1. Obstruction of customs clearance and logistics, production suspension or delivery delay
One of the purposes of customs management is to keep logistics smooth, especially now that many industries are implementing business models such as “zero inventory for production and negative inventory for sales”, the logistics and capital turnover of enterprises have been greatly accelerated, and the speed and punctuality of delivery are very high. If the logistics are not smooth or delayed due to improper customs handling, it will affect the completion of orders or business relationships at the least, and the company’s reputation in the industry at the worst.
For example, the global logistics center of Carl Zeiss, an internationally renowned German eyewear manufacturer, is located in France, and the order and production instruction center is concentrated in the German headquarters. It has production bases and branches in 30 countries in Europe, America, Asia, etc. The headquarters requires that no matter where the product is produced, the time it takes to enter the European warehouse is the same. For its production company in Guangzhou Development Zone, China, the production and logistics arrangements are extremely tight: on the first day, the production order is received from the headquarters and the production is arranged immediately; on the second day, the production task is completed; on the third day, Guangzhou export customs clearance is completed, the goods are transported to Hong Kong Airport, and handed over to the express company, and all customs clearance, transportation and delivery procedures are completed. The express company then delivers the goods to the warehouse in France by plane. In the entire production and logistics arrangement process, Guangzhou export customs clearance may be one of the uncertain links.
The main reasons affecting customs clearance and logistics are:
(1) improper customs arrangements, incomplete information preparation, and failure to complete customs declaration and customs clearance during normal customs working hours;
(2) failure to respond to and resolve customs questions and inspections in a timely manner, resulting in customs failure to release goods;
(3) single import and export channels and ports, and failure to transfer imports and exports to other ports when the local port electronic information system fails or the customs (inspection and quarantine) makes internal adjustments;
(4) failure to grasp customs policy changes in a timely manner, resulting in customs clearance difficulties;
(5) improper procedures for applying for changes in corporate names or other changes, and the inability to complete effective switching of the customs internal system, resulting in failure to complete customs clearance.
2. Inefficient logistics cooperation with business partners
As mentioned above, companies have increasingly high requirements for delivery dates. Therefore, in the process of customs planning and execution, it is necessary to grasp the comprehensive balance between logistics time requirements and tax costs, and save tariffs while ensuring smooth logistics. At present, the flexible use of deep processing transfer of processing trade and various customs special supervision zone policies can effectively achieve “two efficiencies” in logistics and tax burden. Generally speaking, in terms of time, if both the supply and sales parties are in China, the logistics time of deep processing transfer of processing trade and domestic sales is the shortest, the time of transfer through the customs special supervision zone is slightly longer, and the time of exiting to neighboring countries or regions and then importing (“overseas one-day tour”) is the longest.
If customs management is improper or problems arise during implementation, the efficiency of logistics cooperation may be reduced, increasing the cost and time of the entire supply chain. Common situations of low efficiency in logistics cooperation include:
(1) In deep processing transfer, upstream and downstream companies cannot transfer due to different commodity codes, prices, product specifications, etc., and need to export abroad or to bonded logistics parks before importing;
(2) After the implementation of the customs special supervision zone plan, improper transaction arrangements or unfamiliarity with customs declaration operations lead to problems in the entry and exit of goods in the bonded logistics zone.