The process
How it works
Structured, repeatable, and built to be explained to an auditor.
Intake and review
Your current import structure is analyzed: SKUs, HTS classifications, and landed cost components. You provide a SKU list and product descriptions, current invoices and landed cost structure, supplier and country of origin details, and historical entry data if available.
Compliance and valuation strategy
The appropriate valuation methodology is determined under 19 U.S.C. §1401a, and cost elements are assessed against the statute.
Import structuring, before entry
A compliant import model is established, with the Importer of Record provider serving as IOR. Documentation and valuation are set before goods enter the United States. Nothing depends on post-entry corrections.
Execution through licensed brokers
Entries are filed through licensed customs brokers in the Automated Commercial Environment, with the Importer of Record maintaining compliance oversight. Your existing broker can remain the filer.
Ongoing monitoring and audit support
Records are maintained under 19 C.F.R. Part 163. CBP inquiries, including CF-28 requests for information and CF-29 notices of action, are supported with documentation prepared at the time of entry rather than assembled afterward.
This sequence is the whole point. Structuring happens prior to importation. The broker files. The Importer of Record carries the IOR obligations.
What stays the same
Your supplier relationships
The structure operates at the import and compliance layer, not the commercial sales layer. Suppliers continue issuing invoices. Your pricing, margins, and commercial terms remain intact.
Your accounting
Customs value is a legal construct under 19 U.S.C. §1401a. Financial reporting follows GAAP and IFRS. These are different measurements and neither disturbs the other.
Your broker
If you have one you are happy with, your broker remains the licensed filer on every entry.
Related
- What an Importer of Record is responsible for
- Who needs a US Importer of Record
- Customs valuation under 19 U.S.C. §1401a
- US Importer of Record services, what a service IOR structure is and is not
- Importer of Record definitions, the terms that decide whose name goes on the entry
- Frequently asked questions
- What changed in 2026
- Do I need a US Importer of Record
- Importer of Record requirements in 2026
- Importer of Record deadlines, fourth quarter 2026
- About IOR USA
See if you qualify
Tell us what you import and how your entries are filed today, and we’ll show you where you stand.