Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act: What is “Reasonable Care”?

The Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act or Mod Act establishes clear requirements that parties must exercise “reasonable care” when conducting business related to importing into the United States, but what is reasonable care?

Every import transaction is different, from the nature of the imported goods to the circumstances surrounding a transaction, below are some of the questions Allyn International provides expertise in navigating, asking, and answering these questions to assist importers in exercising reasonable care:

• Do you have access to reliable procedures, compliance, customs laws, and regulations?
• Have implemented customs compliance programs and procedures in your workplace?
• Are there reliable procedures in place to ensure you provide and collect accurate merchandise descriptions?
• How do you ensure proper tariff classification procedures have been established?
• Do you have complete documents (commercial invoice, purchase orders, etc.)?
• How did you establish a valuation for your merchandise?
• Did you verify and ensure the merchandise is properly marked for country of origin?

The Mod Act was passed with the goal of increasing voluntary compliance customs compliance and clearly informing the trade community of its legal obligations in accordance with Customs laws and regulations.

Importers can also exhibit reasonable care by hiring outside experts (consultants, attorney, licensed brokers, etc.) to assist with the complex nature of importations. At Allyn International we work with our clients to ensure they are meeting the standards of reasonable care set forth by the mod act. If you would like further information on reasonable care, or any other import compliance related question, please contact Allyn International at trade@allynint.com.

Contributor: Matthew Dreckman

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About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North America, Europe and Asia and Allyn regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers FL USA, Shanghai P.R. CHINA and Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC. For more information, go to www.allynintl.com.