Tariff records glossary
Importer records terms that matter before tariff recovery review.
These terms help finance, logistics, operations, and trade-compliance teams talk about the same evidence before a claim-facing specialist gets involved.
Entry-level records.
Entry summaries, broker packets, ACE exports, commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, freight invoices, and payment records are usually the starting point. A records screen checks whether duty and tariff amounts can be tied back to shipment, product, vendor, and accounting references.
Cost and margin terms.
Landed cost is the all-in cost of getting goods available for sale or use. COGS is the accounting view of the cost attached to sold goods. Gross margin is the revenue left after COGS. Tariff and duty costs can distort margin analysis when they are buried in freight, inventory, clearing, or allocation accounts.
Traceability terms.
Line-level records, SKU mapping, lot references, shipment keys, vendor references, product families, and downstream movement records are the bridges between import cost and business activity. If those bridges are missing, recovery conversations become slower, more expensive, and more speculative.
Specialist-readiness terms.
A stop/go screen asks whether the data is material, traceable, complete enough, and authorized for review. It does not answer legal, brokerage, HTS, drawback eligibility, or claim-filing questions. It prepares cleaner questions and evidence for the right specialist.