration company shall bring the above documents to the customs to formally handle the export customs declaration procedures.

After accepting the application, the customs first reviews the customs declaration information, then decides whether to release the goods directly or after inspection in accordance with internal work procedures. Currently, most customs use a fast customs clearance system. Export enterprises can complete the export customs declaration procedures in advance before the exported goods arrive at the customs site. After the goods enter the customs site, they can directly enter the inspection and release process to reduce the waiting time of the goods at the customs site.

After completing the export customs declaration procedures, the customs will return one copy of the foreign exchange verification联 of the export customs declaration form and the foreign exchange verification certificate to the enterprise. After receiving the foreign exchange payment for the batch of goods, the enterprise can go to the foreign exchange administration to handle the export foreign exchange verification procedures together with the bank's foreign exchange settlement slip. After completion, the foreign exchange administration will return the tax refund联 of the foreign exchange verification certificate. After the batch of goods actually departs from the country, the customs will issue one copy of the tax refund联 of the export customs declaration form. The export enterprise can use this together with other documents to handle the export tax refund procedures at the tax refund authority.

When declaring to the customs for export customs declaration procedures, it is crucial to declare the actual product name, quantity, and price to the customs. Any discrepancies such as declaring more but exporting less, declaring less but exporting more, or inconsistent product names with the actual goods, if detected by the customs, will result in customs penalties. More seriously, customs handling of such cases takes a long time, leading to shipping schedule delays and greater losses.

Guangzhou Panyue International Trade Co., Ltd. provides comprehensive support for furniture export, including:

• Guidance on applying for the Guangzhou Export Wood Products Enterprise Inspection and Quarantine Result Sheet to avoid shipping delays caused by on-site inspection wait times

• Pre-review of commodity inspection and customs declaration documents to ensure consistency and compliance

• Accurate HS code verification and consultation to prevent declaration errors

• Coordination with CIQ and customs to streamline the inspection and clearance process

• Assistance with foreign exchange verification and export tax refund document organization

With our in-depth understanding of Guangzhou’s furniture export policies and procedures, we help enterprises, especially new entrants, navigate complex formalities, minimize risks, and ensure smooth and efficient furniture export operations.