• Beware the Importer Of Record Changes Approaching

    By ZonSupport | Posted on October 25, 2026| Blog

    We all know about the US tarriffs. It seems there is some sort of announcement every day or so!

    We thought it was time we delved a little deeper on the mechanics of importing having read of numerous delays due to additional inspections and comments regarding process changes.

    A recent EcomCrew blog caught our attention. It covers what may be coming as well as providing clear steps to ensure you actually understand every step in the process.

    The statement “My broker handles all of that” could see you out of stock for months. Read on…

    A federal rule titled “Heightened Requirements for Foreign Importers of Record” entered White House regulatory review on September 24. The rule is still pending, its text has not been published, and there is no announced effective date.

    Nothing requires you to change your customs structure today. That does not make it safe to ignore.

    The rule is an interim final rule at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, implementing parts of Executive Order 14411. For anyone importing inventory into the US, it raises one practical question: whose name is legally attached to your customs entry?

    What the Government Has Confirmed

    The June 3 executive order on customs enforcement directs DHS to revise importer eligibility rules within 180 days. That period ends November 30, which is a deadline for agency action rather than the effective date of a seller obligation.

    The order calls for several changes.

    Importers may need minimum US assets, stronger bonding, expanded ownership and business disclosures, and good standing with CBP.

    Foreign importers of record would be blocked from informal entry.

    For formal entries, they could face limits on continuous bonds and may need CTPAT validation or a CTPAT-validated licensed customs broker.

    Those directions are confirmed. The rule language, transition period, exceptions, and implementation date are not.

    Amazon’s seller notice says nothing has changed yet. It also notes your importer of record might be your company, your freight forwarder, or your customs broker.

    If you have always told a supplier to ship DDP without asking whose importer number appears on the entry, that is the gap.

    Why This Could Change Landed Cost

    The importer of record carries responsibility for the entry, duty payment, and compliance. Amazon is the destination warehouse, not the party accepting legal liability for your inventory.

    Clearing US customs and working with a broker covers the base roles. The pending rule adds pressure exactly where many overseas sellers currently rely on a forwarder, a supplier affiliate, or a paid IOR service.

    If a foreign IOR loses access to informal entry, a shipment may require a more expensive formal process even at relatively low value.

    If a continuous bond becomes unavailable, the importer may need separate bond arrangements per entry.

    If the filing broker must hold CTPAT validation, some existing providers stop fitting the job.

    None of that can be priced precisely until CBP publishes final requirements. It can still affect four operating assumptions: brokerage and bond cost per shipment, customs data and document requirements, clearance time before inventory reaches FBA, and which legal entity carries customs liability.

    That belongs in a Q4 risk register even without a fee schedule attached.

    Check the Entry, Not the Shipping Quote

    Pull a recent CBP Form 7501 entry summary. Find the named importer of record and importer number, then compare that entity against the party named in your broker power of attorney, your customs bond, and your commercial invoice workflow.

    CBP has already tightened enforcement on importer identity. A Federal Register notice on Form 5106 accuracy says CBP can void an importer number when required identity information is incomplete or inaccurate.

    That enforcement began September 18 and is already in force, separate from the pending foreign-IOR rule.

    Get written answers from your broker on these six questions:

    1. Is the IOR on our recent entries a US entity or a foreign entity

    2. Who owns and controls that entity

    3. Is our Form 5106 information current

    4. What bond supports the entry, and whose bond is it

    5. Is the filing broker CTPAT-validated

    6. What changes if informal entry becomes unavailable

    If the answer is that the forwarder handles it, ask again. That describes a service relationship, not the legal structure on the customs record.

    Do Not Restructure on a Draft You Cannot Read

    The mistake available right now is inventing a deadline or forming a US entity because a pending rule exists.

    The executive order’s definition of a US importer looks past place of incorporation. Ownership, physical presence, real business activity, and tangible assets all appear in it.

    A shell company may not solve the problem, and a rushed IOR switch can create mismatches across bonds, powers of attorney, product registrations, and Amazon Global Logistics records.

    Map where the IOR sits in your current China-to-FBA shipping workflow, then build two landed-cost scenarios: your current setup, and formal entry through a qualified broker. Include brokerage, bond, document preparation, duty cash timing, and an extra week of inventory buffer as a sensitivity rather than a forecast.

    The development to watch is OIRA completing review or CBP publishing the interim final rule.

    Until then, verify the entity on your entries, clean up Form 5106 data, and get a written contingency plan from your broker.

    We have followed EcomCrew for years and suggest you do to!

    As always, ask us anything. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll know someone who does!

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