Ensuring the import is 100% compliant from a customs perspective (licences, permits and import permissions)
Making all necessary declarations regarding the shipment to customs
Preparing and submitting all filings relating to the import process
Making full payment for the duties and taxes related to the shipment
Practically speaking, an Importer of Record is the “ship to” entity, or consignee, on shipping documents. The IOR is the entity to which the shipment is consigned. This entity could be different from the final delivery address but the IOR will always be the party responsible for receiving the shipment upon entry into the destination country.
When you ship IT hardware or networking equipment into a country in which your business does not have a registered entity that can act as the local Importer of Record, you carry an almost certain risk that your valuable equipment gets stuck in customs, with customs officials demanding a local IOR to take responsibility for the shipment. In the IT industry, it is often the case that you do not have import capabilities when shipping to a data center in a foreign country, either for your own entity or on behalf of your customer. Similarly, this lack of import capability often occurs if you are shipping to a foreign branch of your customer’s business, if the customer wants a local purchase order (not in the destination country) or if the customer simply does not want to get involved with customs clearance due to lack of knowledge or the complexities related to importing IT hardware.
In the above instances, shipping terms such as Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) will be requested, or put simply, a door-to-door delivery solution is required. This results in a situation where you require a third-party registered entity in the foreign country to act as the local Importer of Record.
TecEx is a project manager, Importer of Record and compliance partner to large high-tech corporates and multinationals, including some of the largest cloud, CDN, software and IT hardware providers across the globe. We provide a complete door-to-door solution to enable the movement of high value, large scale technology components to go cross-border in over 200+ countries and territories.
When using our Importer of Record services, the clearance and filing is done in TecEx’s name. As a result, all tax payments and associated risks lie with us. It’s our business to ensure complete import compliance to guarantee smooth and efficient customs clearance and logistics, every time.
TecEx provides corporates and multinationals with a full door-to-door service through which we:
Most technology equipment that is shipped contains wireless capabilities or is highly encrypted and is therefore considered dual-use in nature by the majority of governments and import bodies around the world. The term “dual-use” refers to the ability of the equipment to be used for either the specified and approved purpose or misused for causing harm. These types of goods are highly regulated and come with a multitude of compliance requirements in order to import them successfully.
TecEx’s knowledge is unmatched when it comes to current and up-to-date global import compliance requirements. Our vast industry knowledge regarding networking and IT equipment, as well as continuous deep research into changes in tax laws, results in peace of mind and accurate delivery times to all 200+ destinations that we offer. This means that we get your technology equipment into the destination country as quickly and as easily as possible, ensuring that your or your client’s expectations and deadlines are met.
Due to the highly regulated nature of high-tech networking equipment and IT hardware, the Importer of Record is responsible for properly declaring the use of the equipment being imported. This can include, but is not limited to: