USA Tax Update: CBP Will Void Importer of Record Numbers from September 18, 2026 : What International Sellers Must Check Now

by Ariful | Aug 22, 2026 | US Updates

TITLE: U.S. Importer of Record Data: Act Before 18 September 2026 to Avoid Cargo Delays

If you import goods into the United States, check your Importer of Record data now. From 18 September 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will immediately void Importer of Record (IOR) numbers linked to inaccurate or incomplete information.

This affects international sellers, non-resident importers, DDP arrangements, Amazon FBA sellers, and businesses using third-party fulfilment centres.

The rule is set out in CBP’s Federal Register notice, 91 FR 53627, published on 19 August 2026. It is the first concrete implementation step under Executive Order 14411, signed on 3 June 2026.

Act before 18 September to prevent cargo delays

A voided IOR number is invalid for all purposes. This includes making entry for imported merchandise.

In practical terms, your cargo may stop at the port because CBP cannot accept an entry using that IOR number. The notice does not provide an automatic cure or grace period before the number becomes invalid.

You may then face:

• Delayed cargo release.
• Additional storage and demurrage charges.
• Missed customer delivery deadlines.
• Disruption to Amazon, Shopify, or marketplace fulfilment.
• Emergency customs and logistics costs.
• Rework with your customs broker and freight forwarder.

Do not assume that a long-standing IOR number is safe. CBP is reviewing both new and existing importer records.

Verify every field on CBP Form 5106

CBP Form 5106, also called the Importer Identity Form, records the information used to identify your business as an IOR.

CBP requires the information to be accurate, complete, current, and directly connected to the IOR.

Check these details:

1. Legal name of the importer.
2. EIN, SSN, or CBP-assigned importer number.
3. Mailing address.
4. Physical business address.
5. Telephone number.
6. Email address.

The physical address is now particularly important.

Use the actual business location

Your physical address must be the actual location of the business or individual acting as the IOR.

It must not be:

• A registered agent’s address.
• A customs broker’s address.
• A freight forwarder’s address.
• A post office box.
• A business service centre.
• A fulfilment provider’s address that is not your business location.
• Another person’s or company’s address.

For example, suppose your UK company imports stock into the United States under a non-resident importer structure. If your Form 5106 lists your U.S. customs broker’s office as the physical address, that information may be defective.

Replace it with the address that genuinely belongs to the IOR. CBP’s notice states that the principal’s home address may be used where it is the physical address associated with the business or individual.

Use importer-owned email and phone details

The email address and phone number must belong to the IOR.

Do not list:

• Your customs broker’s shared inbox.
• Your freight forwarder’s telephone number.
• An accountant’s personal email.
• A former agent’s contact details.
• A fulfilment centre’s customer service number.

This requirement matters because CBP sends a voiding notice to the email address most recently submitted by the IOR.

If that email belongs to a broker, former agent, or inactive employee, you may not receive the warning. You might only discover the problem when a shipment is stopped.

Confirm your customs broker has a direct power of attorney

Your customs broker must hold a valid power of attorney (POA) executed directly with the IOR.

Under 19 CFR 111.36(c)(3), the broker must execute the POA directly with the importer of record. It cannot be executed through a freight forwarder or another third party.

Check that:

• The POA names the correct legal entity.
• The signatory has authority to act for that entity.
• The POA was agreed directly between you and the broker.
• The broker is authorised to submit Form 5106 information.
• Any old or replaced POA has been reviewed.
• Your broker can contact you directly for verification.

A forwarder or logistics provider may introduce you to a broker. It cannot replace the direct legal relationship required between the IOR and the broker.

This is not just an administrative detail. CBP expects brokers to exercise due diligence and avoid transmitting information they know, or should know, is false or misleading.

Understand the liability behind inaccurate data

Incorrect information can create more than a shipment delay.

The Federal Register notice refers to possible consequences under several laws:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1001: knowingly and wilfully making a materially false statement to the U.S. government can lead to fines or imprisonment.
• False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729: inaccurate information material to duties or other amounts payable to CBP may create civil liability, including treble damages and applicable civil penalties.
• 19 U.S.C. § 1641: customs brokers may face penalties, suspension, or revocation for certain violations involving inaccurate information, inadequate due diligence, or other customs business failures.

These provisions do not mean that every innocent clerical error will result in prosecution. They do mean that you should correct known inaccuracies promptly and retain evidence showing how you verified your records.

Do not ask a broker or agent to “use an address that works” if it is not your genuine business address.

Check these international seller structures first

Some business models have a higher practical risk of outdated or third-party IOR information.

Non-resident importers

You may be a non-resident importer if your overseas company owns the goods and assumes responsibility for entry into the United States.

Review your records if a U.S. broker created your IOR account years ago. Confirm that the overseas company is correctly identified and that the physical address belongs to that company or its principal, where permitted.

DDP arrangements

Under Delivered Duty Paid arrangements, the overseas seller may remain responsible for import clearance, duties, and taxes.

Do not assume that your logistics provider is the true importer. Identify who is legally acting as the IOR for each shipment and confirm that the Form 5106 information matches that party.

Third-party fulfilment centres

A fulfilment warehouse may store and dispatch your inventory. It is not automatically your business address.

If your IOR record uses the fulfilment centre’s address, ask your customs broker to review the entry structure and update the importer information where necessary.

Ecommerce marketplace sellers

Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Etsy, and other platforms may coordinate fulfilment or shipping. They do not automatically remove your customs obligations.

If you sell from the UK into the United States, review your import records alongside your wider compliance processes. Our guides on Amazon FBA from the UK to the USA and ecommerce shipping and taxation provide useful background.

Complete this pre-18 September checklist

Use the following checklist before the enforcement date.

1. Identify every active IOR number

List each IOR number u

USA Tax Update: New FDDEI Proposed Rules Exclude Gains from Intangible and Depreciable Property Sales

by Ariful | Aug 21, 2026 | US Updates

Treasury and the IRS have issued proposed regulations clarifying how certain property sales affect Foreign-Derived Deduction Eligible Income (FDDEI), formerly known as Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (FDII).

The proposed rules under REG-117130-25 exclude income and gain from the sale or other disposition of intangible property and property subject to depreciation, amortisation, or depletion from Deduction Eligible Income (DEI). The exclusion generally applies to transactions occurring after 16 June 2025.

This update matters if your US corporation sells intellectual property, brand assets, machinery, equipment, or other business property to foreign buyers.

The key USA tax update in brief

The Federal Register proposed regulations clarify the following:

• Income and gain from qualifying intangible property sales is excluded from DEI.
• Income and gain from sales of depreciable, amortisable, or depletable property is also excluded.
• Excluded income cannot form part of FDDEI.
• Ordinary-course inventory sales generally remain eligible if the other FDDEI requirements are met.
• Leases and licences are not treated as sales for this exclusion.
• The rules include deemed sales, deemed dispositions, and transactions subject to Section 367(d).
• Taxpayers may rely on the proposed rules if they apply them fully and consistently.
• Comments must be submitted by 5 October 2026.

The proposed regulations are expected to be finalised by 4 January 2027. However, the underlying statutory exclusion already applies to relevant dispositions after 16 June 2025.

Understand what has changed under Section 250

Section 250 allows an eligible domestic corporation to claim a deduction for qualifying foreign-derived income. For tax years beginning after 31 December 2025, the deduction is generally 33.34% of FDDEI, subject to the applicable rules and limitations.

The new exclusion targets income from selling property that represents an underlying business asset or intangible value. It prevents a corporation from claiming the FDDEI deduction on a foreign sale of property that was used or held as a business asset.

The proposed regulations create the term “excluded property sales income.” This includes income and gain from the sale or other disposition of:

1. Intangible property under Section 367(d)(4).
2. Property that is, or has been, subject to depreciation under Section 167.
3. Property subject to amortisation.
4. Property subject to depletion under Section 611.

This classification depends on the property and the seller’s tax treatment. It does not depend only on whether the asset is fully depreciated or whether the buyer is located outside the United States.

Separate inventory sales from business asset sales

Do not treat every foreign sale of physical property as excluded.

The proposed rules distinguish between:

• Ordinary inventory sales, which generally remain eligible.
• Sales of property used in the seller’s business, which may be excluded.

For example, a US manufacturer may sell products that it has always held as inventory. Those sales can remain within DEI and may qualify for FDDEI if the products are sold to a foreign person for foreign use.

However, if the manufacturer sells machinery that it used in its own production facility, the gain may be excluded. That machinery was a depreciable business asset in the seller’s hands.

This distinction is essential for ecommerce groups, manufacturers, software companies, and digital businesses with mixed revenue streams.

Worked example: a fully amortised brand asset sold to a foreign buyer

Assume a US domestic corporation owns a trademark connected to its online brand.

The company acquired the trademark several years ago and fully amortised its tax basis. The adjusted basis is now zero. In 2026, the company sells the trademark to an unrelated foreign corporation for $500,000.

The transaction produces:

• Sale proceeds: $500,000
• Adjusted tax basis: $0
• Taxable gain: $500,000
• Buyer: Foreign corporation
• Transaction date: 2026

The buyer’s foreign location does not make the gain FDDEI. Because the trademark is intangible property under the relevant Section 250 rules, the $500,000 gain is treated as excluded property sales income.

The corporation must therefore remove the gain from DEI. It cannot include the gain in FDDEI and cannot claim the Section 250 deduction on that amount.

For illustration, if the transaction had otherwise generated qualifying FDDEI and the 33.34% rate applied, the potential deduction on $500,000 would have been $166,700 before other limitations. Under the proposed rules, that deduction is unavailable because the gain is excluded from DEI.

The same principle can apply to a fully depreciated machine. A zero adjusted basis does not make the asset eligible. If the machine was of a character subject to depreciation in the seller’s hands, the gain from its foreign sale is excluded.

A licence may be treated differently from a sale

The proposed regulations preserve an important distinction between a sale and a licence.

A transaction that is genuinely a licence under general federal income tax principles is not treated as a sale for this specific exclusion. Income from a qualifying foreign licence may therefore remain within DEI and potentially FDDEI.

For example:

• A non-exclusive, revocable licence of software may remain eligible.
• A lease of equipment may remain eligible.
• An agreement transferring substantially all rights in a trademark or copyright may be treated as a sale, even if the contract calls itself a licence.

This is why you must review the legal and tax substance of the arrangement. The label on the contract is not decisive.

The proposed regulations also clarify that a sale of a copyrighted article, such as a copy of software or digital content, is not automatically a sale of intangible property. A sale of the underlying copyright is different from a sale of a copy.

What this means for UK and international sellers

A UK company selling products into the United States does not automatically claim the Section 250 deduction. FDDEI applies primarily to eligible US domestic corporations and certain individuals making a Section 962 election.

However, the update still matters if your international structure includes:

• A US C corporation.
• A US subsidiary purchasing or selling intellectual property.
• A US LLC taxed as a corporation.
• A UK parent with a US corporate subsidiary.
• A cross-border ecommerce group transferring brand rights or operating assets.
• A digital business with US and UK entities.

A London-based ecommerce company may sell inventory to US customers through a US subsidiary. Ordinary inventory revenue may be treated differently from the sale of the brand, warehouse equipment, or software rights used by the business.

Your US LLC’s tax classification also matters. An LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity does not claim the Section 250 corporate deduction in the same way as a domestic C corporation.

Separately, if your business acts as one of the us importers of record, customs responsibilities, im