Analysis of the special attributes of agency fees for imported equipment
In the trade of imported equipment, the agency fee is regarded asExtra - price expenses for customs declaration, according to the latest revised terms of Incoterms 2025, its accounting treatment shall follow three basic principles:
- Expenses directly related to the transfer of equipment ownership should be included in the original value of the asset
- Expenses for independent service items need to be accounted for separately
- Cross - border payment vouchers must meet the requirements of tax filing
Skills for splitting the constituent elements of agency fees
Typical agency fees for imported equipment usually include four levels:
- Basic service fee
- Customs declaration service (HS code classification / arrangement of declaration elements)
- Transportation coordination fee ( Ocean shipping Booking / port operation)
- Presentation of L/C documents: 800 - 1500 yuan per order
- Agency for export tax rebate: 5% - 8% of the tax rebate amount
- Service of advancing customs duty deposits
- Solutions for technical trade measures
2025 Bookkeeping Practice Operation Guide
According to the latest Measures for Tax Treatment of Cross - border Services of the Ministry of Finance, it is recommended to adopt the three - column bookkeeping method:
- Path of capitalization treatment
- Include in the original value of fixed assets (CIF price of equipment × proportion of agency fee)
- Amortize in installments according to the depreciation period of the equipment
- Path of expense treatment
- Allocate to the "Sales Expenses - Agency Service Fee" account.
- Fully deductible before current - period income tax
Control of key points for VAT deduction
Starting from January, 2025, the special payment receipts for value-added tax collected by the customs on behalf shall be within180 daysComplete the deduction certification:
- The general agency service fee applies a 6% tax rate
- The international transportation agency fee applies a zero tax rate
- Technical inspection - type services can be superimposed with additional deductions for research and development expenses
Warning cases of common wrong operations
A certain mechanical and electrical enterprise was inspected by the customs in 2024 due to the following operations:
- Including overseas technical consulting fees in the original value of the equipment
- Failure to keep the original agency service agreement as required
- Failure to handle tax filing for cross - border payments
Ultimately resulting in the payment of additional taxes and late fees reaching 27% of the contract amount, highlighting the importance of standardized bookkeeping.
Three core suggestions for compliance management
- Establish a calculation model for the allocation of agency fees (it is recommended to adopt the activity - based costing method)
- Improve the management system for cross - border payment vouchers (pay special attention to the archiving of electronic data)
- Regularly conduct audits on the health of the trade process (it is recommended to conduct special inspections quarterly)
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