Imported goods must be marked so the ultimate purchaser can see where they were made, clearly and permanently enough to survive normal handling. Unmarked or misleadingly marked goods can be held for marking under supervision or redelivered, at the importer's cost.
Why marking rules exist
Marking tells the buyer, not just customs, where a product comes from. The standard is practical: the marking must be legible, in English, in a conspicuous place, and as permanent as the article allows. A tiny sticker that falls off in transit fails the test even if it was correct at the factory.
For more on this, see this related guide and our earlier explainer on the same theme.
Origin for marking follows substantial transformation rules. The country where a product last became a new article with a different name, character, or use is its origin. Assembly alone may or may not qualify, which is why origin determinations for multi country production need care before labels are printed.
The mistakes factories make for you
Most marking failures start as supplier shortcuts: origin printed only on the outer shipping carton, markings hidden under packaging, or the factory's own domestic labels left in place. By the time the container opens, the importer owns a problem created three months earlier at a packing table overseas.
Prevent it in the purchase order. Specify the exact marking text, placement, and method per product, require pre shipment photos of marked goods, and make marking a payment checkpoint. Factories comply with what is inspected. Marking that is merely requested gets traded away when production runs late.
Exceptions are narrower than they sound
Some articles are excepted when marking is impossible, would damage the goods, or is economically prohibitive, and certain goods reach the buyer in a form where container marking suffices. These exceptions are specific and listed, not a general small business waiver.
Readers also found this companion piece from our archive useful.
Even where the article itself is excepted, the outermost container usually still needs marking. Importers who hear exception and mark nothing at all are the ones whose goods get sampled and held. Read the exception for your exact product, or ask for a ruling before relying on it.
Fixing goods that arrive wrong
Options include marking the goods under customs supervision at a bonded facility, exporting them, or in the worst cases destroying them. Supervised marking is slow and expensive per unit, which is why it works as a lesson. Liquidated damages can also follow if redelivery is ordered and ignored.
Document whatever fix you complete and feed it back into supplier controls. A second marking failure from the same factory is a management failure, not bad luck. Importers who track marking defects per supplier see rates fall fast, because factories respond to measured consequences.
Frequently asked questions
Does the marking have to say Made In?
The origin country must be named in English in a way the buyer understands. Phrases such as Made in, Product of, or Printed in followed by the country are standard. Abbreviations and foreign language only markings risk rejection unless they are recognised equivalents.
What if my product is assembled in two countries?
Origin follows the last substantial transformation. If assembly in the second country creates a genuinely new article, that country is the origin. If it is minor finishing or packaging, origin stays with the first country. Complex cases justify a binding ruling.
Are digital products or software marked?
Physical media and packaging follow marking rules. Purely electronic delivery has no article to mark, but the physical goods it ships with, manuals, dongles, and retail boxes, still do. Do not let a software product line leave its hardware unmarked.
How long can customs hold unmarked goods?
Goods can be held until they are properly marked under supervision, exported, or dealt with under the marking rules, and storage costs run during the hold. Timelines stretch into weeks, which is why prevention at the factory is so much cheaper.