Export documentation for importing from India to the US
The $800 de minimis exemption is gone. What documents you need, which are your supplier's job and which are legally yours, and the two filings buyers forget.
Kavita Tewari
Your Indian supplier produces the commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and bill of lading. You are legally responsible for the Importer Security Filing, the customs bond and the entry. The filings that carry penalties are yours, not theirs, and the $800 de minimis exemption that used to cover small shipments no longer exists.
Most guides on this subject present one long list of documents and leave you to work out who does what. That is the wrong shape, because the documents your supplier produces are rarely the ones that get you into trouble.
Here is the split, what changed recently, and the two obligations first-time importers consistently miss.
What changed, and it matters most to small brands
The de minimis exemption is suspended.
Shipments valued at $800 or less used to enter the US duty-free with minimal paperwork under Section 321. That ended.
The exemption was suspended for China and Hong Kong in February 2025, then globally from 29 August 2025 for everything except international postal shipments. CBP codified the suspension permanently in an interim final rule in June 2026, and Section 321 is repealed outright from 1 July 2027.
What this means in practice: a $300 sample shipment now requires a customs entry and pays duty, the same as a $30,000 container. There is no small-shipment shortcut left.
If you have read older sourcing advice about testing the market with small duty-free shipments, that route is closed. Budget for duty and brokerage on your samples.
Who produces what
Your supplier's documents
These come from India, and a competent exporter produces them without prompting.
Document | What it is | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
Commercial invoice | The legal record of the sale. Drives your duty calculation | Values must match reality. Understated invoices are fraud, and the exposure is yours |
Packing list | Contents, weights, dimensions, carton counts | Must reconcile exactly with the invoice |
Bill of lading or air waybill | Title and transport contract | Check the consignee is who you intend |
Certificate of origin | Confirms goods originated in India | Needed for duty calculation and any trade agreement treatment |
Shipping bill | Their Indian export declaration | Their side. You rarely see it, but it should exist |
Your documents, and these are the ones that matter
You are the importer of record. These obligations sit with you legally, regardless of who physically files them.
Importer Security Filing, the ISF or "10+2". Ocean freight only. Ten data elements from you, two from the carrier, transmitted to CBP at least 24 hours before the goods are loaded onto the vessel in India. Not before arrival. Before loading.
The ten elements are: seller, buyer, importer of record number, consignee number, manufacturer or supplier, ship-to party, country of origin, HTSUS number, container stuffing location and consolidator.
This is the single most commonly missed obligation by first-time importers, and late or inaccurate filings carry liquidated damages. Your supplier cannot do this for you. It requires information only you and your broker hold.
A customs bond. A financial guarantee that duties will be paid. Required for commercial imports over $2,500, and in practice you will need one regardless now that de minimis is gone.
Two options:
Single entry bond, covering one shipment. Fine if you import once or twice a year.
Continuous bond, covering twelve months of entries and usually also covering your ISF obligations. Cheaper per shipment for anyone importing regularly, and simpler.
Note that the ISF bond is technically a separate instrument from the entry bond. A continuous bond commonly covers both, which is one of several reasons most importers take one.
The entry. CBP Form 3461 to release the goods, then Form 7501, the entry summary, with your duty calculation. Your broker files both, but the accuracy is your legal responsibility.
HTS classification. Not a document, but it determines your duty rate and appears in your ISF and entry. Get it confirmed by a broker before you order, because it is technical, it is category-specific, and being wrong is expensive in both directions.
When each thing is due
When | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
Before you order | HTS classification confirmed | You and your broker |
Before first shipment | Customs bond in place | You |
24+ hours before vessel loading | ISF filed | You, via broker |
At shipment | Invoice, packing list, BOL, certificate of origin | Supplier |
On arrival | Entry filed, Form 3461 | Your broker |
Within 10 working days of release | Entry summary, Form 7501, duty paid | Your broker |
The ISF deadline is the one that catches people, because it falls before the goods leave India. If you are still arranging a broker when the container is being loaded, you are already late.
What actually goes wrong
The ISF is filed late or not at all. Almost always because a first-time importer did not know it existed. Liquidated damages, and potential holds on future shipments.
Invoice and packing list do not reconcile. Different carton counts, different weights, different values. Triggers examination, which costs time and money.
Wrong HTS classification. Either you overpay quietly for years, or you underpay and face a demand plus interest later.
Undervalued invoices. Sometimes offered helpfully by a supplier trying to save you duty. It is customs fraud, the importer of record carries it, and it is not worth discussing.
No bond in place when the goods arrive. The shipment sits, and storage accrues.
Category-specific agency requirements missed. Cosmetics need FDA compliance including MoCRA facility registration. Food needs FDA prior notice. Duty is a separate matter from admissibility, and a duty-paid shipment can still be refused entry.
Do you need a customs broker
For anything commercial from India, yes.
You can legally file your own entries. Almost nobody should. A broker handles classification, ISF, bond, entry and the agency-specific requirements, and their fee is small against a single misclassification or a missed ISF.
Engage one before you place your first order, not when the goods are on the water. Classification and bond setup both need to happen upstream, and the ISF deadline falls before the container leaves.
The honest caveat
This is orientation, not customs advice, and it was accurate on the date at the top. De minimis rules changed three times between February 2025 and June 2026.
We are not a customs broker and we do not file entries. Before you commit to an order, confirm requirements with a licensed broker and check the current position at US Customs and Border Protection.
Or let us do it
We know which builders export to the US regularly, which produce clean documentation without chasing, and which have never shipped there.
Tell us what you are making and where it is going, and we will point you at ones that have done it before. If we do not have the right one, we will say so.
FAQ
What documents do I need to import from India to the USA? From your supplier: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, and certificate of origin. From you as importer of record: an Importer Security Filing for ocean freight, a customs bond, and the entry and entry summary, CBP Forms 3461 and 7501. Your supplier's documents are routine. Yours carry the penalties.
Is the $800 de minimis exemption still available? No. It was suspended globally from 29 August 2025 for all modes except international post, codified permanently by CBP in June 2026, and Section 321 is repealed from 1 July 2027. Small shipments now require a customs entry and pay duty like any other shipment.
What is ISF 10+2 and who files it? The Importer Security Filing, required for ocean freight. Ten data elements from the importer and two from the carrier, transmitted to CBP at least 24 hours before the goods are loaded onto the vessel. It is the importer's legal obligation, usually filed by a customs broker. Your supplier cannot do it, and late filings carry liquidated damages.
Do I need a customs bond to import from India? Yes for commercial imports over $2,500, and in practice for anything commercial now that de minimis is gone. A single entry bond covers one shipment. A continuous bond covers twelve months and usually your ISF obligations too, and works out cheaper for anyone importing more than occasionally.
Who is responsible if the documentation is wrong? The importer of record, which is normally you. That includes classification errors and undervalued invoices, even where the supplier prepared the paperwork. This is the main reason to engage a customs broker before your first order rather than after.
Do I need a customs broker? Legally no, practically yes for anything commercial. Their fee is small compared with one misclassification or one missed ISF filing. Engage them before you order, because classification and bond setup happen upstream and the ISF deadline falls before the container leaves India.
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