What documents can be required from a Chinese supplier? How to obtain an export license to work in China? number of company employees

Many people believe that commodity market China is so saturated that export activities in this country make no sense. However, the company's experience Chinese Guide proves that there are a number of interesting raw materials and commodity items, which are profitable to import into China for the purpose of further resale.

For organization export business The exporting company must register as legal entity on the territory of China.

How to obtain an export license to work in China?

Having a license for import-export activities makes it possible to import goods at a reduced price, as well as VAT refund.

To obtain an export license, it is necessary to obtain prior consent for the declared company name. Then open a bank account, transfer the deposit and receive an investment verification report.

The received approvals, together with the company's Charter and documents containing information about shareholders, are submitted to obtain a Certificate of Incorporation state registration legal entity.

The last step in this dimensionless chain is the direct receipt of a document containing permission to export the goods specified in the license to China.

Upon registration exporting company As a declarant in China, all parameters are considered in a special way, including:

size authorized capital and the procedure for its introduction;

number of company employees;

room size.

If there is minimal non-compliance with the requirements, the entire package of documents will be returned.

In this case, the company receives, at best, a refusal to declare.

Officials may impose a large fine, failure to pay which will lead to major troubles. This fact is decisive when deciding whether it is necessary to contact specialists to obtain licenses and permits.

1) company name;

This article will tell you about the documents required to export from China.

Below is a mandatory list of documents that are collected and transferred to a customs broker in China to complete the subsequent export procedure from China. This package of documents is prepared by the sender if the sender has the right to conduct foreign economic activity and export his goods abroad.

So these documents:

1. Invoice for cargo. When working with the same suppliers, it is most convenient to accustom them to creating an invoice in two languages ​​at the same time: English and Chinese. The first language will be understandable to the recipient, the second to the PRC customs.

2. Packing List, similar to an invoice, in two languages. With the obligatory indication of net, gross weights, number of pieces and other information that may be required by the customs office of the cargo destination.

3. Quality certificate(s). If necessary.

4. A copy of the sales contract between the supplier and the buyer (Sales contract), signed by both parties. It is also advisable that the purchase and sale agreement be drawn up in two languages: English and Chinese.

5. Transaction passport. A graphic representation of the document is presented below.

6. Power of attorney from the sender in the name of the broker, giving the latter the right to complete the process of customs clearance of exports. A graphic image of the document will be presented in the article in the near future.

7. Blank sheets with the supplier's seal. In case some documents (invoices, packing lists) provided by the sender are filled out incorrectly. This, unfortunately, happens.

8. The sender is also required to provide his registration number to the CIQ authorities (the inspection authority of the PRC) as well as the registration number to the PRC Customs.

With the exception of a copy of the sales contract and CIQ and customs registration numbers, all other documents must be delivered to the customs broker in their original form. This issue becomes especially relevant if customs clearance export is carried out far from the place of original shipment of the goods.

Additional documents required for registration of certain groups of goods.

In addition to the list listed above, for some goods in China there is a so-called pre-shipment inspection. Pre-shipment inspection is required in case of export certain goods, such as stainless steel cookware and other codes. Only the manufacturer of the goods who has the right to export activities has the right to officially undergo this procedure. The result of passing the inspection is a document giving the right to export a specific batch of goods outside of China. The procedure takes from two to seven working days.

In addition to pre-shipment inspection for some goods such as medicines, energy and other groups, there is also the need to obtain an export license. Likewise, this license can only be obtained by the manufacturer.

All points listed above are relevant only to manufacturing plants that have the right to conduct foreign economic activity. However, goods are not always purchased from such manufacturers.

If the plant has not received the right from the state to export its products, then it is most likely that it will ship the cargo on an EXW basis, so as not to bother with export procedures. And export in this case will be carried out by an intermediary company (agent or export-import company), which will formally buy the goods from the manufacturer. After which another series of purchases and sales is possible, which will ultimately lead to export registration. But the recipient will never receive the export declaration and will not be able to show it to customs in the country where the cargo will undergo import customs clearance.

Foreign buyers often encounter auditing companies that advise, of course, for a fee, to order them to check whether the Chinese seller has an export license. If the supplier from the Middle Kingdom does not have it, you will not be able to cooperate with him, experts say.

There are other cases when a factory produces products that are tempting for the buyer at competitive prices, but due to its focus on the domestic market of the country, the enterprise does not have the required license to send goods abroad.

Of course, the lack of papers is an unpleasant thing, but it can be solved on the territory of the Celestial Empire. In such cases, a businessman needs an intermediary in China who has documents allowing him to conduct foreign economic activity (foreign economic activity) in the PRC. Experienced entrepreneurs have probably encountered accompanying documents for cargo where the “supplier” field indicated a different organization from which they actually purchased the goods. This is the so-called agent - intermediary, who has an export license. The cost of services of such companies starts from 1% of the order value, etc.

You may ask: Is the activity of agents legal?

Many Chinese suppliers who do not have export permission work through intermediaries. Instead of going through the procedure of obtaining a license, they prefer to pay for services third party organization, professionally engaged in export-import in international directions. Of course, when preparing documents for cargo transportation, the intermediary leaves his mark on the documents. This is normal procedure for China. She's completely legal.

Why do manufacturers prefer to use agents on international routes?

1. It’s easier for a company to pay consulting company rather than waste time, effort, and personnel on organizing international deliveries of your products abroad.

2. Organizations involved in import-export professionally solve quickly and competently problems with returns, control of cargo movement along the route, they know how to prepare papers for customs and other details.

The quality problem of Chinese goods

It is a mistake to assume that enterprises working for export produce better products than those creating products for the domestic market. The difference may be observed in standards and local GOSTs, but this is a fixable matter. If desired, you can agree with the manufacturer to comply with certain requirements for technical features products, and the quality of the product must be carefully checked before purchasing, regardless of the factory’s orientation towards the domestic or foreign market. This also requires an intermediary who can conduct an audit of the company’s products.

How is the product checked?

Ideally, inspection should be carried out at the manufacturing stage of the product. At this moment, it is easier to correct defects, change raw materials, improve the quality of parts, so as not to “print” a new defect on the machine. The intermediary inspector will test the product, take a photograph of the sample and send a report to the foreign customer. If the businessman is satisfied with the copy, production will continue.

The next time the intermediary will inspect the goods at the time of their preparation for shipment abroad, when they are brought to the warehouse. At this stage, the packaging and labeling of the cargo, technical and quality characteristics of samples are checked selectively or the entire batch. An audit is required before sending goods abroad. Once the shipment is received at home, sending the shipment back to China will be very problematic. This is due to the very expensive cost of transporting the return to its destination. Also, never forget to do the basics.

There is never too much paperwork, especially when running any business, in particular with suppliers from China. The Chinese themselves do not bother much about various certificates, licenses and other documents; they do not really like to show them and sign anything, since they often work on an advance payment and risk virtually nothing. But you and I are on the other side of the barrier, and the risks of getting a pig in a poke do not please anyone. Today, in its heyday ecommerce, the issue of verifying the reliability of a supplier is more relevant than ever. All correspondence with the manufacturer via e-mail or instant messenger can be safely equated to oral agreements; they mean absolutely nothing for resolving conflict situations, and besides, they fade in the language barrier of “Kitinglish” (specific Chinese English). In we have considered effective ways check the Chinese manufacturer on the popular B2B resource Alibaba. And one of the important points to filter out scammers is to request documents confirming the legality of the company’s activities. If you requested documents, but the supplier remained silent in response, everything is clear; we can say with almost 100% certainty that these are scammers (from the English scam - fraud). What if, to your delight, they did send you the documents? How to make sure it's not a fake? What should you pay attention to? And, most importantly, how to understand in dozens of unfamiliar hieroglyphs what the document is all about, maybe it’s a child’s birth certificate or a certificate of completion of a cutting and sewing course?

There are many sad stories on the Internet of defrauded buyers who, having received scans of documents, immediately believed in the reliability of the supplier from China, transferred money and in return received a donut hole. In order not to go far, we will give an example from the practice of our clients before they turned to us for advice.

Our client decided to purchase heating equipment from a Chinese company. The client chose the supplier independently on the online platform. The Chinese sent samples of the devices, but at the same time they mixed up both the model and the instructions for it. The buyer turned a blind eye to such a trifle, because the quality of the equipment was quite decent, and the price warmed the soul, outlining bright prospects for quick enrichment in a difficult period for the country when the price of thermal energy rose. But still, retaining the remnants of prudence, the client requested the documents required for certification of equipment in the importer’s country. The manager of the Chinese company promised to send them for two weeks, writing almost every day: “We will send them tomorrow, let’s prepare a batch for shipment, we are waiting for an advance payment.” Communication via email almost happened regularly and without obvious problems, the client was patient, but practically the issue was not resolved in any way. After a month, patience ran out, and the buyer contacted our company Dialog Consulting with a request to resolve the situation. A detailed audit showed that the supplier was not a manufacturer, but an intermediary, and could not send the required documents, hoping only that the customer would make an advance payment without documents. Whether the heating equipment would be sent to the buyer or not is a big question. Dialog Consulting specialists chose a reliable manufacturer, and the cost of the equipment was even lower than the prices stated by intermediaries. The difference in price allowed us to cover the company's commission.

It is likely that it will not be easy to figure out on your own whether the supplier’s documents sent are genuine. In this case, it makes sense to seek help from a professional company that does business with China. Extensive practice and the “trained eye” of specialists will help to immediately cut off potential scammers. You can always send copies or scans of documents to Dialog Consulting specialists for verification.

It is quite possible to check some points in the documentation yourself in order to immediately determine the list of the most reliable companies, especially if you are choosing among a dozen suppliers, and, to your surprise, absolutely everyone sent the required scans by email.

There are a few important points, which are worth paying close attention to.

• Document language. Obviously, an enterprise registered in China must have registration documents in the official language of the country, that is, in Chinese. Moreover, according to the current legislation of the PRC, documents in another language, for example, in English, do not have any legal force, except that it is a notarized translation from the Chinese original. As you understand, you should not ask a potential supplier to translate a document, as he can easily use your lack of knowledge of the language for his own unseemly purposes. The best choice– find a person who knows Chinese, contact specialists from a consulting firm, or take advantage of modern advances software and translate the text yourself. To help, we can recommend text recognition programs from images, for example, ABBYY Fine Reader. There are quite a lot of similar programs, free and working online, on the Internet, just enter “recognize text from photos online” in a search engine. After the hieroglyphs from the document scan are converted into a text file, use any online translator. Probably, not all the details will be clear, but at least you will immediately cut off completely “leftist” documents that are not related to licenses and certificates.
• Quality of the copy (photo or scan). In our practice, there are often cases when suppliers send unclear or black and white copies of documents. The seals are blurred beyond recognition, the dates and names of registration authorities are unreadable, and in many places clumsy edits are visible. In this case, you should insist on resending by email documents of excellent quality, preferably color scans or high-resolution photographs. But sometimes unscrupulous suppliers can show miracles of skill and send licenses forged in Photoshop, where absolutely everything - from the company name to the seal - is fake. If you have even the slightest suspicion about the authenticity, for example, a drawn or “cut out” seal, barely noticeable traces of text insertion, then it is better to contact specialists for a comprehensive audit of this Chinese company.

Let's return to the question: what documents do you have the right to demand from a Chinese supplier?

Business license

A business license (or State Registration Certificate) is one of the most important documents for anyone doing business in China. It serves as strong evidence of the legality of a legally registered enterprise and describes its scope of activity.

There are three important pieces of information in a business license. Firstly, authorized persons are indicated here who can legally carry out any activities on behalf of the company.

Secondly, the document defines the type of activity of the company. This is where you can find out whether the company is an intermediary or directly a manufacturer.

The stamps at the bottom of the license are also a source of valuable information. Seal No. 1 confirms the validity period of the license, and Seal No. 2 confirms the authority that issued the document. The name of the certifying authority must be inscribed in the seal around the star. Typically, a business license is issued by the appropriate local department of the Ministry of Commerce.

More business license options:

Certificate of registration with the tax authorities

The good news is that this certificate, unlike a business license, is more difficult to fake. And the bad thing is that if it is already counterfeited, it can be extremely difficult to distinguish it from the original. The certificate is issued within a month from the date of receipt of the business license. Each registered company is assigned its own tax number (analogous to the Ukrainian Taxpayer Identification Number).

This document is mandatory for everyone: enterprises of branches, subsidiaries in other regions of the country, private entrepreneurs, etc. Even foreign companies that operate in the PRC are required to obtain a certificate of registration from the tax authorities.

Upon receipt of the document, the payer is required to provide his bank account number, which is verified, but the number is not indicated on the certificate itself. The document contains the following data: company name, authorized representative, legal address, type of subject economic activity, a unique taxpayer number (usually 15 digits, preceded by a hieroglyph indicating the name of the province. Each registered company is assigned its own tax number (analogous to the Ukrainian TIN). Using it, you can check the enterprise with the relevant tax authorities of the province of China in which the company was registered.

The certificate bears two (sometimes one) seals of the territorial tax authorities.

Please note that the official seal is used, with a five-pointed star in the middle. The date of issue of the certificate in Chinese numerals is visible under the seal.

A business license contains information about the validity period, but a tax certificate does not. Therefore, you should not draw a conclusion only on the basis of this document; consider everything as a whole, comparing data between documents.

Export license

Any major manufacturer who sells its products to other countries must have export license from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. The presence of this document will distinguish him from an ordinary intermediary reseller. The more important and profitable the industry, the more difficult it is for a manufacturer to obtain a license. Some manufacturers focused on the domestic market may not have such a license, but then they use the services of an import-export company, whose license they are required to provide upon request.

According to the law, each export permit is issued for only one consignment of goods, although in practice several consignments are sent using one document.

The license must contain the following information:

• Company name in Chinese and English;
• Field of activity;
• List of goods for export;
• Seal local Administration industrial and commercial administration

During our work with clients, we have repeatedly heard their stories related to fraud, including documents. Most of these deals were concluded in haste, without due diligence and based solely on naivety and boundless trust in the Chinese supplier. There is no need to rush into making an advance payment as soon as you have seen the documents. After all, even the presence of all the above certificates and licenses cannot give a 100% guarantee that these are not scammers.

Where to begin?

Dialog Consulting company offers a range of services for verifying suppliers. By contacting our specialists, you will receive a free consultation on all issues of organizing a business with China.

Our unique advantage is the ability to provide access to communication with all our clients, who will confirm the effectiveness and reliability of our company in organizing business with China.

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