---
id: KB-LG-022
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/logistics/the-importer-answering-for-data-they-did-not-produce
idioma: en
categoria: sector-logistica
subcategoria: aduanas
audiencia: usuario
nivel: avanzado
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-LG-002, KB-IU-020]
citadoPor: [KB-LG-023, KB-LG-024]
---

# The importer answering for data they did not produce

_You declare what someone eight thousand kilometres away emails you. If the data is wrong, the name answering for it is yours._

**Responde a:** importer responsibility for the declaration · supplier sending wrong invoice data · which documents to keep for each import · audit of imports from three years ago

Your goods cross a border carrying three facts: what they are, what they are worth, where they come from. **You produce none of those three** — they reach you on an invoice and a packing list written by the supplier, often in a language native to neither of you. And yet the declaration carries your name. This is the position that worst reflects the real split between who knows and who answers.

## Where each fact comes from and who can check it

| The fact | Who states it | Who can check it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What the goods are | The supplier | You, if you know the product |
| What they are worth | The supplier's invoice | You, against what you paid |
| Where they come from | The supplier | **Almost nobody, and it is the most reviewed** |
| **How it is classified** | **Whoever declares** | **You, and it is your decision** |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **A review does not arrive on clearance day: it arrives years later and looks backwards.** That characteristic defines this position and decides how to file. At clearance everything moves fast because a lorry or a container is waiting; the real checking happens once the supplier has changed sales contact, the forwarder has changed systems and you have changed the person in charge. All that remains is what was kept.

## What to keep per operation, not per supplier

1. **The invoice and packing list exactly as they arrived** — The originals, not the version someone amended by hand afterwards.
2. **Whatever evidences the origin** — It is the most reviewed fact and the least reconstructable.
3. **What was declared and on what basis** — Especially where it was a judgement and not an obvious call.
4. **And the trail of what was asked of the supplier** — Having asked, and what came back, is worth a great deal on review day.

> [!WARNING]
> The costliest mistake here is **correcting without leaving a trail**. An invoice arrives with an odd figure, the supplier is asked to reissue, the good one is filed and the first is binned. Months later nobody can explain why two versions are circulating, nor show that the correction was a correction and not a convenience. Keeping both, with their dates and the email in between, turns an awkward finding into a story that holds together.

> [!NOTE]
> What responsibilities fall on whoever is named as importer, what documentation must be retained, for how many years and what happens if a declared fact proves incorrect **depends on the country and the applicable regime, and is settled by your adviser or customs representative**. Here we cover what decides whether you can answer: what you keep per operation and whether you can find it years later.

**Is what my forwarder keeps enough?**

While you work with them. The operation is yours and so should the archive be.

**How long must it be kept?**

Longer than it seems, and your adviser settles it. Keep with reviews in mind, not clearance.

**What if the supplier sends a wrong figure?**

Ask in writing and keep the reply. That trail is half the defence.

## Ejemplos

**A review asks about imports from three years ago.**

- Keeps each operation with its documents and dates

→ It is answered from the archive, not the forwarder's memory.

**The supplier reissues an invoice and the first one disappears.**

- Keeps both versions with their dates instead of replacing them

→ The correction can be explained rather than defended.

**One import's documents sit across three email threads.**

- Gathers everything for an operation in a single file

→ What is there and what is missing is visible at once.

**The document evidencing origin never arrived and nobody noticed.**

- Flags what is missing before the operation is treated as closed

→ The gap is caught while the supplier still replies.

**You change forwarder and the history stays in their system.**

- Keeps the importer's archive independent of the provider

→ Changing partner does not take the previous years with it.

**Nobody remembers what the supplier was asked about an odd figure.**

- Keeps the request and the reply alongside the operation

→ Having asked is evidenced rather than recounted.