Have you or your company received a Request for Information (Customs Form 28) from United States Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”)?  Are you unsure about how best to respond to this request?  First, the fact that you received the Request for Information doesn’t mean that you’re in trouble.  On the other hand, a Request for Information should never be ignored as it may lead to increased customs duties and penalties.  Requests for Information should attended to promptly and certainly within the required 30 days from the date of its issuance. 

The Request for Information is a means by which CBP verifies certain facts claimed by you, either explicitly or implicitly, in reference to a customs entry.  Generally, these facts are related to importers claiming a reduction in general duty rates concerning the imported product.  For example, if the importer claimed the imported merchandise complied with NAFTA’s origin requirement and therefore was eligible to be imported duty-free then CBP may seek to verify facts relating to this claim.  Generally, CBP will seek to verify facts via documents supplied by the importer when responding to the Request for Information.

A Request for Information should always be answered as completely as possible in order to avoid any future problems with respect to the questioned entry or similar entries.  Retaining an experienced customs attorney to help with the response helps to assure you’re making the best response possible.  In addition, if there are issues with the entry, the customs attorney should be able to identify them and provide advice on how best to deal with them so as to avoid any penalties, which can be significant. 

If you’ve received a Request for Information, please contact us below to arrange a free consultation to see whether we can help you in preparing the required response.