October 2022 — Question 58
Importer Y operates a discount jewelry store and advises Broker A that it has a shipment of Rolex Submariner watches arriving from Vietnam. Importer Y asks Broker A to clear the shipment of watches. The shipment is detained and seized by CBP after an inspection revealed that the watches were counterfeit merchandise. The commercial invoice from the vendor in Vietnam indicates that the ten (10) Rolex Submariner watches were sold to Importer Y for $10,000.00. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of one genuine Rolex Submariner is $19,250.00. Importer Y previously had a shipment of counterfeit NFL Superbowl rings seized and forfeited by CBP. Importer Y receives a notice and demand for a civil fine and consults with Broker A. What is the maximum civil fine amount that could be sought by CBP under these facts? .
- AThe maximum civil fine is $10,000.00.
- BThe maximum civil fine is $19,250.00.
- CThe maximum civil fine is $20,000.00.
- DThe maximum civil fine is $38,500.00.
- EThe maximum civil fine is $385,000.00.✓ CBP's answer
Why this answer
The cited civil fine provision measures the fine by the value the merchandise would have had were it genuine, based on the manufacturer's suggested retail price, and doubles that ceiling for a second or subsequent seizure. Importer Y's earlier counterfeit-ring forfeiture makes this a repeat offense, so the maximum is twice the genuine-goods value of the entire shipment: ten watches times the $19,250 MSRP, doubled, equals $385,000. Option D tempts because it merely doubles the MSRP of a single watch, while options A and B use the $10,000 invoice price or one genuine watch's price; the fine keys to genuine MSRP across all seized units, not the transaction value. Watch for: Doubling one watch's MSRP or using invoice price instead of genuine MSRP for all ten.
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.
CBP's cited authority
Answer and citations as published in CBP's official answer key for the October 2022 examination.
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