For most commercial imports, only a business established in the UK holding a GB EORI number can act as Importer of Record. Non-UK companies without a British entity appoint a UK-established IOR provider like flexfrontier to fulfil the role on their behalf.

The importer must be established in the EU customs territory. A non-EU business with its own EU EORI and VAT registration can appoint an indirect customs representative under Article 18 UCC; a business with neither — the more common case — uses a full IOR service, where flexfrontier imports under its own established credentials across all 27 member states.

No. Acting as Importer of Record does not transfer ownership — we take on the customs and fiscal responsibilities of importation, while title to the goods remains with you or passes to your customer under your normal commercial terms.

The consignee is the party physically receiving the goods — often a warehouse, fulfilment centre or your customer. The Importer of Record is the party legally responsible for the customs declaration, duties and compliance. They can be the same entity, but for non-established sellers they usually are not.

Yes. That is exactly what an IOR service is for: flexfrontier acts as the locally established importer so you can ship into the UK and EU without incorporating a subsidiary, hiring staff or opening local offices.

Yes. That is exactly what an IOR service is for: flexfrontier acts as the locally established importer so you can ship into the UK and EU without incorporating a subsidiary, hiring staff or opening local offices.

Yes. Once goods are cleared into free circulation in any member state they can move throughout the single market, and flexfrontier's agreement covers imports into all 27 EU countries — Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Ireland and the rest — plus the UK under a separate GB arrangement.

Yes. Amazon will not act as Importer of Record for inbound FBA freight, so non-EU and non-UK sellers need a third-party IOR. We clear FBA and 3PL inbound stock into the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the rest of the EU, with the VAT and EPR registrations marketplaces ask for.

Usually not. In the UK we use Postponed VAT Accounting; in the EU we use deferment mechanisms such as the Netherlands' Article 23 licence, Belgium's ET 14000, France's mandatory reverse charge and Ireland's postponed accounting. Structured correctly, import VAT is declared and recovered on a VAT return rather than paid and lost at the border.

A signed representation mandate, your company registration documents, product information (descriptions, materials, intended use), and per-shipment commercial documents — invoice, packing list and transport details. For regulated goods we also review labelling and conformity documentation before the first shipment.

Pricing is a minimum fee per shipment or a percentage of the declared value — whichever is greater — with duty and import VAT passed through at cost and itemised. There are no setup fees for standard onboarding, and quotations are issued the same day.

Most clients are onboarded within 24 hours of returning our document pack. Registrations that depend on authorities — VAT numbers, certain product registrations — take longer, but we sequence the work so nothing blocks your first shipment unnecessarily.

We do not act as IOR for excise goods (alcohol, tobacco), weapons and dual-use items requiring licences we do not hold, or products we assess as non-compliant and unrectifiable. For most consumer and industrial goods — including regulated categories like electronics, cosmetics and food — we can act once the right registrations are in place, and we arrange those too.

Delivered Duty Paid is the Incoterm under which the seller bears every import cost and formality to the buyer's door. It is what UK and EU buyers increasingly demand — but customs law requires the importer to be locally established, so a foreign seller cannot perform its own DDP promise. An IOR closes that gap: we are the established importer, and your customer receives goods with nothing to do at the border.

It is the customs status goods gain once import formalities are completed and duty and VAT are settled: they are treated like domestically produced goods and can move anywhere in that customs territory — all 27 EU member states from a single EU clearance — with no further customs controls.

A broker files declarations in your name as a direct representative — the legal responsibility stays with you, which is exactly why brokers require you to be an established importer first. The IOR is the importer: we are named on the declaration, we carry the customs debt and compliance responsibility, and no local entity of yours is needed. Brokers process paperwork; an IOR takes the legal position.

Yes — it is a condition of the service, because the importer is liable for admissibility. Before goods ship we verify classification, labelling and marking requirements, and the registrations the product category needs (GPSR Responsible Person, CE economic operator, FBO and so on — services we provide in-house). Goods that would be stopped at the border are fixed before they fly, not after.

Yes. Onboarding runs from 24 hours, and consignments already held at a port or airport for want of a valid importer are a routine starting point — we assess what blocked the entry, take on the importer role, and work with the carrier and customs to release the goods.

Yes — our Exporter of Record service is the mirror of the IOR: FBA removals, returns, relocations and end-of-project equipment shipped back out with the declaration filed under our name and proof of export retained. Paired together, moving inventory between the UK, EU and the rest of the world becomes one managed flow.