Importer: EU AI Act definition
An importer is a company located or established in the EU that places on the EU market an AI system bearing the name or trademark of a company established outside the EU.
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Last verified October 31, 2026, against the AI Act as amended by the Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744).
Where it comes from. Art. 3(6) of the EU AI Act: “a natural or legal person located or established in the Union that places on the market an AI system that bears the name or trademark of a natural or legal person established in a third country”.
Because the definition requires a presence in the EU, a US company with no EU presence is not the importer. Its EU subsidiary, or an EU reseller, can be.
Example
A Boston company makes software that ranks job candidates. A reseller in Germany is the first to place it on the EU market, under the Boston company’s name. The German reseller is the importer, and the Boston company stays the provider. Ranking candidates is an Annex III point 4(a) use, so the importer duties for high-risk systems apply to it.
What it means for you
- The importer’s own duties concern high-risk systems (Art. 23), from December 2, 2027 (Annex III) or August 2, 2028 (Annex I). Like everyone in scope, an importer must not place a banned system on the market (Art. 5).
- Before placing a high-risk system on the market, the importer checks that the provider carried out the conformity assessment, drew up the technical documentation, applied the CE marking with the EU declaration of conformity and instructions, and appointed an authorized representative (23(1)).
- The importer holds back a system it has reason to think does not conform (23(2)), puts its own name and contact address on the system or its documentation (23(3)), keeps copies of key documents for 10 years (23(5)) and cooperates with authorities (23(6)-(7)).
- If you are the US provider, expect your EU importer to ask for your documentation and your representative’s details before it sells your high-risk system.
- From the same dates, an importer that puts its own name or trademark on a high-risk system can become its provider (Art. 25(1)(a)).
Read next
- Does the EU AI Act apply to a US company? (route 4: import, distribution and products)
- Provider or deployer: your EU AI Act role
- The EU AI Act for US companies
- Glossary
This page is general information, not legal advice.
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