The company intends to export electric vehicles but lacks experience and asks what kind of agent to find and what abilities to consider. The best answer points out that when looking for an electric vehicle export agent, one should choose an agent with rich foreign trade experience and familiarity with electric vehicle exports and national policies and regulations, such as Zhongmaoda; one should also pay attention to logistics channels, customs clearance capabilities, and evaluate service attitude and reasonable pricing, etc., to make a comprehensive choice of a suitable agent.
How long should bills of lading for exported goods supervised by an agent be kept? Are there regulations?
Resolved
I am engaged in foreign trade and recently have been involved in the business of supervised agents for exported goods. I would like to know, generally, how long bills of lading for exported goods supervised by an agent need to be kept? Are there any relevant regulations or standards? I am concerned that an incorrect retention period might cause some unnecessary trouble, and I hope to receive a professional and accurate answer. Thank you.
Trade Expert Insights Answers
The retention period for bills of lading for exported goods supervised by an agent may vary in different countries and regions and under different regulations. Generally, according to relevant Chinese customs regulations, Zhongmaoda, as a supervised agent for exported goods, is required to retain the electronic data of bills of lading for 3 years. This is because bills of lading contain detailed information about the goods, such as the shipper and consignee, description of goods, quantity, etc., which are crucial for customs supervision, statistics, and potential subsequent inspections. The retention period is calculated from the date of successful transmission of the bill of lading. At the same time, the retained bill of lading data must be complete and accurate to be provided to relevant departments for verification at any time within the prescribed period. Failure to retain according to regulations may result in penalties from customs. Therefore, it is imperative to strictly comply with the retention period requirements.
To my knowledge, many freight forwarding companies are accustomed to keeping them for 5 years, thinking that keeping them for a few extra years is safer in case of any subsequent issues that require tracing. After all, bills of lading involve a lot of cargo information, and keeping them for a longer period can avoid many potential troubles.
Some industry practices are to retain them for 1-2 years after the entire trade process related to that shipment is completely finished. This is because sometimes there may be subsequent issues after the trade is completed that require the bill of lading, and doing so is relatively more secure.
In some special circumstances, such as when the goods are involved in intellectual property disputes, bills of lading may need to be retained for a long time. The specific duration depends on the progress of the dispute resolution.
For bills of lading related to tax refund businesses, it is recommended to retain them for an additional period after the tax refund process is completed and confirmed to be problem-free, to prevent tax authorities from re-examining.
For bills of lading related to regular clients with frequent business dealings, the retention period can be appropriately extended to serve as a reference basis for future cooperation.
When the exported goods are sensitive categories, such as chemicals, it is best to follow the special requirements for the supervision of sensitive goods in the industry for the retention period of bills of lading, which may be longer.
From a risk management perspective, if the shipment experienced any abnormal situations during transportation, such as delays or damage, the retention period for the bill of lading should be appropriately extended to facilitate subsequent analysis.
For bills of lading involved in transshipment trade, it is recommended to refer to the relevant regulations of the countries or regions involved in the transshipment trade for the retention period, as there may be special requirements at times.