In plain English
This is the party that customs treats as responsible for goods entering a country. That person or organization must take care of the required import paperwork and meet the related duty and tax obligations. The role can belong to either an individual or an organization.
In context
Here, "importer of record" identifies the person or organization officially responsible for the import and for meeting the customs requirements for those goods.
- Situation
- Completing customs, import, export, duty, declaration, and clearance administration
- What it communicates
- identifies the party role named in the customs clearance form.
Meaning limits
The term alone does not establish any role beyond official responsibility for the import and its customs obligations.
Examples
“For the shipment of spare parts, the university was listed as the importer of record and paid the duty, while the carrier only transported the crates.”
“When the boxes reached the port, customs contacted the importer of record for the missing paperwork.”