The company has agent import business and is confused about tax account handling, such as the accounting entry for import tariffs, VAT, tax filing procedures, and the differences compared to general trade import handling. The best answer states that tariffs are recorded as cost of goods, VAT is handled according to the principal's taxpayer type, tax filing relies on customs duty payment certificates, the agency relationship must be reflected, and operations should be performed step-by-step with proper document preservation.
What Account Should Import Freight Forwarder Fees Be Credited To?
Resolved
Our company has imported a batch of goods and paid a freight forwarder fee. I would like to ask which account this import freight forwarder fee should be credited to. Should it be credited to the cost of purchase, or are there other suitable accounts? Our company is mainly in the trading business and has not encountered this situation before, so we don't know how to accurately record it. We are worried that making a mistake will affect financial accounting. We hope everyone can help answer, thank you!
Trade Expert Insights Answers
The accounting account for import freight forwarder fees needs to be determined based on the specific circumstances. If the freight forwarder fee is directly incurred to bring the imported goods to a usable or saleable state, it should generally be credited to the purchase cost of the imported goods. This treatment complies with the requirements for initial measurement of assets in accounting and accurately reflects the actual cost of acquiring the goods.
For example, if Zhongmaoda charges freight forwarder fees for helping clients import equipment, and these fees are mainly used for handling the procedures for importing the equipment, then these freight forwarder fees should be credited to the purchase cost of the equipment.
If the freight forwarder fee is not directly related to the imported goods, such as fees incurred for obtaining import trade-related information or consulting services, it may be credited to administrative expenses. In summary, the accounting entry should be determined based on the actual use and nature of the freight forwarder fee to ensure accurate financial accounting.
Generally speaking, if the freight forwarder fee is closely related to the imported goods and is a necessary expenditure to facilitate the import of the goods, crediting it to the cost of purchase is more appropriate, leading to more accurate cost accounting.
If the freight forwarder fee is for subsequent services related to the import business, such as fees for handling procedures after customs declaration, it can also be considered for crediting to sales expenses, as it is closely linked to the sales process.
If the amount of this freight forwarder fee is small and has little impact on the cost, for the sake of simplifying accounting, it can also be directly credited to current period profit or loss, such as administrative expenses.
It depends on the contract's provisions. If the contract clearly states that the freight forwarder fee is for services in a specific part of the goods, then it should be recorded in the account related to that part.
If the freight forwarder fee is for some special agency services during the transportation of goods, it may be credited to transportation costs, thereby more comprehensively reflecting the total expenditure of goods transportation.
If the agency service is for the inspection and quarantine of imported goods, it is also reasonable to credit it to the relevant detailed account for inspection and quarantine costs.
From the perspective of ease of accounting, if the freight forwarder fee is mainly for daily business agency services, crediting it to administrative expenses is also understandable, as it will be more convenient for subsequent statistical analysis.
If the freight forwarder fee is incurred to obtain better sales conditions for the imported goods, crediting it to sales expenses is also a viable option.