Who Is Liable When a Reseller Imports Hardware for a Client?
In 2026, a reseller sells a client a data centre buildout: servers, GPU clusters, switching, and the power hardware to run it, shipped to another country. The client wants it delivered, installed, and live. Simple enough as a sale, until the goods reach the destination border and customs asks the question that stops the shipment: […]
The Silent Middle: What Actually Happens to Your Hardware Between the Purchase Order and the Rack
A server refresh signed off in March, set for late April, is still half-installed in July. No port strike, no customs seizure, no single failure to blame. The delay hid where hardware projects almost always lose time: the operational stages between the factory and the rack, where the shipment changes hands and no one owns […]
Wrong HS Code on the Invoice: What to Do, Step by Step
You are looking at a commercial invoice and the HS code on it does not match the goods. Maybe it covers similar hardware but not this specific product. Maybe it is the code the supplier always uses regardless of what they ship. Either way, you are about to make a legally binding declaration to customs […]
How Long Does Customs Clearance Take in 2026? The Honest Answer Is Two Answers
Every guide to this question gives you an average, and the average is the least useful number in customs. The honest answer to how long does customs clearance take is that there are two answers, not one. If nothing about your shipment raises a flag, clearance is fast: often hours for express and air freight, […]
HS Codes for Electronics and Tech Equipment: The 2026 Field Guide
The same GPU can cost three different amounts to import, and nothing about the chip changes. Shipped as a bare component, it enters under one code, duty-free in most major markets. Mounted on a module and presented as a processing unit, it moves to a code that in the US can now carry a 25 […]
HS Code for Medical Devices: 9018 Explained, Subheadings, Duty, and Regulatory Approval
The HS code for medical devices is heading 9018, covering instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental, and veterinary sciences. But for medical devices, the code is rarely what stops the shipment. The real barrier is regulatory: a device can be correctly classified and low-duty and still be refused at the border for lacking […]
HS Code for Solar Panels and Inverters: 8541 and 8504 Explained, Duty, and Trade Tariffs
The HS code for solar panels is heading 8541, and the inverters that pair with them sit under 8504. The classification is usually simple. What makes solar hard to cost is that the base duty is often zero, yet solar cells and modules are among the most heavily trade-taxed goods anywhere, carrying anti-dumping, countervailing, and […]
HS Code for Lithium Batteries: 8507 Explained, Subheadings, Duty, and Dangerous Goods Rules
The HS code for lithium batteries is heading 8507, electric accumulators, with lithium-ion under 8507.60. The classification is usually the easy part. What catches importers is that lithium batteries are dangerous goods, so the same shipment also needs UN 38.3 test certification, Class 9 labelling, and compliant packaging, and any one missing stops the goods […]
HS Code for Routers and Switches: 8517 Explained, Subheadings, Duty, and Type Approval
The HS code for routers, switches, and most network equipment is heading 8517, apparatus for transmitting or receiving voice, images, or data over a network. The classification is usually the easy part. The real constraint is that much of this equipment must clear type approval from the destination country’s telecom regulator before it can be […]
HS Code for GPUs and Semiconductor Chips: 8542 Explained, Subheadings, Duty, and 2026 Controls
The HS code for GPUs and other semiconductor chips is heading 8542, electronic integrated circuits, with discrete GPUs, CPUs, and AI accelerators under 8542.31. But mount that chip into a module, a card, or a server, and the classification can shift out of 8542 entirely, and in 2026 that shift is where the duty and […]