Every consignment that crosses a border has an importer of record: the party legally answerable to the destination country's authorities for that import. On an international order from this site, that party is you.
This is not a term buried to shift blame. It determines who answers if a question is asked, and it is better understood before an order than during a customs hold.
What the importer is answerable for
Lawfulness of the import. Whether the material may enter the destination country at all, and whether any licence, permit or registration is required first. Rules vary widely between countries for materials of this kind, and a material that moves freely in one place may be controlled in another.
Duties, taxes and charges. Import duty, sales tax or VAT, customs brokerage and clearance fees, all assessed by the destination country and payable there. They are not included in the price paid here and cannot be quoted from here.
Documentation. Providing whatever the destination authority requires, in the form it requires, at the time it asks.
Accuracy. Declarations must describe what is actually in the consignment. A misdeclaration is the importer's problem regardless of who typed it.
Why the supplier cannot carry this for you
Not reluctance — position. The rules that apply are the destination country's, the entity permitted to hold or import a controlled material is one established there, and only the importer can hold a permit issued to them. A supplier can describe a shipment accurately and document it properly, and we do. Nobody outside your jurisdiction can be answerable within it.
What happens if something goes wrong at the border
Consignments can be held for inspection, detained pending documentation, returned to sender, seized, or destroyed. These are decisions of the destination authority, taken without reference to the seller.
Two consequences follow, and both sit in our Terms and Conditions:
- We are not responsible for goods seized, detained, destroyed or returned by customs or any other authority.
- No refund is due in those circumstances, except where the law requires one.
That is a hard rule, and it is stated plainly rather than left to be discovered. It exists because the outcome is decided by an authority neither party controls, on the basis of obligations that rest with the importer.
Delivery estimates exclude time in customs for the same reason. A clearance delay is not a late delivery.
Before you order
- Confirm the material may lawfully be imported where you are, and check the compound rather than the category.
- Establish whether a permit or licence is needed, and obtain it first.
- Confirm the receiving entity is one permitted to hold the material.
- Budget for duties and clearance charges as part of the cost.
- If it is unclear, ask your own customs authority or a broker. They answer this for a living; we cannot answer it for your country.
What we do
We describe consignments accurately, provide the documentation we hold including batch records, and answer questions about what is in a shipment. We will not misdeclare a consignment, undervalue it, or describe a material as something it is not — including on request. Those requests are declined without exception, and asking tells us something about the account.