How to Import Surgical Instruments from Pakistan to the USA: A Buyer's Guide
You choose the instruments and the steel tier, test free samples, agree the order and payment in writing, and ship on your own carrier or forwarder from Sialkot.
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The short answer
You choose the instruments and the steel tier, test free samples, agree the order and payment in writing, and ship on your own carrier or forwarder from Sialkot. The regulatory side on the US end (who is the importer of record, and what the product needs to enter) is decided by you and your customs broker before the first order, and it is the part to settle first.
This guide walks through each step as it works with Tahir Group of Industries (TGI), a manufacturer and exporter in Sialkot, Pakistan, founded in 2004. Every term below is the one TGI publishes, with a link to the page it comes from.
What should I decide before I contact a manufacturer?
Three things save weeks of back and forth:
The instruments, by pattern and size. "Artery forceps" is not a specification. "Kelly artery forceps, curved, 14 cm" is. TGI lists every instrument on its own page with its photograph, and the category pages group them: surgical, dental, diagnostic, orthopedic and seven more.
The steel tier. The same pattern can be made in four instrument steels, from Economy (AISI 410) to Executive (AISI 440C). The tier sets the price and what the instrument is tested for. The note "How to choose a surgical instrument tier" explains how distributors choose.
The US import route. Settle with your customs broker, before the first order, who is the importer of record and what the goods need to enter. TGI's certificates, with their numbers and how to verify each one, are on the certification page.
How do I get samples?
Free samples for all buyers: you pay only the sample shipping cost. Samples dispatched within 48 hours.
Name the instruments and the steel line on the inquiry form or on WhatsApp. The sample is how you check the pattern, the finish and the steel before any money is committed to an order. The note "How sample approval works" covers what to check.
What is the minimum order?
Each category publishes one minimum. At the time of writing: minimum 300 instruments for surgical, orthopedic, electrosurgical, gynecology and ENT instruments; minimum 200 for dental instruments; minimum 200 pieces for hollowware; minimum 150 pieces for diagnostic instruments; minimum 100 kits for dental implant kits; minimum 25 sets for surgical instrument sets; minimum 200 pieces for training articles. The table on /us-importers/ is generated from the same data and is the one to trust if these ever differ.
Whether one minimum may be spread across sizes and patterns is agreed per order.
How long does production take?
Instruments ~2-3 weeks · full sets ~4-6 weeks after advance.
That is production. Transit time to the United States is separate and depends on the carrier and the service you choose; your carrier or forwarder quotes it.
How does payment work?
Payment by TT bank transfer. Structures: 50/50, 70/30, or 100% advance, agreed per order. Balance always before shipment, released against video proof of your finished parcel at the shipping office.
Video proof reaches you before packaging, during packaging, and before the goods ship: the instruments themselves as they are packed, then your finished parcel at the shipping office. On a 100% advance there is no balance to hold it against and it is sent anyway.
This is the protection an importer buying from overseas needs most: you see your own goods, packed, before you release the balance.
Who arranges freight, and on what terms?
Base price FCA Sialkot: TGI hands the goods and the export documents to your carrier or your own agent at the factory, and your tracking starts there. For a sea container the basis is FOB Karachi. The buyer pays freight: ship on your own carrier account or your own forwarder, or have delivery arranged through TGI's logistics partner and quoted per destination.
Your own account can be with any carrier: UPS, DHL or FedEx, for example.
Which documents come with the order?
Manufactured under the quality management system covered by TGI's ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certificates. Certificate numbers and the issuer's registry are on the certification page.
Every certificate number, issuer and expiry is on /certification/, with the issuer's own register where one exists, so you can check it before you order rather than after. Which documents travel with a private-label consignment is agreed with you on the order.
What if something is wrong when it arrives?
If something is wrong with a delivery (a manufacturing defect, or a short or wrong article), tell us on WhatsApp within 7 days of delivery, with a video and photographs of what arrived. Replacement instruments are sent free of charge and dispatched within 24 hours of us seeing them; you pay the shipping, and they reach you as a normal order does.
Damage that happened after the goods left Sialkot is a claim against your carrier. The video of your parcel at the shipping office is sent to you before shipment and is the evidence that claim needs.
Premium and Executive tier instruments, hollowware and sterilization containers also carry a one-year guarantee against manufacturing defects, including material faults and rust.
Is there someone in the United States I can talk to?
TGI has a sales representative in Silver Spring, Maryland, who can speak with you locally. For quotations, orders and direct communication with TGI, use the inquiry form or WhatsApp to reach the team in Pakistan, 10am-5pm, Monday to Saturday, Pakistan Standard Time.
The order, in eight steps
You send the instruments, tier and quantity.
A person replies with a written offer.
You test free samples.
The tier is written into the order and does not change.
You pay an advance.
You see video of your packed parcel, then pay the balance.
It ships on your carrier or forwarder.
The guarantee and replacement terms cover it after delivery.
The full version is on How an order runs.
Where the facts behind this are published
Still not answered
Ask the question directly.
+92 305 643 3255 reaches the factory on WhatsApp, and the answer comes back in writing. Free samples for all buyers: you pay only the sample shipping cost. Samples dispatched within 48 hours.