8. Compliance Assessment/Compliance Measurement

 

8. Compliance Assessment/Compliance Measurement 

Of primary interest to the trade community is the compliance assessment, which  is the systematic evaluation of an importer’s systems supporting his or her CBP-related  operations. The assessment includes testing import and financial transactions, reviewing

the adequacy of the importer’s internal controls, and determining the importer’s  compliance levels in key areas. Compliance assessments are conducted in accordance  with 19 U.S.C. 1509. 

The assessment is conducted by an interdisciplinary team composed of a CBP  auditor, import specialist, account manager, industry expert (highly knowledgeable of the  electronics or auto parts or surgical equipment industries, for example), and possibly  other CBP specialists (attorneys, inspectors, scientists). The compliance assessment  utilizes professionally accepted statistical sampling and auditing techniques to review  selected import transactions from the company’s previous fiscal year. 

Compliance assessments will evaluate the company’s applicable customs  operations such as: 

• Record keeping, 

• Merchandise classification/trade statistics, 

• Merchandise quantities, 

• Antidumping/countervailing duty operations, 

• Quota conformity, 

• Merchandise value, 

• Warehouse or foreign trade zone operations, 

• Merchandise transshipment, 

• Special trade programs (GSP, CBI, others). 

Companies found in compliance with CBP laws and regulations will get a report  stating that fact. Companies whose systems are determined to be noncompliant will also  get a report and will be asked to formulate, in cooperation with CBP advisors, a  compliance improvement plan specifying corrective actions the company will take to  increase compliance levels. Serious violations of law or regulation may result in CBP  referring the company for a formal investigation or other enforcement actions. 

By law, CBP is required to provide the importer with advance notice of an  intended assessment and an estimate of its duration. Importers are entitled to an entry  conference, during which the assessment’s purpose will be explained and its duration  provided. Using information from CBP databases about the company or the importer’s  industry, the compliance assessment team may have prepared questionnaires seeking  specific information about the importer’s internal procedures. These questionnaires will  be distributed at the entry conference. 

Upon completion of the assessment, CBP will schedule a closing conference, at  which its preliminary findings will be explained. A closing conference may not be  scheduled for companies found to have serious enforcement issues. If no enforcement  action is taken, CBP will provide the company with a written report of the assessment’s results. 

 The Importer Audit/Compliance Assessment Team Kit (also called the CAT Kit),  which provides extensive details of the assessment procedure, can be found at CBP  Website, www.cbp.gov, or by calling the CBP Regulatory Audit Division office nearest  you. 

Compliance Measurement is the primary tool CBP uses to assess the accuracy of  port-of-entry transactions and to determine the compliance rate for all commercial  importations. By using statistical sampling methods, a valid compliance level for all  commercial importations can be obtained. One of CBP’s goals is to assure that at least 99  percent of the import revenues legally owed the United States government are collected.  Cargo is sampled for compliance with international trade laws at the port of entry, at the  time of entry into the United States. Importers should be aware that misclassification of  merchandise, among other violations, will be detected through the compliance  measurement process. 

9. A Notice To Small-Business Importers 

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act was designed to create  a more cooperative regulatory environment between federal agencies and small  businesses. 

Your comments are important. The Small Business and Regulatory Enforcement  Ombudsman and 10 regional Fairness Boards were established to receive comments from  small businesses about federal agency enforcement activities and to rate each agency’s  responsiveness to small business. If you wish to comment on the enforcement actions of  U.S. Customs and Border Protection, call 1.888.REG.FAIR (1.888.734.3247).