US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued ruling H290535 on September 29th, 2022, which specifies that CBP interprets suppliers providing HTS Classifications to US Importers of Record as “transacting customs business” and requiring a customs brokerage license.
In this scenario, the company providing HTS classifications to IORs was a supplier and provided HTS information at an eight and ten-digit level with written disclaimers accompanying the tariff codes that importers are responsible for validating their own HTS classification.CBP has long held that classifying products is considered “transacting customs business” and should be done by a license-holder if not completed by the importer of record. The act of classification is further defined as providing advice and guidance at an eight and ten-digit level. CBP reaffirmed in this ruling's previous guidance that providing classification information at the six-digit level is not considered transacting customs business as six-digit HTS codes are insufficient for entry.
There are several real-world implications for this. If you have questions on how this impacts your overall compliance program, please don’t hesitate to contact Tradewin.
