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Shap Talk

• Did you properly describe your merchandise to Customs in accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1481?  Do you know exactly what you ordered, where it was made, and what it is made of?  Where merchandise description or tariff classification information is not immediately available, have you established a reliable procedure for obtaining it and providing it to Customs?
   
• Did you properly classify your merchandise in accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1484?
   
• Has Customs issued a "ruling" regarding the description of the merchandise or its tariff classification, and if so, has the ruling been followed?
   
• Have you consulted the tariff schedules, court cases and Customs rulings to assist you in describing and classifying the merchandise?
   
• Have you consulted with a Customs "expert" to assist in the description -and/or classification of the merchandise?  Has a responsible, knowledgeable individual within your organization reviewed your customs documentation to assure that it is full, complete and accurate?  If the documentation was prepared outside your organization, do you have a reliable method to assure that you receive copies of the information submitted to Customs, that it is reviewed for accuracy, and that Customs is apprised of needed information about the import transaction?  If you use an expert to help you comply with Customs requirements, have you discussed your importations in advance with that person, and have you provided him or her with complete, accurate information about the import transactions?
   
• Is the nature of your merchandise such that a laboratory analysis is suggested to assist in proper description and classification?
   
• Have you participated in the Customs pre-classification process of your merchandise in order to get it properly described and classified?
   
• Are identical transactions or is the merchandise handled differently at different ports or Customs offices within the same port?  If so, have you brought this fact to Customs officials' attention?