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

Navigating the Importation Process - Tips for the New Importer

I remember one of my best friends telling me in college that she thought it would be fun to have an import business where of course, she got to do the traveling to find all of the wonderful treasures that she would sell in her shop.

I know that back then, we never could have imagined that there would be so many obscure rules, such as that articles made of wood might require a declaration from the USDA, or that beaded jewelry made of seeds from exotic forests might be subject to FDA regulations.

After all, how does an importing entrepreneur even know where to begin in terms of compliance with the law when most have little idea about the complexities of importing?

Nowadays, thanks to search engines like Google – which did not exist when we were in college (zoiks!) – getting information about importing is a much simpler endeavor. This of course, is both good and bad.

It is good in that basic importing information may be found online, but of course, not all information out there is equally correct.

The down side however, is that there is a presumption that a responsible importer would have been able to seek out information that pertained to their type of import and therefore ought to have dotted all of their proverbial “I’s” and crossed their “T’s.”

A failure to do so can lead to an accusation of negligence in the event of an importing “hiccup” or even worse, an allegation of fraudulent activity.

So where does a new importer begin?

Like people entering the country, the border is the front line of imported merchandise, and US Customs and Border Protection has jurisdiction over what is permitted to enter – and remain – in the country.

A few helpful links include the web pages on US Customs’ website (www.cbp.gov) under the “Trade” tab. Within this section is a link called "Basic Importing and Exporting" which further leads to information on US Customs import requirements as well as other federal agency requirements.

There is also a rather lengthy US Customs guide entitled “Importing into the United States – A Guide for Commercial Importers” as well as numerous “Informed Compliance” publications which offer both general importing information such as on the “Entry” of merchandise, and Tariff Classification, as well as more import specific information, such as on Eyewear, Textile and Apparel Rules of Origin, and Footwear.

More tips for new importers and exporters can be found here.

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com