Importer of Record service in the Philippines

An Importer of Record is the legal party on the customs declaration responsible for goods entering the Philippines — declaring the shipment, paying duties and taxes, and complying with Philippine import regulations. Under Philippine law, this role can only be filled by an entity registered in the Philippines and holding import accreditation with the Bureau of Customs, plus any sector-specific licenses for the product category.

Foreign companies without a Philippine entity can't be the Importer of Record themselves. Through this service, Emerhub Philippines takes that role on your behalf — goods enter the country under our name, using our accreditation and licenses, while ownership of the goods and the brand remains entirely with you. It's commonly used by brands that want to start importing immediately without first setting up a Philippine company, or by companies bridging the gap while their own entity setup is in progress.

For most goods, once your supplier confirms Emerhub as the Importer of Record and we've reviewed your documents, the import can move forward immediately — typically within weeks of the first conversation.

For products requiring pre-import approval (cosmetics, food, supplements, medical devices), the relevant Philippine FDA or BPS approval needs to be in place before shipping. We can sequence that work in parallel with onboarding.

Emerhub Philippines is named as the consignee and Importer of Record on the official documentation. You remain the owner of the goods and the brand throughout — the arrangement is a service relationship, with our licenses and infrastructure working on your behalf.

Most general consumer and commercial goods can be handled. Some product categories require additional product registration or sector-specific approvals before import — for example, cosmetics, food, and supplements through the Philippine FDA, electrical and industrial products through BPS standards, or specific certifications for chemicals and medical devices.

We confirm category feasibility during initial document review. If a product needs registration in addition to the Importer of Record service, we can handle both.

Philippine customs calculates duties and taxes based on the HS code classification and declared customs value of your goods. Our team handles the calculation, filing, and settlement on your behalf during clearance.

The actual duty and tax amounts are passed through to you at cost. We confirm the applicable rates during the initial document review so you can factor them into your pricing.

Selling on marketplaces is a separate role from importing. The Importer of Record service gets your inventory legally into the Philippines. Acting as the marketplace seller — listing the products, processing customer payments, handling transactions — is a different service we offer called Seller of Record. We often run both engagements together for brands selling on Shopee, Lazada, or other Philippine marketplaces.

Both work. There's no minimum frequency or volume commitment. The service is useful for sporadic shipments where setting up your own import infrastructure isn't justified, and for ongoing imports while you test the market before committing to a permanent local entity.