Understanding The 3 Classes Of Customs Violations
Posted on: 30 June 2020
There are three typical classes of offenses that the customs system will level against parties transporting goods into or out of the country. Depending on the nature of the offense, the responses from enforcement officials can range anywhere from simple delays of ships to the filing of criminal charges. Even with the lightest penalties and delays, it will be enough to have you calling a customs attorney. It's a good idea to understand why customs might have a problem with a shipment so dig into the topic.
Wrong, Missing, Limited, or Flawed Documentation
Ask any customs attorney, and you'll learn that most of the work in the field involves filing paperwork. For example, you'll almost certainly have to present paperwork with your ship showing both the origin and destination. This is especially the case if your shipment is merely transiting through the country because the government will want assurances that it will be gone.
Documentation can get jammed up for a variety of reasons. You might not have filled the paperwork out fully, or you may have even ticked off the wrong box. It's also possible you didn't grab the right papers. Sometimes, paperwork goes missing, too. Regardless of the circumstances, a customs attorney will encourage you to confront the problem and straighten things out.
Also, there are occasionally problems that arise from buggy databases and poor scans of bar and QR codes. You should keep all the required paperwork for your shipments on hand to prove that the failure didn't occur on your end when this happens.
Export Problems
Despite America's reputation for capitalism, it's not legal to send everything out of the country. Likewise, the destination country may have its concerns, too. Prohibited exports cover many predictable things, such as chemicals and weapons. Some less-expected things may also be prohibited, such as electronics, food, agricultural equipment, and even materials.
Licensing is also a critical part of exporting goods. Make sure you have all the required licenses to transport and sell whatever products you're moving.
Imports
The exact same set of issues tends to occur when products are moving into the country, too. Notably, when a nation like the U.S. receives a shipment, the goods may be quarantined for a variety of health and safety reasons. It's also common for restrictions to apply to how much of certain goods can be imported each year. The government reserves the right to turn back, seize, or destroy goods found in violation of import laws.
For more information, contact a customs attorney today.
Share