Shopify & Amazon Sellers: Customs Compliance at Scale

If you sell on Shopify or Amazon and import your inventory from overseas, you are an importer. Not a marketplace participant. Not a platform user. An importer. That distinction has always been true legally, but it used to be practically irrelevant for many sellers. The de minimis exemption allowed shipments under $800 to enter the United States without formal entry, without duties, and without a customs bond. Sellers could move inventory across the border with minimal paperwork and zero duty payments.

That is over. With the suspension of de minimis, every commercial shipment entering the United States now requires formal entry through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Every shipment needs proper HTS classification. Every shipment incurs duties. And every importer needs a customs bond. This is not a temporary measure or a regulatory proposal. It is the current state of U.S. trade policy, and platform sellers who do not adapt face cargo holds, penalties, and supply chain disruptions.

This guide covers what Shopify merchants and Amazon FBA sellers specifically need to know about customs compliance, the common mistakes platform sellers make, and how to build a compliance infrastructure that scales with your business.

The Compliance Landscape for Platform Sellers in 2026

The shift from de minimis to formal entry is the largest regulatory change to affect e-commerce importers in a decade. Here is what it means in practice.

Every shipment requires formal entry. Whether you are importing a full container of inventory or a single carton of samples, CBP requires a formal customs entry filed through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system. This entry includes the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, HTS classification for every product, and the applicable duty calculation.

Duties are owed on all commercial imports. There is no value floor below which goods enter duty-free. A $50 shipment of phone cases and a $50,000 shipment of apparel both require duty payment. Rates vary by product category, material, and country of origin, ranging from 0% to over 40% with tariff stacking. For a detailed breakdown of rates by product category, see our duty rate guide for consumer goods.

A customs bond is mandatory. No bond, no release. CBP holds your cargo until a valid bond is on file. For platform sellers importing regularly, a continuous customs bond at $400 to $500 per year is far more cost-effective than single entry bonds at $50 to $100 per shipment. Read our e-commerce customs bond guide for the full cost analysis.

You must be registered as an importer of record. CBP needs to know who is legally responsible for each import shipment. That person or entity is the importer of record (IOR). As a platform seller importing your own inventory, you are the IOR. You need to file CBP Form 5106 to register with customs and obtain your importer number.

Shopify-Specific Considerations

Shopify provides a powerful e-commerce platform for building and managing your online store. It does not provide customs brokerage services for inventory imports. Understanding what Shopify handles and what it does not is critical for compliance.

What Shopify Does

Shopify handles your storefront, payment processing, and customer-facing logistics. Shopify Markets and Markets Pro help merchants sell internationally by calculating duties and taxes at checkout for cross-border sales to customers outside the United States. Shopify Shipping provides domestic and international shipping labels. These features are designed for outbound customer orders, not inbound inventory imports.

What Shopify Does Not Do

Shopify does not file customs entries for your inventory imports. Shopify does not classify your products for HTS purposes. Shopify does not procure customs bonds. Shopify does not act as your importer of record. Shopify does not handle FDA, CPSC, FCC, or any other regulatory compliance for products you import.

If you are a Shopify merchant importing inventory directly from overseas manufacturers, you need a separate customs brokerage relationship that is completely independent of your Shopify account.

Shopify Plus Merchants with Direct Imports

Shopify Plus merchants often import at higher volumes and may work with multiple overseas suppliers. The compliance requirements scale accordingly. More suppliers means more products to classify, more entries to file, and more potential for compliance errors. Shopify Plus merchants importing from 5 or more suppliers should maintain a comprehensive HTS classification catalog, establish standing instructions with their customs broker for recurring shipment types, and review their duty exposure quarterly as tariff programs change.

Using a 3PL vs. Being IOR Yourself

Many Shopify merchants use third-party logistics providers (3PLs) for warehousing and fulfillment. Some 3PLs offer to act as the importer of record on your behalf. This can simplify logistics, but it comes with tradeoffs. When a 3PL is your IOR, they control the customs entry process. You may have less visibility into HTS classifications, duty payments, and compliance decisions. If the 3PL makes a classification error, you may still face downstream consequences if CBP determines the correct IOR should have been you.

For most growing Shopify brands, being the IOR yourself and working directly with a customs broker gives you better control over your compliance posture and landed cost calculations. Your customs broker files entries under your IOR number, you pay duties directly, and you maintain full visibility into your import operations.

Amazon FBA-Specific Considerations

Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a fulfillment service. Amazon stores your inventory in their warehouses and ships orders to customers on your behalf. This creates a common and dangerous misconception: many FBA sellers believe Amazon handles customs because Amazon handles everything else.

Amazon Is Not Your Importer of Record

This is the most important sentence in this section: Amazon does not act as your importer of record for inventory you send to FBA warehouses. When you import goods from overseas to stock Amazon's fulfillment centers, you are the importer. You are responsible for customs entry filing, duty payment, bond requirements, HTS classification, and compliance with all applicable regulations.

Amazon's terms of service are explicit on this point. Amazon requires that all products delivered to their fulfillment centers be legally imported and comply with all applicable laws. If CBP seizes goods destined for an FBA warehouse because of compliance failures, Amazon is not liable. You are.

Importing Into FBA Warehouses

The logistics of importing into FBA warehouses add complexity to the customs process. Amazon assigns fulfillment centers based on their own inventory distribution algorithms. You may not know which warehouse your goods will be sent to until after you create a shipment plan. This affects your customs entry because the entry must specify the port of entry and destination.

Best practices for FBA imports include shipping to a single port of entry and using domestic freight to distribute to FBA warehouses, rather than trying to clear customs at multiple ports. This simplifies your customs brokerage, reduces the chance of entry errors, and gives you a single point of control over the import process.

You should also coordinate your customs broker and your FBA shipment timing. If your goods are cleared through customs but Amazon is not ready to receive them, you will incur warehouse storage charges. If Amazon is ready but your customs entry is delayed, you lose selling time. Tight coordination between your broker, freight forwarder, and FBA shipment plan prevents these gaps.

Amazon-Specific Compliance Risks

FBA sellers face several compliance risks that non-Amazon importers do not.

Product safety requirements. Amazon enforces product safety standards through its listing requirements. If your imported product does not meet CPSC, FCC, or FDA requirements, Amazon can suppress your listing, destroy your inventory, or suspend your account. These are the same agencies whose regulations CBP enforces at the border. A product that clears customs without proper testing or certification can still be pulled from Amazon's catalog.

Labeling requirements. Both CBP and Amazon have labeling requirements, but they are not identical. CBP requires country of origin marking on all imported goods (19 CFR 134). Amazon requires FNSKU labels for FBA inventory. Meeting one does not satisfy the other. Your products must comply with both.

Intellectual property enforcement. CBP actively seizes goods that infringe on registered trademarks and patents. If you are importing products that even resemble trademarked goods, CBP may detain and seize them. Amazon has its own Brand Registry and IP enforcement mechanisms. Getting caught at either level can end your business.

What Platform Sellers Need

Whether you sell on Shopify, Amazon, or both, the compliance requirements for importing inventory are the same. Here is the complete checklist.

Importer of Record Registration

You must register with CBP as an importer of record. This requires filing CBP Form 5106 with your business information and Employer Identification Number (EIN). Your customs broker typically handles this filing as part of onboarding. The process takes 1 to 3 business days.

Customs Bond

A continuous customs bond is the right choice for virtually all platform sellers. At $400 to $500 per year, it covers unlimited shipments at all ports. Single entry bonds at $50 to $100 each only make sense if you import fewer than four times per year — and most platform sellers import far more frequently. See our e-commerce customs bond guide for detailed cost analysis.

HTS Classification for Your Catalog

Every product you import needs a 10-digit HTS code. This code determines your duty rate. For a seller with 50 SKUs, that is 50 classification decisions, each with significant cost implications. For a seller with 500 SKUs, the complexity scales accordingly. A licensed customs broker should classify your products based on their actual specifications, materials, and construction — not based on what your supplier tells you the code is.

Licensed Customs Broker

A licensed customs broker files your customs entries with CBP, manages your bond, classifies your products, and ensures your imports comply with all applicable regulations. You cannot file formal entries with CBP yourself (only licensed brokers and importers with their own customs house broker licenses can file entries). For platform sellers, a broker who understands e-commerce import patterns — frequent small shipments, large SKU counts, rapid product changes — is essential.

Common Mistakes Platform Sellers Make

These are the errors we see most frequently from Shopify and Amazon sellers transitioning to formal entry.

Relying on the Platform to Handle Customs

Neither Shopify nor Amazon clears your inventory through customs. Shopify Markets Pro handles duty calculation for outbound cross-border customer orders. Amazon FBA handles fulfillment after your goods are in their warehouse. The gap between your overseas supplier and a U.S. warehouse — the customs clearance process — is entirely your responsibility.

Using Informal Entry for Commercial Goods

Informal entry (Type 11) is designed for personal-use imports valued under $2,500. It is not appropriate for commercial inventory, even if an individual shipment falls below the threshold. CBP distinguishes between personal imports and commercial imports based on the purpose of the goods, not solely their value. Importing commercial inventory through informal entry can result in penalties, seizure, and loss of importing privileges.

Using Your Supplier's HTS Codes

Many overseas suppliers provide HTS codes on their commercial invoices. These codes are frequently wrong. Your Chinese supplier may use Chinese tariff codes (which share the first 6 digits but differ in the last 4), may use outdated codes, or may deliberately misclassify to make their products appear cheaper at the border. You are legally responsible for the accuracy of HTS codes on your customs entry, regardless of where you got them. Have a licensed customs broker verify every classification.

Ignoring FDA, CPSC, and Other Agency Requirements

Customs compliance is not just about CBP. Products that are regulated by the FDA (food, cosmetics, supplements), CPSC (consumer products, children's products), FCC (electronics), or EPA (chemicals, pesticides) have additional requirements that must be met at the border. A children's toy imported without CPSC testing will be detained. A skin care product without proper FDA registration will be held. Your customs broker should identify all Partner Government Agency (PGA) requirements for your products before your first shipment.

Not Reconciling Duties Against Product Pricing

With de minimis, your landed cost was essentially FOB price plus shipping. Now, duties add 5% to 40%+ on top of that. Many platform sellers have not updated their retail pricing to reflect this new cost structure. If your product pricing was set when you were paying zero duties, your margins are now lower than you think. Recalculate your COGS with accurate duty rates and adjust pricing accordingly.

Scaling Compliance as Your Business Grows

For small sellers importing a handful of products, compliance is manageable. But platform sellers grow fast, and compliance complexity grows with them. Here is how to build a compliance infrastructure that scales.

Maintain an HTS Classification Catalog

Create a master spreadsheet or database that maps every SKU to its 10-digit HTS code, duty rate, country of origin, and any applicable special tariff programs. When you add new products, classify them before the first shipment arrives. When you change materials or suppliers, re-evaluate the classification. This catalog becomes the single source of truth for your customs entries.

Review Classifications Annually

Tariff rates change. Trade programs change. Section 301 tariffs have been modified multiple times since their initial implementation. Free trade agreements can alter your rate if you shift sourcing to a qualifying country. An annual classification review ensures your duty rates reflect current law and your products are optimally classified within the bounds of accuracy.

Establish Standing Instructions with Your Broker

As your import volume grows, you should not be providing instructions for each individual shipment. Establish standing instructions with your customs broker that cover your standard products, typical entry types, preferred duty payment methods, and escalation procedures for holds or examinations. This reduces processing time and error rates on routine shipments.

Track Duty Spend as a Line Item

Duty payments should be a visible line item in your financial reporting, not buried in COGS. Tracking duty spend separately lets you identify classification optimization opportunities, measure the impact of sourcing changes, and forecast cash flow requirements for duty payments. For platform sellers importing $500,000+ in annual product value, duty spend can exceed $100,000 per year — it deserves dedicated tracking.

Plan for Regulatory Changes

Trade policy is not static. Tariff rates, trade programs, and regulatory requirements change with each administration and each congressional session. A customs broker who monitors regulatory changes and proactively communicates impacts to your business is worth more than one who simply files entries. At Greenwich Mercantile, we track regulatory changes affecting our clients' product categories and communicate impacts before they take effect.

For a comprehensive overview of what first-time importers need to establish, read our first-time importer guide. For platform sellers specifically, visit our e-commerce and DTC industry page to learn how Greenwich Mercantile supports Shopify and Amazon businesses.

This guide reflects U.S. customs compliance requirements for platform sellers as of April 2026. Regulatory requirements are subject to change. Sellers should verify current requirements through CBP and consult with a licensed customs broker for situation-specific guidance.