diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2261a1e..145679d 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "polystore"
-version = "0.1.25"
+version = "0.1.26"
 description = "Framework-agnostic multi-backend storage abstraction for ML and scientific computing"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
diff --git a/src/polystore/zarr.py b/src/polystore/zarr.py
index 848d2bf..26e82d8 100644
--- a/src/polystore/zarr.py
+++ b/src/polystore/zarr.py
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ def _ensure_ome_zarr(timeout: float = 30.0):
 
 from .constants import Backend
 from .base import PicklableBackend, StorageBackend
+from .config import ZarrConfig
 from .exceptions import StorageResolutionError
 
 
@@ -137,9 +138,6 @@ def __init__(self, zarr_config: Optional['ZarrConfig'] = None):
         Args:
             zarr_config: ZarrConfig dataclass with all zarr settings (uses defaults if None)
         """
-        # Import here to avoid circular imports
-        from .config import ZarrConfig
-
         if zarr_config is None:
             zarr_config = ZarrConfig()
 
@@ -157,8 +155,6 @@ def get_connection_params(self) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
         return {"zarr_config": self.config}
 
     def set_connection_params(self, params: Optional[Dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
-        from .config import ZarrConfig
-
         if params is None:
             self._configure(ZarrConfig())
             return
diff --git a/tests/test_zarr_backend.py b/tests/test_zarr_backend.py
index 2ae239f..e1a4bbb 100644
--- a/tests/test_zarr_backend.py
+++ b/tests/test_zarr_backend.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 from dataclasses import fields
 from inspect import getdoc
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import get_type_hints
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
@@ -250,6 +251,11 @@ def test_save_to_nonexistent_parent_creates_parent(self, zarr_backend, temp_zarr
 class TestZarrConfigIntegration:
     """Test ZarrConfig integration with backend."""
 
+    def test_backend_config_annotation_resolves_to_nominal_owner(self):
+        hints = get_type_hints(ZarrStorageBackend._configure)
+
+        assert hints["zarr_config"] is ZarrConfig
+
     def test_public_fields_have_declaration_help(self):
         docstring = getdoc(ZarrConfig)