April 2021 — Question 4
The party responsible for the payment of duties, taxes and fees is ______.
- Athe shipping line
- BJoy’s Special Design✓ CBP's answer
- CXYZ Brokers, Inc
- DSigma Coy E.X.T.
- Ethe nominal consignee Please use the identified commercial invoice to answer the question.
Why this answer
Liability for duties, taxes, and fees rests with the importer of record: under the entry statute and 19 CFR 141.1(b), duties become a personal debt of the importer that accrues at importation. On the exercise's commercial invoice, Joy's Special Design is the purchaser bringing in the goods — the importer of record CBP's key identifies — so it bears the payment obligation. The tempting alternative is XYZ Brokers, Inc., but a broker filing as agent for its principal does not assume the principal's duty liability, and neither a shipping line nor a nominal consignee ever does; the carrier's role ends with transportation and a nominal consignee lacks ownership. Watch for: Assuming the filing broker or a consignee, rather than the importer of record, owes the duties.
Original CBLE Simulator explanation — the question and key above are CBP's; this analysis is ours. Verify against the current edition before relying on it in practice.
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