The documents that need to be prepared are mainly divided into two parts: basic documents and special documents.

(1) Basic documents and documents: Customs declaration letter, export cargo loading list (issued by the shipping company), commercial invoice (issued by e-commerce sellers), packing list (issued by e-commerce sellers), warehouse receipt (issued by warehouse custodian), copy of export goods contract, export commodity inspection certificate, etc.

(2) Special documents and documents: tax exemption certificate, foreign exchange verification form, import and export license, guarantee document, approval document issued by the national commerce department, processing trade manual, entry and exit goods clearance form issued by the inspection and quarantine department, certificate of origin, etc.

Preparatory documents: import and export trade contracts, relevant certification documents of import and export e-commerce sellers.

Note: For general import and export trade goods, only basic documents are needed to fill in the customs declaration form.

14.2.3 Checking documents and goods

Goods inspection is also called customs inspection, which means that after accepting the declaration of the customs declaration unit, the customs will check and examine the imported and exported goods in accordance with the law to determine whether the relevant information of the goods is consistent with the content on the customs declaration form.

There are two main purposes of this work. One is to review the declaration documents and determine whether the documents and goods are the same; the other is to ensure that the tariff is levied according to the rate and maintain the solemnity of customs taxation.

The specific contents of customs inspection mainly include the following items: information related to imported and exported goods, such as name, specification, quality, packaging, weight, mark, etc.; country of product production; country of trade.

When the customs inspects the goods, it is usually at the port terminal, post office, railway station, airport and other places. If it is a relatively large quantity of goods or dangerous goods or fresh products, the customs can also inspect the goods at the operation site.

There are two types of customs inspections. The first is a thorough inspection and the second is a random inspection; or it can be divided into manual inspection and equipment inspection.

Generally, the customs will choose the inspection method according to the actual situation. The customs inspection process mainly includes four links.

First, after the customs determines that the goods will be inspected, the customs officer who receives the order on site prints the inspection notice and hands it over to the customs broker.

Second, the customs arranges the inspection time according to the personnel and positions, and generally arranges the inspection on the next day.

Third, during the customs inspection of the goods, the exporter’s salesperson or his authorized customs broker will be present and be responsible for moving the goods, opening and resealing the goods packaging in accordance with the requirements of the customs. In special circumstances, the customs can directly open, re-inspect or take samples.

Finally, after the customs inspection is completed, the accompanying personnel will sign and confirm on the inspection record sheet.

If the customs causes damage to the goods during the inspection, the salesperson has the right to request compensation from the customs responsible for the rejection of the inspection, but relevant procedures need to be handled.

The scope of compensation of my country’s customs is limited to the direct economic losses of the inspected goods caused by the customs staff during the inspection process (customs will not compensate for damage before or after the inspection), and customs will not compensate for the following circumstances.

(1) Damage caused by carelessness when moving goods or opening boxes.

(2) Goods that are easily expired or perishable expire or deteriorate during normal customs working hours.

(3) Normal wear and tear of goods.

(4) Goods that have been damaged before customs inspection.

(5) Goods that are damaged after customs inspection.

(6) Damage caused by force majeure.

During the customs inspection process, the salesperson or customs broker should also be present to assist the inspectors, answer the questions of the customs officers at any time, provide the relevant documents required by the customs, and cooperate with the customs inspection activities. At the same time, when the inspectors find problems with the goods, the customs broker should actively cooperate with the customs investigation.