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Customs Prior Disclosure

A customs prior disclosure built from the entries up: each one found and given its reason, each line priced to the cent, and the letter decided by counsel before CBP asks.

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The problem

Tooling bought by engineering, shipped to the foundry, absent from entries

The error rarely surfaces in trade compliance. A controller reviewing the fixed-asset register sees patterns and core boxes sitting at an overseas foundry, paid for by the importer and never declared to CBP as an assist. The same omission sits on each entry those castings came in on, for as long as the tooling has been in use.

Scoping it falls to whoever can work the broker's export: tens of thousands of rows, filtered by manufacturer, then by part number from invoices the export does not carry, then against a five-year line that moves each day. Duty, fees and interest are summed in a spreadsheet, counsel drafts the letter from scratch, and a request for information already open on the same supplier can go unconnected until CBP's own clock decides the options.

Built forCustoms counselTrade compliance managersGeneral counselControllers

The Problem Today

An omitted assist repeats on entry after entry for years, and counsel needs each one found, priced and explained before deciding.

2×
lost duties and fees: the negligence penalty cap, no disclosure published
5 years
how far back from the violation a negligence penalty can reach published

Scoped and priced by hand

  • Broker data
  • Invoices
  • Asset lists
  • Emails
  • Entries missed or counted twiceA part number changes and the filter quietly drops a year
  • An open inquiry runs alongsideA formal investigation ends the disclosure benefit

The Solution

  1. Entries narrowed, with reasonsEach band names its filter, and each entry says why it is in or out
  2. Toolmaker and foundry asked in fieldsShipments and castings per set come back as fields; a person reads any note
  3. Loss added line by lineValue left out, duty, fees and interest from liquidation, per entry
  4. Challenged, then counsel decidesTested the way a penalties officer would test it; judgment calls go to counsel

Built-in controls

  • Counsel decides, and the general counsel signs second
  • Privileged notes stay out of the letter and the exports
  • Filing and the tender stay with named people

What You Get

Counsel decides on a scope that can be defended entry by entry, with the tender known to the cent before CBP asks.

  • A scope that explains itselfEach entry carries the reason it is in or out
  • Three paths priced side by sideDisclose, correct or wait, with statutory ceilings and no verdict
  • Counsel's past methods reusedAn earlier ruling shapes the next case once approved
Features

Customs prior disclosure features, from the fixed-asset register to the port

The trade compliance manager scopes and prices the error; counsel, the general counsel and the controller decide, sign and pay.

demoAll of it is sample data: the importer, its toolmaker and foundry, the people, the entries and the sums.

  1. 01Lookback

    Five-year entry lookback narrowed band by band to the affected entries

    • Each band labeled with the filter that cut it. Counsel sees how the scope was drawn, from importer of record to manufacturer ID to invoice part, before reading a single sum.
    • Steering in plain words during the run. The manager widens or narrows the scope mid-run, the bands and sums redo, and each instruction is logged under the name of whoever gave it.
    • Liquidated and open entries split. The split decides interest and which entries a post-summary correction can still reach, so it is settled at the scoping stage.
  2. 02In or out

    Entry-level scope with the reason each entry is in or out

    • A written reason on each entry. An entry left out says why, so a penalties officer asking about a missing entry gets an answer from the record.
    • Search by entry number. An entry not in the band is reported as possibly elsewhere, with the broker named, instead of being read as none.
    • Entry summary one click away. The manager opens the filed lines with the undeclared assist per line, as the agents read them.
  3. 03Outside requests

    Assist documentation requested from the toolmaker and foundry in fixed fields

    • Broker, pattern shop and foundry asked in fields. Line counts, tooling invoices, rated lives and castings per set arrive comparable, ready to price, without a thread of emails to read.
    • Free text held for a person. Anything an outside party types is flagged as not compared and shown in its exact words until a named person reads it.
    • Reminders against a due date. Open requests show who was asked, when and by when, so a slow reply is chased before it holds up counsel.
  4. 04Loss of duty

    Prior disclosure lost duties calculation with fees and interest per entry

    • Value left out spread over each set's rated life. The apportionment method counsel chose in an earlier case is applied and named, so the assist value per casting is traceable.
    • Duty, merchandise processing and harbor maintenance fees. Fees are counted with the duty, as the statute counts lost duties, taxes and fees, so the tender is not short.
    • Interest from each liquidation date. Interest runs on liquidated entries at the quarterly rates the controller confirms, so the sheet re-adds to the cent before anyone pays.
  5. 05Challenger

    Draft read as the CBP penalties officer would, including the agents' own work

    • Questions a penalties officer would ask. Completeness of the four statements, the sums, the scope and privilege are tested before counsel reads the letter.
    • Errors in the agents' own scope caught. An out-of-scope reason the export could not prove is sent back and rebuilt from the commercial invoices, so the scope holds up.
    • Judgment calls routed to counsel. Questions such as whether CBP has already started looking go to counsel with the source beside them and no view from the agents.
  6. 06Three paths

    Prior disclosure, post-summary correction or no action, priced for counsel

    • Money now, deadline and what stays open. Counsel compares disclosing, correcting only the open entries and waiting on the same facts, side by side.
    • Statutory ceilings shown, no recommendation. Negligence and gross negligence figures are labeled as ceilings in the statute, so nobody reads them as a forecast or advice.
    • Method, rated lives and tender date editable. Switching to the first-shipment method shows what it moves outside the five-year line before counsel settles the method.
  7. 07Disclosure letter

    Disclosure letter under 19 CFR 162.74, each paragraph tied to its entries

    • The four required statements and the tender. Merchandise, entries, the false statements and true facts, and the promise of information to follow are each drafted and footnoted.
    • Paragraphs linked to the bands that prove them. Counsel clicks a paragraph to see the entries behind it, so each statement in the letter can be checked against the scope.
    • How and when it happened left to counsel. The agents leave the sentence about what anyone knew or intended empty, because a statement of state of mind is a legal position.
  8. 08Decision

    Counsel decides the CBP prior disclosure and the general counsel signs second

    • Signing blocked until the letter is opened. Counsel cannot sign before opening the letter, noting the judgment points and writing the how-and-when sentence.
    • A typed reason with each signature. Each signer writes their own reason in an empty box, and the record shows what the signature means.
    • Tender prepared by one person, approved by another. The manager prepares the payment and the controller approves it after re-adding the sheet, so nobody approves their own work.
  9. 09After filing

    After filing: information owed, new entries and correction windows

    • Information to follow tracked by due date. The data promised in the disclosure is chased until it lands, keeping the follow-up commitment made to CBP.
    • Assist per casting added to new entries. The broker prepares the value on each new entry and the manager approves it, so the error stops repeating while the case is open.
    • Correction windows measured per open entry. The broker sees which entries can still be corrected under the time limits and which windows have already closed.

Four people own a customs prior disclosure, and none of them signs alone

Counsel decides, the manager builds the case, the general counsel checks it and the controller pays.

Customs counsel

Decide whether to disclose, write the state-of-mind sentence and present the filing

  • Each entry with its reason, before deciding
  • Judgment points routed with their sources
  • Three paths priced with no verdict
Trade compliance managers

Run the case, send the outside requests and prepare the tender

  • Five years scoped without hand filtering
  • Toolmaker and foundry answers in fields
  • Requests chased against due dates
General counsel

Sign second on the legal decision after reading the letter

  • A signature blocked until the letter is opened
  • Privileged notes visible only to counsel and to them
  • A send-back that clears every signature
Controllers

Approve and book the tender once the sheet adds up

  • Duty, fees and interest per entry, in cents
  • Quarterly interest rates to confirm
  • Approval blocked until the sheet is opened

Agent steps, the filed entry, the open Form 28 and the case queue

The screens the director, counsel and the internal auditor work from before and after the decision.

One agent's plan and stepsThe lookback agent's plan, ticked as done, and each step with its source, confidence and hand-off, including the three entries the challenger sent back.
The entry summary behind a lineThe filed lines of one entry, with the figures the agents took highlighted and the assist not declared on each tooling line.
A request for information on the same supplierCBP asked about costs outside the invoice price on one of the foundry's entries. The point goes to counsel; only counsel can record a note.
Disclosure cases and triageThe director sees each open case with its owner, counsel and decision date, and possible errors waiting for triage with the rule each one touches.
Rulings kept as lessonsCounsel's apportionment method and the rule that counsel writes state-of-mind sentences guide the agents. A new lesson waits for someone other than its author.
Each step by person, agent or outside partyPeople, agents and outside parties in one trail, with an export of the audit and evidence that lists privileged material as excluded.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

The disclosure, the filing and the tender stay with named people

No verdict on whether to discloseAsked whether to disclose, the agents and the assistant name counsel and the general counsel and give no view.
No view on an investigationWhether CBP has started a formal investigation is counsel's call, with the open request shown as evidence.
No sentence about intentWhat anyone knew or intended is written by counsel; the drafter leaves the slot empty.
No method chosenThe calculator keeps counsel's apportionment method and shows others only as what-ifs.
No filing or paymentCounsel presents the disclosure at the port; the controller approves the tender. No agent files, signs or pays.
No outside text taken as factNotes from the toolmaker or the foundry change nothing until a named person reads them, and an unread note blocks the filing.

The broker's export, the asset register and five more records behind the scope

Broker's entry exportLine-level entry summary data for five years, checked against its line count before any band is drawn.
Fixed assets and payablesThe ERP register where tooling located at a supplier first shows up, and the invoices that paid for it.
Commercial invoicesPart numbers the entry data does not carry, read where the export cannot prove a reason.
Supplier portal and emailAnswers from the pattern shop and the foundry, read through fixed fields and attached files.
CBP requestsAny open request for information on the same supplier, connected to the case.
Document managementCase files, with a privileged area kept apart that only counsel and the general counsel can open.
Rates the controller confirmsSection 301 and general duty rates, both fees, and the quarterly underpayment interest table.

What counsel and trade compliance ask about a customs prior disclosure

What is a customs prior disclosure?

A customs prior disclosure tells CBP about a violation before it starts a formal investigation: the merchandise, the entries, the false statements and the true facts, with the lost duties tendered. For negligence, a valid one limits the penalty to interest on the loss. Here agents scope and price the entries and draft the letter; counsel decides.

How is the lost duty calculated for a prior disclosure?

The value left out is apportioned per unit, duty is computed at the rates that applied to each line, and the merchandise processing and harbor maintenance fees are added. Interest runs from each liquidation date at the quarterly underpayment rates. CBP sends its own calculation, and any difference is trued up.

Is tooling sent free to a foreign supplier an assist?

Tools, dies, molds and similar items used to make the imported goods are assists under the valuation rules, valued at their cost including transport to the place of production. Here the toolmaker's invoices and freight make up each set's value, spread over the rated life counsel chose.

What if CBP already sent a request for information on the same supplier?

The challenger finds it and sends it to counsel with the request rendered beside the point. The agents never say whether a formal investigation has begun; that is counsel's judgment, recorded in a privileged note.

Can we correct open entries instead of disclosing?

The paths screen prices a post-summary correction on the open entries whose window has not closed, beside a full disclosure and no action, with the statutory ceilings for what stays uncorrected. Counsel chooses; the agents make no recommendation.

Who can see counsel's notes?

Only customs counsel and the general counsel. The audit trail and every export record that a note exists, never its text, and list it as excluded as privileged.

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