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End to End IOR
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We navigate the logistics, regulations, and compliance, connecting global businesses to a growing digital economy. We help you import compliantly, reduce risks, and accelerate your time to market.
Possibly—after we check that this shipment is eligible. An IOR Service is a legal and operational role in the import transaction. It is not a way to skip registration, licensing or product restrictions. Sri Lanka Customs places responsibility on the importer to declare goods correctly and pay the duties that apply before release. The Customs Declaration, commonly called a CusDec, is filed online through a licensed Customs House Agent after arrival and after the shipping agent issues the Delivery Order. An IOR Service arrangement therefore has to line up the registered importer, payment route, HS classification, valuation, product approvals and shipment documents before dispatch. Wireless features, batteries, medical use, radiation, equipment condition and refrigerant type can each change the route. See Sri Lanka Customs.
An assessment is often worth doing when:
A different route may be better when:
The assessment gives one of three practical results: suitable as scoped, suitable subject to approvals or lead time, or unsuitable with an alternative route to investigate.
Sri Lankan practice uses “Customs House Agent” (CHA) and “declarant” for the licensed filing function. A CHA does not automatically become the importer or take the importer’s legal responsibilities. The importer of record Service is the legally accountable party: it holds the declared import position, supports registration and approvals, confirms transaction records, and is responsible for a correct declaration and payment. The Customs House Agent is the licensed filing party: it prepares and submits the CusDec through Customs systems and coordinates queries and release under the importer’s authority. The carrier or forwarder handles transport: it moves the shipment, manages transport documents and manifest processes, and coordinates terminals. Manifest submission now runs through ASYHUB. The exporter and recipient supply commercial evidence: accurate invoices, packing data, technical files, origin evidence, end-use details and site readiness. The recipient may also hold sector approvals.
ASYHUB is the cargo-manifest integration for shipping lines, forwarders and ports. It should not be confused with the importer’s CusDec filing in ASYCUDA World. See Customs ASYHUB guidance.
Each check can stop or reshape the shipment. A clean freight quote does not answer the importer or product-regulatory questions. The process is staged so a restriction is found before it becomes freight, storage or re-export cost.
Confirm the party eligible to import, its TIN, VAT and Customs registration position, the buyer and seller, and how payment will be made. Regulations No. 6 of 2026, effective 19 June 2026, require the bank to report transaction and importer data and prevent an advance import payment where the importer is not an eligible Customs-registered importer. Banks handling advance import payments must capture a unique transaction number and the importer’s TIN. The importer must be eligible and registered with Customs. The payment plan can no longer be separated from the importer plan. See Gazette 2493/39.
Map each item to the current 2026 tariff, verify customs value and origin evidence, screen the Import Control List and later gazettes, and flag evidence gaps. Older checklists can miss controls added after the tariff year began, so the assessment checks later gazettes as well as the consolidated lists. The Customs tariff page lists the 2026 tariff and was updated in May 2026. Classification drives the starting duty and levy analysis. An advance ruling can be requested from the Commodity Classification Branch when the HS position is uncertain. Rates and controls are specific to the tariff line. The official tariff page warns that the published website is for information, and that the governing law and gazettes prevail. See the Customs Import Tariff.
Review model, radio features and frequencies, condition, quantity, medical claims, battery chemistry, radiation, refrigerant and intended user. Check TRCSL, SLSI, NMRA, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Council or another authority against the product—not only the shipment description.
Line up the invoice, packing list, transport documents, Delivery Order, approvals, origin records, value support and delivery data. Decide whether the route is ordinary import, bonded, BOI-approved, temporary/project or re-export—and document the obligations of that route. Only after the acceptance conditions and required pre-shipment evidence are recorded should freight be booked. Then coordinate the Delivery Order, online CusDec, Customs or regulator queries, duty payment, release, delivery and retention of the final evidence pack.
Clearance dates are not guaranteed.
Descriptions such as “IT equipment” or “data-centre hardware” are too broad for an import decision. The practical screen starts at model, feature, condition and end use. This is an indicative regulator screen. Confirm it against the current HS line, specification and gazette.
For servers, storage and non-radio IT, the likely screen is Customs registration, classification, value, origin and the Import Control List. Embedded radios, batteries, cryptographic or security use, condition and accessories can change the route. Assess the shipment. Do not assume all IT needs TRCSL approval. For wireless, network and telecom equipment, the likely screen is the TRCSL type-approval register, import authorization, Customs clearance/NOL and the spectrum route. Make and model, radio bands, power, quantity, own use, vendor status and Defence clearance where applicable can change the route. This is conditional. Embedded Wi-Fi/Bluetooth exemptions can apply to desktops and laptops. Check the exact model. TRCSL publishes a current type-approval register plus standard, simplified, own-use, commercial, Customs-clearance and re-export forms. A model already in the register may follow a different route, but quantity, user status and frequency licensing still matter. See TRCSL type approval. For used or refurbished radio equipment, the likely screen is the TRCSL Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment rules, including whether the item falls within RTTE. Stop. The published rules state that import permission shall not be granted for used/refurbished RTTE. See the RTTE Rules. For used computers, laptops or processing units, the likely screen is the Import and Export Control List, using HS classification and actual condition. Stop and verify. Several used/reconditioned headings are listed as suspended import-control-licence categories. See the Control List.
For batteries, power and UPS components, the likely screen is an HS and chemistry review and the SLSI Import Inspection Scheme where a designated heading applies. Battery type, whether supplied separately, model standard and dangerous-goods transport handling can change the route. This is conditional. Selected primary cells and lead-acid starter batteries appear on the designated list. Not every UPS is automatically in scope. See the SLSI list. For medical and diagnostic devices, the likely screen is NMRA registration and import licence, and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Council for ionizing radiation or X-ray equipment. Intended medical purpose, claims, risk class, local marketing authorization holder and radiation source can change the route. This is conditional. A foreign manufacturer generally works through a Sri Lankan marketing authorization holder. See NMRA. For cooling and HVAC for technical sites, the likely screen is HS classification, refrigerant declaration or evidence and current environmental import controls. Refrigerant type and whether equipment works only with a controlled HCFC can change the route. Stop and verify. Regulations No. 4 of 2026, effective 6 June 2026, ban specified new and used equipment under listed headings that work only with named HCFCs and require manufacturer or accredited evidence of refrigerant type. This can affect cooling systems bundled into data-centre and infrastructure projects. See Gazette 2487/29. For project, sample or temporary-use equipment, the likely screen is ordinary import versus a Customs-bonded, TIEP, BOI-approved or re-export route. Project approval, ownership, period of use, guarantees, processing and re-export evidence can change the route. This is route-specific. “No foreign exchange” samples can still attract duties and levies.
Start with commercial and technical facts. Identify every party, product, model, quantity, value, origin, condition, end use, site and target date. Do not send identity documents, bank credentials or other sensitive records in the first enquiry.
The tariff line, customs value, origin, exemptions and regulator route are set before the quote is treated as usable. Build the conditional landed-cost view and line up importer, CHA, exporter, forwarder, recipient, payment and Incoterm responsibilities. The landed-cost view is customs value + tariff-line duty + PAL/Cess or other applicable levies + SSCL where liable + VAT on the legally prescribed base + port, brokerage, storage and delivery charges.
The standard VAT rate on imports is 18%, effective from 1 January 2024, subject to the current exemptions and treatment. SSCL applies to liable imports at 2.5% of liable import turnover, with exempt articles excluded. These rates do not replace an HS-specific calculation. See the IRD VAT notice and IRD SSCL.
Timing has three clocks. The readiness clock is the time needed to obtain model data, invoices, origin and end-use evidence from the commercial parties. The authority clock is the time for type approval, import licence, sampling, testing or another decision where the product route requires it. The border clock is arrival, Delivery Order, CusDec, examination, queries, payment, terminal release and final delivery. A fixed “customs clearance in X days” promise hides these separate dependencies. One Union Solutions instead states the assumptions, external approvals and document cut-offs that support the shipment plan.
Some of your burning questions answered.
Do not assume so from company status alone. Customs e-registration asks for a company name, TIN and email, and the portal notice requires a valid VAT certificate before Customs registration. Corporate, tax, foreign-exchange, product-licensing and transaction facts can also matter. The assessment confirms an eligible importer for the shipment. It does not make a blanket resident or non-resident claim. See Customs e-registration.
No. The forwarder manages transport and related documents. A licensed CHA submits the CusDec and coordinates Customs formalities under authority. The importer remains responsible for the declared import position and correct duties. One party may perform more than one function in a lawful arrangement, but the responsibilities should still be clear.
No. TRCSL’s RTTE rules depend on the features and the use. They include exemptions, including Wi-Fi/Bluetooth built into desktops and laptops, subject to the published conditions. Other network or radio equipment can require type approval, import authorization, Customs clearance and possibly frequency licensing. Send the exact model and radio specification
Condition is a go/stop fact. The TRCSL rules state that permission is not granted for used or refurbished RTTE. The consolidated Import Control List also marks several used/reconditioned computer headings as suspended import-control-licence categories. Other used equipment needs its own HS and condition review. Do not ship it as “general IT equipment.”
Sri Lanka Customs says the online CusDec is submitted through a CHA after the goods arrive and after the shipping agent issues the Delivery Order. That filing point does not excuse late preparation. Classification, approvals, value evidence and document matching should be completed before dispatch.
No. DDP sets commercial duties between seller and buyer, but it does not create Customs registration or product permission. The contract, payment, importer, invoice, recipient and regulator route must work together. Review the proposed Incoterm during the assessment, before it is placed on the purchase order or invoice.
No. Sri Lanka participates in several agreements, but Customs describes duty preferences for selected goods. Eligibility depends on the tariff line, product-specific origin rule, direct-consignment requirements and valid origin evidence. VAT and other charges can still apply even where customs duty preference is available. See Customs trade agreements.
These links support the public regulatory explanations above. The shipment assessment uses the current instruments and live portals for the exact product. Sources last checked 8 September 2026.
Sri Lanka Customs—Importing Goods. Sri Lanka Customs—Import Tariff 2026. Import and Export Control—Consolidated Control List. TRCSL—Type Approval. SLSI—Import Inspection Scheme. NMRA—Medical Devices. Atomic Energy Regulatory Council—Regulatory Activities. Inland Revenue Department—SSCL.
Trade-compliance review: Wahid Azeem, Trade Compliance Manager.
Last verified: 8 September 2026.
Corrections: info@oneunionsolutions.com.
Include the page URL, the statement at issue and an official source. One Union Solutions will review material corrections for the next controlled update.
Authority pages and gazettes can change. This page gives general operational information. It is not legal or tax advice. Final treatment depends on the HS code, specifications, value, origin, condition, end use, importer and the authority decision in force at the time of the transaction.
