When shipping goods from China to Russia, the customs clearance link often becomes a “stumbling block”. Many enterprises spend a lot of energy preparing goods and funds, but due to choosing the wrong freight forwarder, their goods are detained at ports for weeks or even longer, resulting in high storage fees and port detention fees, and more likely missing order delivery deadlines. We have seen too many customs clearance disputes caused by incorrect forwarder selection. In fact, the smoothness of customs clearance is determined from the moment you choose a freight forwarder. Shanghai SBTG takes railway transportation as its main business. With solid customs clearance capabilities and full-chain service experience, it has become a trusted choice for many enterprises—choosing such a forwarder can help you avoid detours and make customs clearance for exports to Russia smoother.
1. Core of Choosing the Right Forwarder: Qualification Compliance is the Foundation of Smooth Customs Clearance
The primary prerequisite for smooth customs clearance is that the freight forwarder has complete and compliant qualifications. Some small forwarders lack Russian customs registration certificates and adopt a subcontracting model to handle customs clearance business. When problems arise, they shirk responsibility, directly leading to the stagnation of the customs clearance process. When selecting, enterprises need to focus on verifying whether the forwarder has formal customs declaration qualifications, Russian customs registration documents, and whether it refuses subcontracting.
Shanghai SBTG has complete international freight and customs clearance qualifications, completed official registration with Russian customs, and all customs clearance businesses are operated by its own team. Our qualifications can be verified through legal channels in both China and Russia, avoiding customs clearance risks caused by illegal agents at the source. Qualification compliance may seem basic, but it is the first line of defense to ensure smooth customs clearance, and also one of our core advantages distinguishing us from small forwarders.
2. Key Capability: Local Resources Solve Core Customs Clearance Problems
Russia’s customs clearance policies are rigorous and dynamically adjusted. Forwarders lacking local resources find it difficult to accurately interpret policies and quickly respond to emergencies. Choosing the right freight forwarder mainly depends on whether it has solid local resources—which is the core guarantee for smooth customs clearance.
SBTG has established an exclusive service network in Moscow, equipped with a local team familiar with Russian and Russian customs processes, which can synchronize the latest customs policies in real time. For different categories of goods, the local team can accurately complete HS code classification and clarify access standards and required certification documents. In case of emergencies such as customs inspections, the local team can arrive at the scene immediately, clearly explain the nature and purpose of the goods, and greatly shorten the inspection cycle. This localized capability is unattainable for ordinary forwarders and is the key to our ability to ensure smooth customs clearance.
3. Bonus Item: Coordinated Connection Between Railway Transportation and Customs Clearance
In freight transportation from China to Russia, railway transportation has become the mainstream choice due to its strong stability. Choosing the right freight forwarder requires attention to whether it can achieve coordinated connection between railway transportation and customs clearance—split cooperation is likely to lead to information disconnection and affect customs clearance efficiency.
SBTG takes railway transportation as its main business and has established long-term direct cooperation with Russian Railways and China Railway Container Transport Corporation (CRCT), locking in exclusive shipping space for China-Europe Railway Express and China-Russia special trains. We will reverse the customs clearance schedule in advance according to the railway transportation timeliness, and complete the preparation of customs clearance documents and pre-declaration preparations before the goods are shipped, realizing the principle of “customs clearance first, goods arrival later”. For over-dimensional goods such as the 388.49-ton large-scale liquid filling production line, we simultaneously plan the railway transportation scheme and customs clearance declaration process to ensure that customs clearance can be started immediately after the goods arrive at the port, avoiding delays caused by connection gaps.
4. Invisible Guarantee: Detail Control Reduces Customs Clearance Risks
The smoothness of customs clearance lies in every detail. Choosing the right freight forwarder also requires examining its ability to control details—whether document review is thorough, whether it has a full-chain visualization system, and whether the response to emergencies is timely. These details directly affect the progress of customs clearance.
SBTG has set up a professional document review team to carefully check materials such as commercial invoices, packing lists, and railway waybills one by one to ensure complete consistency of information, avoiding customs clearance delays caused by detailed omissions. Through an advanced logistics system, it realizes the full-process visualization of railway transportation trajectory and customs clearance progress, allowing enterprises to check the cargo dynamics at any time. A 24-hour response mechanism has been established. In case of emergencies such as policy changes and railway scheduling adjustments, we will coordinate solutions immediately and inform enterprises synchronously. It is this rigorous detail control that has enabled us to achieve 20 years of operation without major customs clearance accidents.
When shipping goods from China to Russia, choosing the right freight forwarder is equivalent to half the success of customs clearance. The smoothness of customs clearance is not accidental, but stems from the forwarder’s compliant qualifications, localized resources, transportation coordination capabilities, and detail control. Taking railway transportation as the core, Shanghai SBTG has built a comprehensive customs clearance guarantee system with professional capabilities, becoming a reassuring choice for many enterprises. We adhere to the core values of “reliability, quality, and accountability” and have established long-term cooperation with more than 400 China-Russia enterprises. Whether you are a small, medium, or micro enterprise or a large factory, whether transporting ordinary goods or special categories, choosing SBTG can make customs clearance for exports to Russia smoother and make the freight link more worry-free and stable.
