Every U.S. importer is bound to be audited by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at some point. It’s inevitable! That is why it is so important to understand what you can expect from the audit process and why audits are conducted in the first place. You also need to understand what you should do to help an audit move smoothly and what steps you can take as an importer to ensure your next audit won’t uncover any compliance violations. In this module, you’ll learn that getting audited does not mean that CBP thinks you’re doing something wrong. You’ll learn about the reasoning behind audits and what you need to do when an audit arises. You’ll also learn the difference between the kinds of audits CBP performs like focused assessments, quick response audits, and audit surveys.
Learning Objectives:
- Discover the types of audits CBP can perform
- Learn about common errors discovered in audits
- Understand how prior disclosure can help your organization
Skills you’ll gain
AuditingCompliance AuditingCustoms ProceduresFreight AuditingImport/Export Regulatory ComplianceTrade ComplianceWhat You'll Learn
- Discover the types of audits CBP can perform, including focused assessments, quick response audits, and audit surveys
- Learn about common errors discovered during CBP audits
- Understand how prior disclosure can help your organization
- Respond effectively when a CBP audit arises
- Recognize the reasoning behind why CBP conducts audits
Key Takeaways
- Every U.S. importer is bound to be audited by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at some point.
- Getting audited does not mean that CBP thinks you are doing something wrong.
- CBP performs different kinds of audits, including focused assessments, quick response audits, and audit surveys.
- Understanding the audit process helps an audit move smoothly and reduces the chance of uncovering compliance violations.
- Prior disclosure can help an organization in connection with the audit process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this course for?
It is for U.S. importers, who are bound to be audited by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at some point and need to understand the audit process.
What types of audits does this course cover?
It covers the different kinds of audits CBP performs, including focused assessments, quick response audits, and audit surveys.
What will I learn about handling an audit?
You will learn the reasoning behind audits, what to do when an audit arises, common errors discovered in audits, and how prior disclosure can help your organization.
What topics or lessons are included?
The module includes lessons on Audits, Responding to an Audit, and Prior Disclosure.
What skills does this course help build?
It supports skills in auditing, compliance auditing, customs procedures, freight auditing, import/export regulatory compliance, and trade compliance.
Transcript
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(soft upbeat music) Let's discuss the types of audits that Customs and Border Protection can perform and how to respond if your organization is selected. Every US importer is bound to be audited by Customs and Border Protection at some point, it is inevitable. When you are audited, it does not mean that CBP believes your organization has done something wrong. You can consider the audits as random spot checks. Audits look at the operational history of the organization for errors or red flags. There are several types of audits CBP can perform. Focused assessments. Focused assessments are comprehensive audits of an organization. They look at an importer's internal control over the import activities. There can be up to three phases in a focused assessment, pre-assessment survey, assessment compliance testing, and follow-up audit. The process begins with the pre-assessment survey. If risks are found, then CBP will perform the assessment compliance testing. Quick response audits. These audits have a narrow focus and usually begin with a referral from CBP or Homeland Security field offices who have identified organizations involved in high-risk transactions. Quick response audits deal with a specific issue. At the end of the audit, the risk will be deemed acceptable or unacceptable. Audit surveys. Audit surveys are quick assessments of specific areas of an organization. This method allows CBP to quickly gain information about an organization's import procedures. Here are some of the common errors that could be discovered during an audit. Failure to report a supplemental payment, classification errors, lack of documents to support claims, recordkeeping errors, and lack of support for listed transaction values.
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