Compliant import: How to pay for imported goods?

Recently, friends often ask about the issue of foreign exchange payment for imports. Let me share with you the related matters of payment for imported goods. I hope it will be helpful to everyone!

1. Sign
   an import contract with foreign businessmen, clarifying the price terms, settlement method (T/T, L/C, D/P, etc.) and payment rhythm (prepayment, sight, pay on delivery, 90-day extension, etc.).

2. Classified Management Query
   Log in to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange's 'Foreign Exchange Monitoring System for Trade in Goods' to confirm that this enterprise is Category A. If it is Category B/C, prior registration or additional materials are required.

3. Issuing a letter of credit/handling remittance (two mainstream channels)
   ① Letter of credit (L/C)
   – Apply to the bank for issuance of the letter → the bank will issue it → the seller delivers the goods and delivers the document → the bank will accept/pay if the document is consistent.
   ② Telegraphic transfer (T/T)
   - Prepayment: contract + proforma invoice + 'overseas remittance application' → bank verification for authenticity → purchase foreign exchange/remit;
   - Pay on delivery: After the arrival of the goods, present the original import declaration (payment couplet), contract, commercial invoice, transport documents → bank handles the remittance;
   - Deferred payment: If it exceeds 90 days, you must apply for 'deferred payment registration' in the monitoring system. After expiration, pay the foreign exchange against the document as above.

4. Bank authenticity review:
   The bank passes the 'Customs Declaration Electronic Account' verification system to compare the amount, business unit, and supervision method; foreign exchange can be purchased/remitted only after passing the review.

5. The balance of payments declaration
   bank completes the foreign-related income/expenditure declaration on behalf of the enterprise, and the enterprise obtains the 'Overseas Remittance Application' receipt and retains it for 5 years for future reference.

6. Subsequent write-offs (on-site write-offs have been cancelled, but the documents need to be retained),
   the complete set of import declarations, contracts, invoices, transportation documents, bank receipts and other information will be kept for at least 5 years; the foreign exchange bureau can conduct on-site or off-site verification afterwards.

2. Common types of illegal operations and typical cases

1. Fictitious trade background
– Technique: Forge contracts, bills of lading, and invoices, and export goods in the name of 'advance payment', but no goods are actually imported.
– Case: Jiangsu Richen Special Equipment Company paid US$2.56 million in foreign exchange in the name of advance payment, but the goods did not arrive and was fined 837,000 yuan.

2. Use invalid/third-party bills of lading
– Techniques: reuse ocean bills of lading that have been picked up by others, or forge re-export trade documents.
– Case: Tianjin Binhai Haitong Logistics fabricated re-export trade, paid US$46.52 million in foreign exchange, and was fined RMB11.05 million.

3. Transferring funds overseas at high prices
- Method: Signing purchase contracts with overseas affiliated companies that are much higher than the market price, and the overpayment is actually a flight of funds.
– Case: Ningbo Dacheng International Trade over-reported prices by 5-20 times, made 15 foreign exchange payments of US$119 million, and was fined 22.81 million yuan.

4. Use individual annual split purchases of foreign exchange
– Technique: Organize multiple employees/relatives and friends to purchase foreign exchange in the name of personal travel, and then centrally remit the foreign exchange to the same seller’s account overseas.
– Case: Shaoyang Xincheng Medical Technology Company used the 32-person quota to split up and purchase US$1.58 million in foreign exchange, and was fined 536,000 yuan.

5. Paying foreign exchange without authorization (a mistake often made by novices)
- Regulations: the business unit, payer and contract buyer of the customs declaration form should be consistent; when importing as an agent, the agent must pay the foreign exchange.
– Violation: The actual consignee bypasses the agency company and pays overseas on his own → the foreign exchange bureau determines it as 'foreign exchange evasion' or 'undocumented payment of foreign exchange', and may be fined up to 300,000 yuan.

6. Other typical violations
– refusing or obstructing on-site inspections by the foreign exchange bureau;
– failing to register in advance when required (category B/C companies failed to provide a letter of guarantee for prepayments exceeding US$500,000);
– banks paying foreign exchange without verifying valid vouchers – banks are equally responsible and can be fined 200,000 to 1 million yuan.

3. Compliance Tips

1. Adhere to the principle of 'whoever imports, pays the foreign exchange' and ensure that the name of the customs declaration form, contract, and payer are consistent.

2. If the advance payment exceeds the equivalent of US$500,000 and is a Category B enterprise, it should register with the foreign exchange bureau in advance and provide a foreign guarantee.

3. All documents are authentic, complete, traceable, and kept for 5 years; the amount, quantity, and currency of electronic data and paper documents must be consistent.

4. If the contract changes and the foreign exchange purchased in advance cannot be paid externally, the foreign exchange should be settled in a timely manner or retained in the current account account, and the account should not be left open for a long time.

5. After being downgraded to Category B/C enterprises, they should actively cooperate with reporting and registration, actively make rectifications, and strive to restore Category A convenient treatment as soon as possible.

Finally, a reminder : if a company does not have import and export rights, never pay foreign exchange without authorization. The formal operation is to find an agency company with import and export rights to sign an import agency agreement, and then purchase foreign exchange through the agency company and pay it to the foreign supplier. (This may involve signing a purchase contract with a foreign supplier in the name of an agency, or the supplier issuing an invoice INVOICE on the agency's letterhead). If you have any needs for import payment/import agency, you can ask us for help~