Is feed customs clearance too complicated? 3 tips to avoid pitfalls and save 100,000 in demurrage fees

Mr. Zhang recently encountered a headache: the pet nutritional supplements he ordered from overseas were held at customs for two weeks, costing him 30,000 yuan in demurrage fees, which he described as "painful." After speaking with Ms. Li, he realized that 90% of feed and food import issues stem from the customs clearance process—those seemingly simple document preparations hide many professional intricacies.

According to Zhongshitong's agency data from the past five years, cases of feed imports being rejected include:

• 45% due to non-compliant ingredient labeling (e.g., probiotic strains approved in the EU but not in China)
• 32% stuck on missing quarantine certificates (requiring original documents from the exporting country)
• 23% because of non-standard labeling (Chinese labels must cover 90% of the original packaging)

Take the import of German pet canned food as an example:

• Pre-registration: Overseas manufacturers must register in China (list available on the General Administration of Customs website)
• Document preparation: Certificate of origin, ingredient analysis report, and radioactive substance test report are indispensable
• On-site inspection: Customs will randomly sample and send to labs for testing (focusing on antibiotics and heavy metals)

New requirements under the Import Feed Inspection and Quarantine Supervision Measures implemented this March:

• Plant-derived feeds must provide a GMO component declaration
• All packaging must have a traceable QR code
• Protein-based feed tariffs reduced by 5% (but VAT remains at 13%)

When encountering clearance obstacles, it is recommended to:

• Immediately apply for cargo value guarantee to avoid accumulating demurrage fees
• Use the "Customs Classification Pre-ruling" system to seek administrative reconsideration
• In special cases, request transit trade or return for processing