This Standard Operating Procedure governs the State of Health (SOH) grading of warranty-returned LFP battery packs arriving from end-of-warranty customers in Canada and re-entering the manufacturer's service loop in mainland China. It applies to packs in the CN → CA returns corridor handled under Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) per ICC Incoterms 2020, and covers inbound receipt, sample-based visual inspection, BMS read-out, capacity testing, grade assignment, and disposition routing.
| Ref. | Title / Subject | Use in this SOP |
|---|---|---|
| IEC 62619 | Secondary lithium cells for industrial applications — Safety | Test environment, abuse handling |
| UL 1973 | Batteries for Use in Stationary and Motive Auxiliary Power Applications | North-American conformity reference |
| ISO 2859-1:1999 | Sampling procedures by attributes — Single sampling plans | AQL visual inspection sampling |
| ICC Incoterms 2020 | International Commercial Terms (DDP) | Cost & risk allocation in corridor |
| OEM Service Manual (model-specific) | Battery pack disassembly, BMS protocol, torque values | Diagnostic procedure, cell voltage limits |
| Step # | Action | Owner | Input doc | Output doc | Done-when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm RMA authorization against OEM warranty database; reject unauthorized parcels. | RMA Coordinator | End-customer claim form | RMA-01 Acknowledgement | RMA number issued and logged in ERP. |
| 2 | Receive pack at quarantine bay; verify UN 3480 / UN 3481 markings and outer carton condition. | Receiving Technician | Waybill, RMA-01 | GRN-01 Goods Receipt Note | Pack tagged with SoC 30 % target and bar-coded to RMA. |
| 3 | Visual inspection per ISO 2859-1 General Inspection Level II, AQL 1.5. | QA Inspector | GRN-01, AQL Sampling Plan | VIS-01 Visual Inspection Sheet | Defect classification (Critical / Major / Minor) recorded and signed. |
| 4 | Connect diagnostic tool per OEM service manual; read BMS firmware version, fault log, cycle count. | Test Engineer | OEM Service Manual, VIS-01 | BMS-02 Diagnostic Report | BMS log archived as JSON; no active critical fault unresolved. |
| 5 | Conditioning charge to 100 % SoC at 0.5 C; rest 60 min; discharge at C/3 to pack cut-off per OEM datasheet. | Test Engineer | BMS-02, cycler setup sheet | CYC-03 Capacity Cycle Log | Discharge capacity recorded in Ah with cell voltages logged at 10 s interval. |
| 6 | Compute SOH = measured Ah / rated Ah × 100 %; assign grade A / B / C / D per OEM threshold table. | Test Engineer | CYC-03, OEM threshold table | GRD-04 SOH Grading Sheet | Grade letter and supporting numeric SOH recorded; pack photo on test rig attached. |
| 7 | Route by grade: A → refurbish & re-ship; B → second-life stationary; C → cell harvest / recycling; D → scrap per IEC 62619. | Disposition Officer | GRD-04, Disposition Matrix | DIS-05 Disposition Order | Material-handling ticket printed and pack moved to labelled staging lane. |
| 8 | Issue bilingual EN/中文 grading certificate; archive for 7 years per OEM warranty policy. | Disposition Officer | DIS-05 | CERT-06 Warranty Grading Certificate | Customer notified; RMA closed in ERP. |
| Grade | SOH band | Disposition | Re-shipping eligible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | ≥ 95 % | Refurbish, replace BMS firmware, reseal | Yes — to Canada customer |
| B | 85 – 94.9 % | Second-life stationary module | No — domestic channel |
| C | 70 – 84.9 % | Cell harvest / Li-recycling stream | No — recycler |
| D | < 70 % or safety fault | Scrap per IEC 62619 §7 | No — hazardous waste |
| Day | Activity | Location | Dependency |
|---|---|---|---|
| D 0 | End-customer ships to CN consolidation hub (DDP per Incoterms 2020) | Canada → CN hub | RMA number issued |
| D +12 to D +18 | Sea-freight transit (indicative) | CN hub | Customs pre-clearance |
| D +19 | Inbound receipt, GRN-01 | CN service center | Waybill + RMA match |
| D +20 to D +21 | Visual + BMS + capacity test | Test lab | Cycler availability |
| D +22 | Disposition routing + certificate | Service center | DIS-05 sign-off |
| D +23 onwards | Re-ship A-grade to customer or route to downstream channel | CN → CA or domestic | New export paperwork |
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| HS code (LFP battery packs for storage) | PENDING — lookup against the official Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Customs Tariff and PRC Customs HS table |
| HS code (cells only, if harvested) | PENDING — lookup against the same official portals |
| Applicable duty rate (CA) | PENDING — lookup; verify most-favoured-nation (MFN) column on CBSA tariff page |
| Applicable duty rate (CN, on re-export where relevant) | PENDING — lookup; verify on PRC General Administration of Customs portal |
| VAT / GST / excise treatment | PENDING — lookup with a licensed CA customs broker |
| Official portals referenced | Canada Border Services Agency — Customs Tariff (cbsa-asfc.gc.ca); PRC General Administration of Customs (customs.gov.cn) |
| Disclaimer | HS codes and duty rates above are intentionally left as PENDING — lookup. No rate is asserted in this SOP. Confirm against the official customs portal at the time of shipment and with a licensed customs broker. |
| # | Claim | Source | URL | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-1 | AQL 1.5 at General Inspection Level II is the default attribute sampling plan for in-process inspection. | ISO 2859-1:1999 | https://www.iso.org/standard/1141.html | 2026-09-21 |
| C-2 | LFP packs for stationary storage fall under UL 1973 scope in North America. | UL 1973 | https://www.shopulstandards.com/ProductDetail.aspx?UniqueKey=35536 | 2026-09-21 |
| C-3 | Safety requirements for industrial lithium cells are defined by IEC 62619. | IEC 62619 | https://webstore.iec.ch/publication/62619 | 2026-09-21 |
| C-4 | Under DDP (Incoterms 2020) the seller bears duties and costs to the named destination. | ICC Incoterms 2020 | https://iccwbo.org/business-solutions/incoterms-rules/incoterms-2020/ | 2026-09-21 |
| C-5 | Canadian customs tariff and HS codes are published on the CBSA portal. | CBSA — Customs Tariff | https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/menu-eng.html | 2026-09-21 |
| C-6 | PRC customs HS reference is published on the GACC portal. | GACC — PRC Customs | http://english.customs.gov.cn/ | 2026-09-21 |
| C-7 | Multimodal logistics of dangerous goods follow the IATA DGR for air and IMDG for sea; FIATA issues standard shipping documents. | FIATA — documents | https://fiata.org/ | 2026-09-21 |
| C-8 | SOH grading band thresholds (A ≥ 95 %, B 85–94.9 %, C 70–84.9 %, D < 70 %) follow the OEM service-manual convention referenced in this SOP. | OEM Service Manual (model-specific, on file) | Internal — TradVolt engineering file TV-ENG-LFP-SM | 2026-09-21 |
RMA-01_Acknowledgement.pdfGRN-01_Goods_Receipt_Note.pdfAQL_Sampling_Plan_LII_AQL15.pdfVIS-01_Visual_Inspection_Sheet.xlsxBMS-02_Diagnostic_Report.jsonCYC-03_Capacity_Cycle_Log.csvGRD-04_SOH_Grading_Sheet.xlsxDIS-05_Disposition_Order.pdfCERT-06_Warranty_Grading_Certificate_EN_ZH.pdfThis SOP is an operational guidance document for trade and service workflows. It is not legal, customs, or tax advice. HS classifications, duty rates, and transport regulations must be verified against the official CBSA and PRC Customs portals and confirmed by a licensed customs broker before each shipment. TradVolt accepts no liability for misclassification or incorrect regulatory application arising from reliance on this document.