A first-time import guide for Jordan
Five stages from the moment you consider an order to the goods reaching your warehouse — and what to settle at each stage before moving to the next.
This guide is written for someone importing for the first time. It doesn't promise the process is easy, but it orders what you need to know before paying anything — because the most expensive mistakes in importing are made before the goods move, not after.
Stage one — before you order
1. Find out which tariff heading your goods fall under
The heading sets the duty, and also whether your goods need a regulatory approval. It follows classification — what the item is made of, what it does, how it is used — not its trade name. Ask before you order, because the answer may change your decision entirely. How the calculation works.
2. Find out whether your goods need an approval or licence
Far more categories than importers expect fall under a regulator: foods, preparations, supplements, wireless devices, children's toys and much else. Discovering this after the shipment lands means days in the yard at your expense.
3. Cost the whole thing, not the goods
What you pay is not the invoice price. Add freight, insurance, customs duty, general sales tax, handling and inland transport. Calculating your margin on the invoice price alone is the most common first-import mistake.
Stage two — agreeing with the supplier
4. Agree the delivery term explicitly
FOB, CIF or EXW? The difference is not cosmetic: it decides who pays freight and insurance, where your responsibility begins, and what basis the value is assessed on. Put it on the invoice in writing.
5. Ask for a detailed invoice, not a terse one
Type, model, specification, quantity, unit price, currency, country of origin. A terse invoice weakens your position at valuation and opens the door to discretionary classification — both of which cost you.
6. Ask about the certificate of origin and its attestation before shipping
The document most often returned for correction. Ask: which body will issue it, and does it need attestation? Asked before shipping it is a phone call; asked after, it is a round trip to the supplier's country. Detail on every document.
Stage three — before you ship
7. Reconcile your four documents against each other
Invoice, certificate of origin, bill of lading and packing list must tell the same story: the same items, the same quantities, your company name in the same legal form. Contradictions between them stop more files than absences do.
8. Start the approval if one is required
Don't wait for arrival. An approval started while the goods are in transit saves days of storage you never get back.
9. Choose the shipping mode by calculation, not habit
Sea is cheaper and slower and comes in through Aqaba; air is faster and dearer and comes in through Queen Alia Airport. For small repeated quantities there is a third route: the E-Commerce and Express Mail Centre.
Stage four — on arrival
10. Hand over complete documents before arrival, not after
A file opened before the shipment lands means the checking happens while the goods are still travelling. A file opened after arrival means every day of checking is charged as storage.
11. Expect inspection, and don't fear it
Packages may be opened and compared against what is written. A precise packing list ends it quickly; a vague one turns it into a full stocktake.
12. Understand valuation before you object to it
Your invoice value may not be accepted as it stands, and the value set by an alternative method. You have a formal right of objection, but documents are what support it — not the objection alone.
Stage five — after release
13. Tie transport to the expected release date
Goods released but not yet moved = storage still accruing. Booking the carrier against the expected date rather than after it saves a day or two on every shipment. Land and inland transport.
14. Have somewhere for the goods to land
If your warehouse isn't ready or can't absorb the volume, arrange storage before release, not after.
15. Keep the complete shipment file
The declaration, the documents and the receipts. You need them for your accounts, for comparison on your next shipment, and for any later review.
Six mistakes first-time importers make
- Calculating profit on the invoice price alone — then discovering the landed cost is far higher.
- Accepting a terse invoice from the supplier because it "will do" — then paying for it at valuation.
- Asking about approvals after arrival rather than before ordering.
- Asking for a lower invoice value in the belief it reduces duty — the fastest route to a valuation dispute that costs more.
- Leaving the delivery term unstated, then arguing with the supplier over who pays freight.
- Starting with a large quantity on the first shipment. Start with a volume that can absorb a mistake — learning on a small shipment is far cheaper.
Where to actually start
Send us a description of what you're thinking of importing, the country of origin, and a photo of the quotation if you have one. We'll tell you the likely tariff heading, the approvals that may be required, and the documents to ask your supplier for — before you pay anything. No obligation.
Questions we get asked
I'm importing for the first time — what's the first step?
How do I work out the true landed cost?
Should I ask my supplier for a lower invoice value to reduce duty?
How large should my first shipment be?
Send us the documents — we'll tell you what's missing
We read the invoice, certificate of origin and bill of lading, and tell you what will stop your shipment before it arrives — not after it is sitting in the yard. No obligation.