Pacific Entry Advisory Checklist
Asia-Pacific Market Entry Readiness Checklist
The commercial, regulatory, operational, and documentation questions to resolve before committing to a new market.
A successful market entry usually depends less on a single approval or registration than on whether the commercial, regulatory, tax, customs, documentation, logistics, and operational workstreams have been considered together. This checklist provides a structured starting point before significant commitments are made.
1. Commercial objective and market fit
- Define the product, service, customer segment, and commercial objective for the target market
- Identify the expected revenue model, pricing approach, margins, and distribution structure
- Confirm whether the proposed activity can be delivered cross-border or requires local presence
- Assess likely customer, distributor, agent, partner, or procurement requirements
- Identify the principal commercial assumptions that still need validation
2. Entry model
- Compare direct export, distributor, agent, reseller, licensing, joint-venture, branch, subsidiary, or other viable models
- Determine who will contract with customers and receive payment
- Identify who will act as importer of record where goods are involved
- Confirm whether local directors, officers, shareholders, representatives, or premises are required
- Assess whether the proposed model creates tax, employment, licensing, or permanent-establishment exposure
3. Regulatory requirements
- Identify the principal regulators and authorities relevant to the activity
- Determine whether business, sector, product, premises, or professional licences are required
- Review product registration, testing, certification, standards, labelling, and claims requirements
- Identify foreign ownership, investment, employment, privacy, advertising, and consumer obligations
- Map filing, renewal, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements
4. Import, export, and customs
- Confirm whether the goods are eligible for import or export
- Review tariff classification, customs valuation, origin, duties, GST or VAT, and preferential trade treatment
- Identify permits, quotas, inspections, controlled-goods requirements, or border restrictions
- Confirm the commercial, customs, transport, origin, and regulatory documents required for shipment
- Define responsibilities between exporter, importer, customs broker, freight forwarder, carrier, and insurer
5. Tax and financial arrangements
- Assess corporate tax, withholding, GST or VAT, payroll, and permanent-establishment considerations
- Determine whether local tax registration or invoicing requirements apply
- Review banking, payment collection, foreign-exchange, and repatriation arrangements
- Identify transfer-pricing or related-party considerations where relevant
- Confirm how duties, taxes, freight, insurance, and other landed costs affect pricing
6. Contracts and commercial relationships
- Identify the contracts required with customers, distributors, agents, suppliers, partners, logistics providers, or local representatives
- Clarify territory, exclusivity, pricing, payment, performance, termination, warranty, and dispute arrangements
- Review intellectual-property ownership, licensing, confidentiality, and brand-protection requirements
- Confirm responsibilities for regulatory compliance, customs, product approvals, recalls, and customer support
- Identify where local specialist review may be appropriate
7. Operations and implementation
- Map staffing, payroll, immigration, contractor, premises, warehousing, and local-support requirements
- Confirm logistics, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, insurance, storage, and delivery arrangements
- Identify system, data, accounting, document-control, and reporting requirements
- Establish who owns each implementation task and dependency
- Build a realistic sequence and timeline before launch commitments are made
8. Ongoing compliance
- Create a calendar for registrations, renewals, filings, licences, tax obligations, and reporting deadlines
- Assign responsibility for monitoring regulatory and operational changes
- Maintain records of approvals, filings, contracts, customs documents, and authority correspondence
- Review changes in ownership, staffing, products, premises, or business activities for new compliance implications
- Schedule periodic reviews to confirm that the original market-entry model remains appropriate