Importer of Record IOR and Exporter of Record EOR services in Vietnam

EXTENDMAX – When your shipment lands Vietnam, you may quickly find out that some of the products need certain compliance requirement or import permit to be released. Or sometimes, there are doubts of the customs officer regarding certification or permit that need clarification from professional experienced handler. It could be the time to seek ExtendMax for the Importer of Record (IOR) or Exporter of Record (EOR) services. We are exceptionally good at IOR and EOR services for IT products such as firewall, switch, router, mobile phone, laptops, access points and other network appliances.

What is Importer of Record (IOR), Exporter of Record (EOR)

Importer of Record is an authorized entity (or person) that takes responsibility for an import. Importer of Record is also known as entity (or person) that put their name on importing documents as consignee and responsible to provide all necessary compliance requirement and license or permit for customs clearance process and pay related fee.

Exporter of Record is similar to IOR, but in term of exporting products out of a country. Sometimes, IOR and EOR are also known as “entrusted import” and “entrusted export” services.

Responsibility of Importer of Record, Exporter of Record

→ Ensuring import and export compliance pursuant to Vietnam regulations

→ Categorize the products, evaluate import / export requirement and respective cost

→ Apply for necessary certificate, license, and permit to import or export

→ Pay necessary relevant taxes, duties, and other fees for shipment

Why you need IOR and EOR for Vietnam market

Using IOR service enable you to access Vietnam market with great benefit as below:

• Using an IOR & EOR service allows your business to import products into Vietnam or export products out of Vietnam, breaking down barriers to market entry and enabling seamless global trade.

• You can avoid the complexities and costs of establishing a legal entity or fiscal presence in a foreign country, making market expansion faster and more cost-effective.

• The IOR  & EOR service integrates with your existing operations, ensuring minimal disruption. You don’t need to modify your core business processes to meet local regulatory requirements.

• Maintain full oversight and control of your supply chain while delegating the complexities of compliance, documentation, and regulatory management to the IOR & EOR.

• Using an IOR reduces delays in the supply chain by ensuring spare parts for warranty or replacement purposes are delivered quickly and efficiently to their destination, minimizing downtime for machinery or equipment requiring repairs.

• IOR & EOR services provide specialist knowledge in import regulations, licensing, and compliance, helping you navigate the complexities of international trade and avoid costly errors.

• With IOR & EOR support, your shipments clear customs smoothly, reducing delays and ensuring an efficient supply chain flow.

Additionally, import requirement for IT products to enter Vietnam is quite complicated and sometimes your shipment could get stuck at port due to certain requirements which cannot be accomplished quickly due to authority’s procedures or certification requirements. Sometimes, simply the importer is not qualified or not experienced enough to get through the process properly and quickly. Typical troubles are as follows:

• Civil Cryptography Products (CCP) dealer license and import permit which takes several months to obtain (if the applicant is qualified and meet all requirements). CCP dealer license and CCP import permit is usually required for IT products such as security appliance, firewall, gateway, router, switch, storage server, bank tokens…

• MIC type approval certification process for wireless products and ITE is complicated and hard to analyze certification cost for the shipment. For certain products (laptop, tablet, and mobile phone) a huge number of lithium battery test samples are required for testing and will be broken after test. If the importer is not well-prepared, the importer will get big trouble in preparing battery test samples.

• Certain IT products need to meet minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) for customs clearance.

• Certain IT products need import permit for Cyber Security Product (CSP). At this moment, only a short list of less than 100 companies in Vietnam has been licensed to trade and import CSP.

Who qualifies an Importer of Record for Vietnam

Any legally registered company possessing a Vietnam Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) is eligible to act as an importer. However, it is advisable to select a supplier that aligns with your expectations and product categories.

When choosing a supplier for IOR (Importer of Record) & EOR (Exporter of Record) services, ensure that:

1. The supplier's ERC includes the scope for both Importer of Record and Exporter of Record services.

2. The supplier has extensive experience with customs and tax regulations.

3. The supplier possesses comprehensive expertise in licensing and state quality inspections for the type of product you intend to import.

4. The supplier maintains a high reputation in the market, particularly those who are established providers for major brands.

The trading scope for foreign-invested logistics suppliers is generally restricted by the type and HS code of goods they are permitted to trade. Therefore, when engaging a supplier with overseas investment, it is crucial to meticulously verify the HS code and the product scope they are authorized to handle.

How to include Importer of Record in shipping documents

Based on practices and legal regulations detailed in the IOR or EOR agreement between both parties, the actual consingnee remains the owner of the goods, while the service company (the IOR) acts as the importer on the customs declaration for imported goods. The actual consingnee (the owner) is also responsible for paying the value of the goods to the seller (usually the exporter) and settling import duties and value-added tax (VAT) related to the customs-declared value of the goods.

In the reverse case, when exporting under an entrusted agreement, the actual exporter is the party receiving payment for the goods' value from the buyer and pays export duties and VAT related to the entrusted export's goods value. The service company acting as the EOR is listed as the exporter on the customs declaration for the exported goods.

An entrusted import or export contract, in cases where the goods' owner entrusts the import or export to a service company such as ExtendMax, is a mandatory document for entrusted import/export transactions. Furthermore, preparing a set of documents for entrusted import/export differs in several aspects from the typical import/export documentation. These differences include the following:

• The bill of lading lists the the IOR as consignee, with the owner listed as the "notify party."
• A commercial invoice is not used; instead, a proforma invoice is issued.
• The proforma invoice includes the IOR as the "Importer," while the owner is listed as the "notify party" or "consignee."
• Typically, any specialized inspection licenses are issued in the name of the IOR service provider.
• The commercial contract retains the name of the original buyer or seller (the goods' owner).
• When preparing the entrusted import/export documentation, the entrusted import/export contract must be submitted alongside.
• On the customs declaration, the importer IOR company is listed as "importer", and the goods' owner is recorded under the "import entrustor" section.

Below is a sample customs declaration form (clearance) for goods imported through the entrusted import method:

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The benefit of using ExtendMax’s IOR & EOR services

As a leading supplier in providing services for MIC certification and CCP licensing, ExtendMax offers huge benefit for using our services as follows:

→ Assess import requirements and compliance requirements quickly and precisely to prevent all troubles from arising, help customer controlling lead time and budget.

→ Available CCP dealer license for huge list of products, ready to apply for import CCP permit for the IT products. Therefore, we improve lead time for your delivery plan greatly.

→ Having a large network with local representatives of world-wide manufacturers then we can assist customers to leverage available resources and optimize the cost related to compliance requirements.

→ Providing smart solutions to save the shipment from troubles. We also provide clear consulting with evidence for client’s decision.

→ Having a large network with logistics supplier partners who are cooperating with us to provide Door-to-Door delivery services. In case the client would like to use a designated logistic supplier or forwarder, we are also happy to cooperate with.

Contact information

EXTENDMAX VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED

Hotline: +84 915 836 555 | Hanoi: +84 24 6666 3066

Email: consultant@extendmax.vn | phuong.tran@extendmax.vn

HO: ExtendMax Villa, C01-L18 An Vuong, Duong Noi urban area, Duong Noi ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi City, Vietnam