1. What Does Your CBP Notice Require?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may question an entry’s classification, value, or origin. Start with the notice’s stated issue and procedural status: a request for supporting records does not itself establish a violation.
Information Requests and Notices of Action
CBP Form 28 requests information supporting an entry. Form 29 communicates proposed or completed action, so check which applies before deciding how to respond.
Identify the affected entries, requested documents, response date, and issuing officer. Answering the notice does not replace a later protest or extend its deadline.
Classification, Value, and Origin Questions
Product specifications support tariff classification, while manufacturing records may establish origin. The shipping country alone does not necessarily determine where goods originate.
For customs valuation, the invoice price may require adjustments for certain assists, royalties, or other payments. Explain the disputed transaction using records that show what the payment covered.
2. Which Records Support Your Response?
The importer of record must exercise reasonable care under 19 U.S.C. §1484, even when a customs broker files the entry. Effective customs compliance requires access to the commercial records behind that filing.
Comparing the Entry with Business Records
Match the entry summary against invoices, contracts, payments, specifications, and production records. Address the discrepancy CBP identified rather than submitting unrelated documents.
Preserve originals and explain inconsistencies. If the same error affects other entries, determine its scope before describing it as isolated.
Retention and Broker Coordination
Customs records generally require five years of retention under 19 CFR Part 163, subject to exceptions and different starting dates. Electronic filing does not necessarily satisfy the duty to retain supporting records.
Confirm what the broker holds and obtain missing documents from finance, purchasing, or suppliers. Keep a copy of the response and submission confirmation.
3. Can You Correct or Challenge the Assessment?
Cargo release permits delivery; liquidation generally establishes the entry’s final duty calculation, subject to available review. That distinction helps determine whether a correction or protest is appropriate.
Before Liquidation
An eligible unliquidated entry may qualify for a Post Summary Correction. Filing windows and restrictions apply, so discovering an error does not automatically make the entry eligible.
Correcting an entry also does not automatically resolve potential penalties. Reporting errors and enforcement exposure may require separate analysis.
Protests and Filing Deadlines
Under 19 U.S.C. §1514, specified CBP decisions may be protested, including certain classification, valuation, duty, exclusion, and liquidation decisions. The deadline generally runs 180 days from the applicable liquidation, reliquidation, or other protestable decision.
Identify the correct trigger and explain the challenged decision, affected entries, legal grounds, and supporting facts. Informal discussions with CBP do not substitute for a valid protest.
Court Review after Denial
The U.S. Court of International Trade has exclusive jurisdiction over protest-denial challenges under 28 U.S.C. §1581(a). An action generally must begin within 180 days after CBP mails the denial; deemed denials have a separate statutory trigger.
Section 2637(a) generally requires payment of the applicable liquidated duties, charges, or exactions before suit. Customs litigation therefore requires review of procedural prerequisites as well as the disputed assessment.
4. Which Office Handles the Response?
A company’s NYC address alone does not determine the responsible CBP office. Check the entry, port code, assigned Center of Excellence and Expertise, and contact details on the notice.
Filing through the Correct Channel
ACE supports protests and responses to certain CBP requests, but submission methods differ by function. Follow the applicable filing instructions and retain proof of submission.
Federal customs protests do not follow New York State or NYC tax appeal procedures. Those tax systems may create separate obligations, but their agencies do not decide CBP protests.
Separate Enforcement Notices
Seizures, penalties, and bond demands require their own procedural review. A duty protest does not automatically answer those notices or suspend their deadlines.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
Future shipments and private delay charges raise related questions. Neither necessarily follows the procedure for challenging an existing duty assessment.
Under 19 CFR Part 177, CBP may issue rulings on qualifying prospective transactions. A ruling request requires accurate facts and does not replace a protest against an existing decision.
Charges from carriers, terminals, or warehouses generally require separate contract and transportation-law review. A change to the duty assessment does not automatically cancel those charges.
6. Preparing for Legal Review
Before consulting a customs lawyer in NYC, gather the notice, entry numbers, liquidation information, broker correspondence, and supporting records. A tariff and customs review can address the available procedure, evidence gaps, and separate enforcement issues when deadlines or disputed liabilities require closer analysis.
20 Oct, 2026
