Rising to “Official” Importer Status – Now What?

From essential oils to women’s jewelry, I’ve spoken with many small business owners whose enterprises are growing, so much so that the time has come from merely carrying back foreign articles for sale in their suitcases to actually becoming a commercial importer.

So who do you share the news with?  Well, with any good news you may want to share it with your loved ones, however you actually need to share it with US Customs and that is achieved through the submission of an "Importer ID Record," which is Customs Form 5106 (CF 5106) and may be found here.

Being an “official” first time importer, you would use this form to identify yourself to US Customs as such.  The form is also used if you are using an Importer Number for the first time, or if you have not engaged in any customs business within the past year.

The CF 5106 can also be used if there is already an importer number on file but there is a change in the name or address currently on file.

Importantly, this form has an extra box on the top of the first page to check if you also want your address updated at US Customs Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures Office.  I can’t tell you why it’s not automatically updated with that office, but I can tell you that a failure to do so via this form can leave an importer “on the hook” for the payment of a penalty for which no response had been made for mitigation or remission (i.e., “cancellation,” in everyday language) purposes.

In other words, saying that you never received a copy of the notice will not serve as a valid excuse for non-responsiveness if this form was not properly filed.  

One final note of importance is that where an importer has a continuous bond on file with US Customs, a rider must accompany the CF 5106 as well.  For more information on an importer’s bond requirements, see my article dated Sept. 16, 2009 here.

 Questions/comments?  Post below, email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com, or tweet/follow me on Twitter @fashcompliance