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Most traders are familiar with the Appraisement Hierarchy for goods imported into the United States. In the event of disputes with CBP about customs valuation the importer should consult with their Customs Broker for assistance using well established procedures. Here is a link to the Appraisement Hierarchy if you would like to refresh your memory:

https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/how-to-determine-value-for-u.s.-customs

Exporters face a more complex problem if customs services in destination countries dispute their valuation. Duties and taxes are based on HTS code, Country of Origin, and valuation. Customs services look for undervalued shipments in order to both prevent smuggling and assess accurate duties and taxes. Communicating with customs services in other countries is challenging. Every country has different procedures and customs is likely to notify the FPPI (Foreign Principle Party In Interest), and not necessarily the US exporter. to resolve the issue. Once notified by customs, the FPPI, or their freight forwarder, the exporter must take action by communicating with the Customs Broker in the destination country. Ideally, the USPPI and/or FPPI can provide details about the shipment that may have been lacking on the CI and may be used to verify the valuation. The broker will be working for the FPPI but has an interest in clearing the shipment for their client. If you are using a global freight forwarder, they may be clearing the shipment through their Customs Brokerage arm and this could help move things along.

The simplest solution is to accept the valuation stated by the customs service, have the forwarder present an amended CI (Commercial Invoice), and pay the duties and taxes. Consider that the shipment will accrue handling and storage charges after the initial free time so this must be factored into your decision. It may not be worth contesting a small difference in valuation.

What If the Disputed Amount is High and You Can’t Resolve the Issue On Your Own? Check out the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation. Engage Your Company’s Legal Dept. or Outside Counsel.

The Customs Valuation Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) sets out a fair, uniform and neutral system for determining the value of imported goods on which customs officials levy duties. This system bars the use of arbitrary or fictitious customs values.

The Agreement was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which was concluded in April of 1994. It elaborates and makes more precise Article VII of the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods — GATT (1947) , and its official name is: “Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994”.

All WTO members (offsite link) are Parties to this Agreement, which entered into force on January 1, 1995, and which has no expiration date.

The Agreement states that the primary basis for the customs value of imported goods shall be the “transaction value” of the goods – the price that is actually paid or payable when the goods are sold for export. The payment may be direct or indirect. (An example of an indirect payment would be the settlement by the buyer of a debt owed by the seller.)

The Agreement cites certain situations in which the transaction value of imported goods is not acceptable for customs purposes. These arise: when there are restrictions (with some exceptions) on the disposition or use of the goods by the buyer; when the sale or price of the goods is subject to a condition or consideration for which a value cannot be determined; when some part of the proceeds of any subsequent use of the goods by the buyer accrues to the seller; or, with some exceptions, when the buyer and seller are “related” (e.g., they are business partners, employer, employee, officer or director in each other’s company.

For cases in which it is impossible to determine the transaction value of imported goods, the Agreement provides for other valuation methods. The first alternative is to set the customs value on the basis of the transaction value of identical goods sold for export to the same country. If there are no identical goods, the customs authorities shall use the transaction value of similar goods sold for export to the same country. If identical or similar goods are not sold for export to the same country, the value of identical or similar goods when sold in the importing country may be used. In the alternative, a computed value may be used; the Agreement describes how this value should be calculated. When all else fails, customs authorities shall use “reasonable means consistent with the principles and general provisions of this Agreement” to determine the value of the imported goods.

The Agreement states that the customs legislation of each WTO member country shall provide for the right of appeal without penalty by importers, initially to the country’s customs administration or an independent body and then to a judicial authority. All laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings giving effect to the Agreement shall be published.

If your business is being adversely affected because another WTO member country is not complying with the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, contact the Office of Trade Agreements Negotiations and Compliance at the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Center can help you understand your rights under this Agreement and can alert the appropriate U.S. Government officials to make inquiries, if appropriate, with the other country involved to help you resolve your problem.

Disputes under the Customs Valuation Agreement can also, if necessary, be resolved by the U.S. Government through the WTO’s dispute settlement process, which is described in the Exporter’s Guide to the WTO Understanding on the Settlement of Disputes.

The complete text of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement is available from the Office of Trade Agreements Negotiations and Compliance’s WTO Agreements database.

In a recent post we discussed why auditing EEI filings is a good business practice. If you are a self filer is anyone checking the accuracy of your submissions? Does your freight forwarder have an audit procedure in place if they are filing for you? Here is the risk of a “file it and forget it” policy:

15 CFR 30.71

(a) Criminal penalties—(1) Failure to file; submission of false or misleading information. Any person, including USPPIs, authorized agents or carriers, who knowingly fails to file or knowingly submits, directly or indirectly, to the U.S. Government, false or misleading export information through the AES, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, for each violation.

EEI filing has become routine for exporters and their agents and it is easy to overlook possible filing errors. Here are a few mandatory EEI Elements to check in your audits:

15 CFR 30.6

(4) U.S. state of origin. The U.S. state of origin is the 2-character postal code for the state in which the goods begin their journey to the port of export. For example, a shipment covering goods laden aboard a truck at a warehouse in Georgia for transport to Florida for loading onto a vessel for export to a foreign country shall show Georgia as the state of origin. The U.S. state of origin may be different from the U.S. state where the goods were produced, mined, or grown. For shipments of multi-state origin, reported as a single shipment, report the U.S. state of the commodity with the greatest value. If such information is not known, report the state in which the commodities are consolidated for export.

(5) Country of ultimate destination.

(ii) Shipments not moving under an export license. The country of ultimate destination is the country known to the USPPI or U.S. authorized agent at the time of exportation. The country to which the goods are being shipped is not the country of ultimate destination if the USPPI or U.S. authorized agent has knowledge, at the time the goods leave the United States, that they are intended for reexport or transshipment in the form received to another known country. For goods shipped to Canada, Mexico, Panama, Hong Kong, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, The Netherlands, or Singapore, special care should be exercised before reporting these countries as the ultimate destinations because these are countries through which goods from the United States are frequently transshipped. If the USPPI or U.S. authorized agent does not know the ultimate destination of the goods, the country of ultimate destination to be shown is the last country, as known to the USPPI or U.S. authorized agent at the time the goods leave the United States, to which the goods are to be shipped in their present form. (For instructions as to the reporting of country of ultimate destination for vessels sold or transferred from the United States to foreign ownership, see § 30.26). In addition, the following types of shipments must be reported as follows:

Note: EEI value is not necessarily the same as Commercial Invoice value.

(17) Value. In general, the value to be reported in the EEI shall be the value of the goods at the U.S. port of export in U.S. dollars. The value shall be the selling price (or the cost, if the goods are not sold), plus inland or domestic freight, insurance, and other charges to the U.S. seaport, airport, or land border port of export. Cost of goods is the sum of expenses incurred in the USPPI’s acquisition or production of the goods. Report the value to the nearest dollar, omit cents. Fractions of a dollar less than 50 cents should be ignored, and fractions of 50 cents or more should be rounded up to the next dollar.

Contact mitch@adhoclogistics.com for help with EEI audits.

Passing the CBLE (Customs Broker License Exam) and background check to obtain a Customs Broker License is a difficult endeavor. LCBs (Licensed Customs Brokers) know that they must file a Triennial Status Report and pay the associated fee every 3 years. But what if, for whatever reason, a broker has missed the deadline? If so you still have time to save your license. Here is some info from the CBP website.

Failure to submit a TSR and associated fee by February 29, 2024 will result in a license suspension by operation of law on March 1, 2024.

CBP provides a Certified Letter to each licensed broker who fails to submit a timely TSR and associated fee at the last known address on file with CBP.

It is the broker’s responsibility to maintain current address information with CBP.

Failure to submit a TSR and associated fee within 60 days of the suspension warning letter will result in a license revocation by operation of law without prejudice to the submission of a new license application.

This means that the revoked license cannot be reinstated, and the affected broker may submit a new license application.

License revocations are published in the Federal Register.

Many of my clients are hard-working owners or operators of small businesses. They don’t have in-house compliance or logistics expertise, so must wear several hats. Day to day activities or unexpected issues take up most working hours. As a result, functions such as logistics planning and import/export compliance are often unmanaged or left entirely to LSPs (Logistics Service Providers). While LSPs are valued resources, the ultimate responsibility for compliance rests with the USPPI. You can outsource a lot of the activity but not the responsibility.

Making sure that your business is in compliance with import and export regulations is good risk management as well as good business. Think of it as insurance. A few basic steps can make a big difference and can be implemented quickly.

Ad Hoc Logistics can provide step by step guidelines, train your employees, and set up sustainable procedures. Our copyrighted programs include:

Exporting for Smart People- Because You’re No Dummy

Red Flag Screening

A to Z of Managing Logistics

Contact mitch@adhoclogistics.com for info.

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No, I’m not referring to golf, but using links as a logistics term. Exporters tend to become comfortable with their LSPs (Logistics Service Providers) and may be overly reliant on a single provider. Supply chain audits and best practices make it clear that diversifying LSPs can help mitigate disruptions, improve service, and possibly reduce costs.

Logistics is tactical in support of supply chain strategy, so must be able to adapt to the planned diversification. The textbook terms nodes and links are descriptive in logistics and supply chain discussions. Nodes are fixed locations such as factories and distribution centers. Links are Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) which connect the nodes from pick up (first mile), through line-haul operations (middle mile), to end user delivery (last mile). The links include ocean and air carriers, freight forwarders, truck lines, integrated parcel systems, customs brokers, and possibly 3PLs. It is easier to change links than nodes. However, if diversification is to reduce supply chain disruptions, both nodes and links must be strengthened.

New LSPs must be evaluated for their export compliance and ability to perform first mile, middle mile, and last mile operations. Details matter. Failure to review documentation, for example, can cause customs delays. New LSPs can make or break supply chain strategy. Consider their services as “value adds” rather than just cost. Consistent performance is more important than rates when new links are utilized in your supply chain.

Diversifying any supply chain requires time, a complete project plan, upper management commitment, and attention to detail.

We can help you work with the links. Contact mitch@adhoclogistics.com for assistance.

As all logistics professionals know, problem solving is a big part of the job. My clients are mostly small or medium sized firms working with minimal staffs, so I frequently assist them in resolving service issues. I have shared my thoughts about customer service in previous posts. AI is adding a new way of interacting with supply chain partners and can be an efficient way to transmit info. However, for me, transmitting info is not the issue. Ultimately, clients of LSPs need someone to take responsibility and actually solve the problem without passing the buck.

We engage with a variety of providers including freight forwarders, carriers, integrators, and customs brokers. Most have automated systems for efficiency and cost control purposes. When looking for a status update or answer to a simple question these systems are fine. Self service can be frustrating, though, when the problem is not easily described, and is of no use for more complex issues. Information is easier to get than action.

The ability/authority to solve problems is what defines great customer service. Reaching a human being in customer service requires patience and many times that person is simply reading from a script. If I haven’t been able to solve the problem on-line then I need someone with the ability and authority to resolve the issue.

LSPs, don’t force your clients to dump problems on their account rep or e mail the CEO. A few key people in customer service roles with the authority to fix problems on the spot will earn you a lot of customer loyalty.

Agree?

Clients often ask me to train new employees on the basics of international trade and customs clearance. This includes the roles of LSPs (Logistics Service Providers). Shippers are usually familiar with Freight Forwarders but may be unclear about Customs Brokers. Here is some info from the CBP website for reference:

Customs brokers are private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assist importers and exporters in meeting Federal requirements governing imports and exports. Brokers submit necessary information and appropriate payments to CBP on behalf of their clients and charge them a fee for this service.

Customs broker. “Customs broker” means a person who is licensed under this part to transact customs business on behalf of others.

Customs business. “Customs business” means those activities involving transactions with CBP concerning the entry and admissibility of merchandise, its classification and valuation, the payment of duties, taxes, or other charges assessed or collected by CBP on merchandise by reason of its importation, and the refund, rebate, or drawback of those duties, taxes, or other charges. “Customs business” also includes the preparation, and activities relating to the preparation, of documents in any format and the electronic transmission of documents and parts of documents intended to be filed with CBP in furtherance of any other customs business activity, whether or not signed or filed by the preparer. However, “customs business” does not include the mere electronic transmission of data received for transmission to CBP and does not include a corporate compliance activity.

Contact mitch@adhoclogistics.com for info about our copyrighted presentation “Exporting for Smart People”.