Customs Examination

CBP may not release imported goods until they have been inspected, appraised or examined and found correctly invoiced and compliant (19 U.S.C. 1499). Most entries are released without a physical exam, but any shipment can be selected. Selection comes from targeting on the parties, commodity, route and filing history, plus random selection, and neither the broker nor the forwarder is told why.

The three levels of exam

• Non-intrusive inspection (NII): the container is scanned by X-ray or gamma-ray equipment, often called VACIS, at the terminal without being opened. Usually the quickest
• Tailgate exam: the seal is cut and the doors opened at the terminal so an officer can look at the cargo at the back of the box
• Intensive exam: the container is trucked to a Centralized Examination Station (CES), a privately operated facility where merchandise is made available to CBP officers for physical examination (19 CFR 118.1). It is unloaded, the designated cartons are opened and inspected, samples may be taken, and it is reloaded and returned

Who pays

The importer bears the expense of preparing the merchandise for examination and closing the packages afterwards (19 CFR 151.6). In practice that means the terminal's exam charges, the CES fees, the drayage to and from the station, and any demurrage or detention that accrues while the container waits. None of it is billed by CBP, and none of it is in a freight quote. Once goods are presented for examination, CBP has five business days to decide whether to release or detain them, and must tell the importer if it detains them (19 U.S.C. 1499(c)).

Exams and agency holds

An exam is only one kind of hold. Partner government agencies such as FDA, USDA APHIS and CPSC can hold the goods they regulate until their data is filed or their own inspection is done, and a missing ISF can also stop release. Ask which hold it is, because each is cleared by a different party.

How to reduce exam risk

• Keep the description, quantity and parties identical on the invoice, packing list, bill of lading and ISF
• Use a specific HTS classification and a value you can support
• File the ISF on time and the entry before arrival
• Work with known, repeat suppliers; CBP lists fewer examinations among the benefits of C-TPAT

Nothing speeds up the exam itself. On the shipments Airlift carries, it books the exam moves, keeps the documents ready for the officer and arranges pickup for the moment the release posts, through its customs clearance service.