The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

What document classes are retained?

List.

List
02

How many years?

Policy.

Years
03

Broker vs company custody?

Ownership.

Custody
04

Audit letter received?

Resolve the audit letter received question separately before choosing the route.

Audit

Working rule: Enterprises engaged in import/export are expected to keep books and customs documents for the periods Chinese customs and accounting rules require.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Only PDFs of declarations
Missing contracts.
Gap.
Staff laptops as archive
Loss risk.
Centralise.
Destroy after broker switches
Broken chain.
Migrate.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Retention schedulePolicy.
02Sample entry packCompleteness.
03Archive system logsIntegrity.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Is WeChat a record?

If it sets price/assists, preserve it. Informal channels still become exhibits.

Where are audits?

Use the linked specialist resource when Customs Recordkeeping in China turns on detailed evidence, procedure or risk assessment.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

General Administration of Customs (GACC)
Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)
National laws database (NPC)
SAMR