5 Tips to Start Your Own Importing Business

When you’ve decided to go with your own importing business, here are a few tips to get you started. It is always good to know as much as possible way ahead, to avoid making mistakes in the long run.

1. There are several countries that have embassies or consulates in your country and you can take advantage of that. Pass by their offices and ask for industry directories, manufacturer lists from their countries. They will be happy to give you a copy. This way you can see what interest you from the list of products/manufacturers that the country has on offer.
2. Each country is different, but they all require a set of procedures, registrations that you need to follow. You have to enquire about these at your local tax department. Also you need to find out about licensing agreement for the products you want to import.
3. When trading internationally, you need to have a good knowledge about Letters of Credit, which are the most common form of payment when dealing internationall on a larger amount. You can ask at your local bank branch about it, they will be able to help you. The Letter of Credit basically will minimize your risk of having to pay in advance for goods.
4. Don’t forget about Duties. Do you have to pay any? Duties depend on the value or the quantity of the products you want to import, as well as on the product’s tariff classsification in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the US. You can buy this at the US Government Printing Office.
5. Another aspect is custom requirements. If you are an individual that you want the goods for yourself or for your business, you can clear your own imports through Customs. You don’t usually need a permit or license in this case. However, the imported products have to meet the same legal requirements that are available for domestic goods. You can obtain a lot of information on customs requirements for imports at your local customs office.

These are just a few of the manu things you need to be aware of when intending to import products. This list is there mostly to make you aware of them. It is by no means an extensive ist of completely accurate information, since that changes and differs from country to country, from year to year.