How to import networking equipment: switches, routers and the paperwork nobody warns you about

To import networking equipment such as switches, routers and optical transceivers, you need a registered importer in the destination, a correct tariff classification, the local telecom or product approvals for each model and an export classification for the encryption inside. Without a local company, an Importer of Record can take the importer role.

Networking hardware looks like the easy part of a data center or carrier project. A switch has no GPU subject to headline export rules, most of it enters the large markets duty-free, and the boxes are small compared with a rack of servers. Then the shipment lands and someone asks for the Anatel certificate of a 400G switch, the ECCN of a firewall module or the serial numbers of 200 transceivers that were packed loose. That is the paperwork nobody warns you about, and it is where most delays on network hardware come from.

This guide explains how to import networking equipment into Argentina, Brazil, the United States, the European Union and Uruguay when you have no local company: how the goods are classified, which approvals switches and routers need even without a radio, why encryption matters, what changed in 2026, which duties and taxes to budget for and which documents to have ready before the freight is booked.

What counts as networking equipment at customs?

Most switches, routers, firewalls and optical transceivers fall under heading 8517.62 of the Harmonized System, the line for machines that receive, convert and transmit data. Cables, racks, power supplies and some accessories sit under other headings, with different duties and rules, so every item on the packing list needs its own classification.

The heading itself is shared worldwide, but each destination adds its own national digits. The United States uses the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, where switching and routing apparatus has its own statistical line, 8517.62.00.20. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay use the Mercosur Common Nomenclature, the NCM, which splits routers, switches and other data equipment into separate codes and sometimes treats a router with wireless capability differently from a wired one. The European Union uses the Combined Nomenclature. A classification that is consistent across the invoice, the packing list and the import declaration avoids most questions at clearance.

The trap is in the details. A chassis switch may ship with line cards, fans, power modules and transceivers on separate invoice lines, and customs can classify each one on its own. Fiber patch cords and copper cables usually go under different headings from the switch. Software licenses and support contracts that appear on the same invoice can change the customs value if they are not shown separately. Asking the manufacturer or distributor for the HS code, country of origin and ECCN of every part number at the quotation stage saves days later.

Do switches and routers need homologation if they have no radio?

Sometimes, yes. Anything with Wi-Fi, LTE or another radio needs a telecom approval in all five destinations, but wired equipment is not automatically exempt. Brazil's Anatel covers a range of wired network equipment, and in the United States and the European Union switches and routers must still meet electromagnetic compatibility and safety rules.

In Brazil, Anatel's list of products subject to conformity assessment includes many data network products, which is why enterprise switches and firewalls from the main vendors carry Anatel certificates. The homologation has to be held by a company in Brazil, usually the manufacturer's local subsidiary or a legal representative, and only the holder or its representative may import the product for commercial purposes. Before ordering, check whether each exact model and hardware revision is already homologated, and in whose name.

In the United States, a switch or router without a transmitter is generally a Class A digital device under Part 15 of the FCC rules, authorized through a Supplier's Declaration of Conformity rather than an FCC ID. Equipment with Wi-Fi or cellular radios needs FCC certification. In the European Union, wired network gear must meet the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU, the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU and the RoHS Directive, while anything with a radio falls under the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU. Argentina requires a RAMATEL registration with ENACOM for telecom equipment, and Uruguay requires URSEC approval for radio equipment, with an exemption for devices that operate only with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth under URSEC Resolutions 275/2021 and 297/2021.

Our guide to telecom equipment homologation explains in more detail how Anatel, ENACOM, the FCC, CE marking and URSEC handle approvals, who can hold them and how long they take.

Why does encryption matter when you import networking equipment?

Almost every modern switch, router and firewall uses encryption for management access, VPNs or link security, so it has an export classification under the US Export Administration Regulations, often ECCN 5A002 or 5A992. That classification travels with the goods and can affect who may receive them, even when the destination itself is not restricted.

For US-origin equipment, or foreign equipment with enough US content, most enterprise networking products leave the country under License Exception ENC. The rules distinguish between items the exporter can self-classify and report once a year, with reports due by February 1 of the following year, and items that need a formal classification request to the Bureau of Industry and Security before shipment. High-capacity gear falls into the second group: the License Exception ENC rules for network infrastructure cover, among other things, WAN, MAN, VPN, backhaul or long-haul equipment with throughput of 250 Mbps or more. The exporter may ship 30 days after the request is registered, unless BIS objects.

The detail that catches importers is the end user. For those network infrastructure items, the exception generally does not cover exports to government end users in countries outside the list in Supplement No. 3 to Part 740, and Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are not on that list. If the switches are going to a state-owned carrier, a public university network or a government data center in Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay, the exporter may need a license, and the import file should name the real end user.

The European Union has its own regime. Regulation (EU) 2021/821 on dual-use items does not require a license to import network hardware into the EU, but a later shipment of the same equipment to a country outside the Union can need an export authorization. In every case, the practical step is the same: ask the manufacturer for the ECCN and, where it exists, the CCATS number of each model, and keep them in the import file.

What changed for network hardware in 2026?

Four changes matter this year. The FCC stopped authorizing new foreign-produced consumer routers, Anatel began checking homologation directly in import declarations, the EU Cyber Resilience Act started its reporting obligations, and Argentina's new ENACOM approval regime starts on 1 December 2026.

On 23 March 2026, the FCC added consumer-grade routers produced outside the United States to its Covered List, so new models made abroad can no longer receive equipment authorization or be imported for sale. The measure targets routers intended for homes and small offices; enterprise routing infrastructure is not covered, and routers produced before the listing are not affected. It sits on top of the older listings of telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei and ZTE, added on 12 March 2021, which cannot be authorized or marketed in the US at all.

In Brazil, Ato Anatel nº 18.086/2025, in force since 25 May 2026, gives Anatel access to the data declared in the Duimp, the import declaration in the Siscomex system. Anatel cross-checks the manufacturer, model and serial number against its database of certified products and can retain equipment during clearance. A switch that was once imported without anyone checking its homologation is now much more likely to be stopped.

In the European Union, the Cyber Resilience Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, requires manufacturers to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents from 11 September 2026, including for products already on the market, and its full requirements apply from 11 December 2027. Annex III lists routers, modems intended for connection to the internet and switches among the important products, which will need a stricter conformity assessment. Importers will have to check that the products they place on the market comply. This comes on top of the cybersecurity requirements for internet-connected radio equipment under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, mandatory since 1 August 2025.

In Argentina, Resolución ENACOM 843/2026 moved the start of the new RAMATEL regime to 1 December 2026. Until 30 November, approvals continue under the previous framework, Resolution 729/80.

How to import networking equipment into each destination

The basic logic is the same everywhere: a registered importer, a correct classification, approvals for each model and duties and taxes paid at clearance. What changes is who can be the importer, which agency checks the equipment and how much tax is collected on entry.

The table is a starting point, not a substitute for checking each model and tariff line. In the United States, a foreign company can act as importer with a resident agent and a customs bond, but the 2026 changes to CBP rules for foreign importers have made a US-based Importer of Record the simpler route for many vendors. In the European Union, a non-EU company can obtain an EORI number but usually needs an indirect customs representative, and our guide on how to import into the EU without an EU entity covers EORI, import VAT and the economic operator rules for CE-marked products.

Which duties and taxes should you budget for?

In the United States and the European Union, the duty on most switches and routers is zero, but other charges are not: US Section 301 duties on Chinese-origin equipment, and EU import VAT. In Brazil and Argentina, the import duty is only the first layer of a stack of federal and local taxes.

In the United States, the general duty rate for heading 8517.62 is free, but switching and routing apparatus of Chinese origin pays an additional 25% under Section 301, and other additional duties have changed several times in 2025 and 2026, so the rate should be confirmed for each entry. Country of origin is decided by where the product was substantially transformed, not where it was shipped from, which matters for switches assembled in one country with boards made in another. Commercial shipments above 2,500 US dollars require a formal entry, which covers almost any network order.

In the European Union, the WTO Information Technology Agreement keeps most switches, routers and transceivers duty-free, but import VAT is charged at the rate of the member state of import, from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. A registered importer can usually recover it; a non-EU company without VAT registration in that country generally cannot.

In Brazil, the taxes are calculated on top of each other: Import Duty, IPI, PIS-Importação, COFINS-Importação and the state ICMS. Routers under NCM 8517.62.41, for example, carry a 16% Import Duty under the Mercosur Common External Tariff. Many network products qualify for an Ex-tarifário, a temporary reduction of the Import Duty to zero for goods without a national equivalent, which is worth checking before the price is quoted. Our guide on how to import IT equipment into Brazil explains the full tax stack and the Radar qualification.

In Argentina, the import duty depends on the NCM line, and the statistics fee of 3% of customs value, extended by Decreto 1140/2024 until 31 December 2027, applies with maximum amounts by value bracket, plus VAT and advance perceptions collected at clearance. In Uruguay, goods from outside Mercosur pay the duty of their tariff line plus VAT and other charges, while free trade zones allow equipment to be stored and redistributed without paying import taxes until it enters Uruguayan territory or another country.

What paperwork should be ready before the switches ship?

The documents that delay network shipments are rarely the commercial invoice or the air waybill. They are the details behind them: export classifications, approval numbers, serial numbers and a clear split between hardware, software and services. Having them before booking freight is the difference between clearance in days and a hold of weeks.

This is the checklist we use on networking projects:

1. A commercial invoice with one line per part number, showing hardware, software licenses and support contracts separately, with HS code and country of origin for each line.
2. A packing list with the serial number of every switch, router, line card and transceiver, matching the labels on the boxes.
3. The ECCN of each model and, where it exists, the CCATS number, plus the name and address of the real end user.
4. The approval for each model in the destination: Anatel homologation code, RAMATEL registration, URSEC certificate, FCC authorization or EU declaration of conformity.
5. Power cords and plugs that match the destination, or a note that they will be sourced locally, because a box of foreign power cords can raise its own compliance questions.
6. For used or refurbished equipment, a clear statement that the goods are used, since several destinations, Brazil in particular, restrict used imports.

The last point deserves attention. Refurbished switches and routers are attractive for cost reasons, but in Brazil used goods need a non-automatic import license that is granted only in narrow cases, and in every destination they must be declared as used. Checking that before buying saves a shipment from being stuck or sent back.

When does an Importer of Record make sense for network hardware?

When the equipment has to be delivered and cleared in a country where neither you nor your customer has a local importer, when the customer does not want to take on the import role, or when the approvals and taxes are complex enough that one party should coordinate them. An Importer of Record takes the legal role of importer and makes sure the classification, approvals and declaration tell the same story.

The cases we see most often are a network vendor that has won a campus or data center project in a country where it has no subsidiary, a systems integrator shipping switches and firewalls to a customer in another Mercosur country, and a cloud or carrier operator expanding into Brazil or Argentina before its local entity is ready. If the role is new to you, our guide on what an Importer of Record is explains how it works and what remains your responsibility as the seller.

Networking equipment rarely fails at customs because of the price or the freight. It fails because one approval, one ECCN or one serial number was missing when someone checked. If you are planning to import networking equipment into Argentina, Brazil, the United States, the European Union or Uruguay, tell Comex IOR Services what you are shipping, where it needs to go and when it has to be running. As your Importer of Record for network hardware, we will tell you plainly which approvals and documents each item needs and what it will take to get your switches and routers cleared and delivered on time.