4 Mistakes to Avoid when Importing Goods to the US


The most important responsibility of any importer is the declaration of goods, completion of documents, and payment of duty fee. They will be the only ones to be considered legally negligent if there is any error associated with importing value, tariff classification, application of NAFTA, and other trade agreements too. All the government regulations, trademark, and fees must also be paid heed to when making the declaration. To avoid the mistakes during the import, you can either hire Clearit USA or pay heed not to make the following errors:

  1. Obtaining Free trade Agreement Duty benefits (like NAFTA) through the application of Wrong Tariff treatment.

You need to fulfill certain criteria outlined in ANNEX 401 that states the rules for identifying if your goods are ‘Originating’ in compliance with the HTS. Qualified goods as NAFTA origin in compliance when proper marking rules. The importers must analyze before making any declaration or claiming to issue a NAFTA Certificate of Origin. If there are any errors, then the importer or the exporter would have to bear heavy penalties or seizure of goods.

  1. Marking the origin country intentionally wrong

The importers can land in huge trouble if they mark the country of origin of goods wrong. The US Customs authorities always keep an eye on this very violation. A heavy penalty is charged for such activities. So always look out for not violating the rule when it comes to marking the original country of the goods.

  1. Underestimating the value of Imported Goods

The liability of mentioning the accurate value of the goods lies in the hands of the importer. The undervaluation of goods can cause wrongful estimation of Customs duties. This incorrect amount and valuation are taken into account in the long run and can cause a lot of hassles under remittance of duties. In such instances, the importers are charged a heavy penalty that could be a huge amount to be paid at once.

  1. Improper to no record keeping

The US and Canada both bear rules and regulations to make it important for exporters, importers, carriers, and customs brokers to keep and maintain all the customs records. The record here is defined as the info related to goods that have been imported. It bears all the docs of payment, fees, taxes, and drawback claims, like the NAFTA export certificate. According to Canada rules, you need to have the recordkeeping for up to 6 years. Not paying heed to it may cause penalties according to subsection 109.1(1) of the Act or detain under section 41 of the Act. When in the US, the recordkeeping must be maintained for up to 5 years. Not paying heed to it may cause heavy penalties.


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