QUESTION: I’m trying to find the line between “can file a prior disclosure” and “cannot file a PD.” So, what exactly is an “official investigation?” Does CBP have to use those exact words? Mere issuance of a 28 or 29 is NOT necessarily the beginning of an “official investigation,” right? ***************** Answers: Correct – mere issuance of […]
QUESTION: We’ve been approached by our CEE to provide a virtual tour of sorts of our factories and products to help them understand our product and company better when questions come up on our entries. Our relationship with our CEE (6+ years) is extremely cordial and we have seen the benefits of this partnership so […]
QUESTION: I understand that Customs may inspect any shipment entering the USA, but I’ve had a shipment on inspection hold now for 14 days. We will be in breach of contract with our customer if we cannot deliver soon. Is there any avenue available where I can at least state my case, as a responsible […]
QUESTION: The issue of how we report quantities to US Customs came up today when we ship boxes or containers that contain 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 individual pieces. For example, HS Code 7013.22.2000, lead crystal stemware drinking glasses, has a reporting quantity of No. A lot times we ship in 1 box but […]
QUESTION: We all know that Customs expects imports to have implemented adequate internal controls such as control environment, risk assessments, etc., in order to exercise reasonable care, avoid penalties, get into the ISA program, etc. When I go to find here on Customs website these elements (five?) are actually listed, it is incredibly difficult to […]
QUESTION: We were just informed by CBP CEE personnel that they would like to do a “Importer Visit”. We have quarterly calls with CEE personnel but this is the first time they have asked to come on the premises. They also want to visit one of our local factories. Can anyone share their experience? Do […]
QUESTION: I am wondering if any ICPA members could share a high level presentation for training front desk personnel for a CBP visit. This would not get into the details of any one company’s internal policy. Rather, this would introduce front desk reception folks on reasonable care, importance of being prepared, and the possibility that […]
QUESTION: We understand that under new (2017) guidance on non-compliant wood packaging material (WPM), CBP is issuing penalty notices against first offenders at 100% of the value of the merchandise. We have heard that for entries involving unmarked WPM, CBP is mitigating those penalties to 3% of value or sometimes $500. Any experience with mitigation […]
QUESTION: Is the Port Account Manager program still in place? How does a company determine if they have a port account manager? We were assigned a Port Account Manager over 15 years ago. We have not reached out to the manager for advice since 2013. We have not heard from her either […]
QUESTION: I am preparing for internal training; and I am looking to add some numbers related to CBP audits. – How many audits CBP have done the last two years 2014-2015? – How much was the revenue collected/to be collected in the result of these audits? Is this information available to the public? ================== ANSWER: […]
QUESTION: Has anyone received an overnight package from CBP, entitled “Distribution of Informed Compliance Publications and Other Informative Documents”? The package contains a DVD with selected CBP informed compliance publications in order to help the recipient “understand[] CBP’s laws and regulations.” It also requires a return signature to CBP acknowledging receipt of all these items. […]
Question: It has come to my companys attention that there is a database company out there that provides Market Research data, specifically market and competition data using U.S. Customs Data. They state that they obtain the U.S. Customs data from ocean carrier manifests with complete shipping details on shipper, consignee, commodity, origin and destination among […]
