1. Importer's Financial Exposure

Myth: "Our exposure is limited to the Customs duties."

Reality: An importer's financial exposure is equal to the value of the imported goods plus duty.

U.S. Customs includes the value of the imported merchandise when determining liability and can assess penalties based on that liability. Otherwise, what penalties could they issue on a duty-free product? For most products, liability is based on the import value plus the duty.

2. Timeline of Risk for Cleared Goods

Myth: "Customs released our shipment, so we're out of the woods."

Reality: The statute of limitations is five years after the material misstatement or omission was made to Customs. The liability on an import continues for five years beyond actual release of the shipment.

3. Importer's Risk for Inaccurate Submission to Customs

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