How to answer a CBP Form 28 request for information

What is a CF-28?

CBP Form 28, Request for Information, asks for more information about one entry. An import specialist sends it when the invoice and the entry summary do not give CBP enough information. CBP needs it to classify or value the goods, or to check compliance.

CBP sends the form through the CBP Forms application in the ACE Portal, or on paper. It goes to the importer of record. A courtesy copy usually goes to the customs broker who filed the entry.

The form states that a reply is required under 19 U.S.C. 1509. The regulation for samples after release is 19 CFR 151.11.

What does a CF-28 ask for?

The form names one entry and lists specific questions. Common requests are:

• Product literature: catalog pages, specification sheets and a plain description of what the item is and how it works.
• A breakdown of the materials by weight and by cost.
• The purchase order, the contract and proof of payment.
• Whether the buyer and the seller are related.
• Costs that are not on the invoice: packing, selling commissions, assists, royalties and license fees. These questions check the transaction value.
• Samples of the goods.

The form instructions say that all information, documents and samples must relate to the shipment that the form describes.

How long do I have to respond?

You have 30 days from the date of the request. The date is on the form. Count from that date, not from the day that you saw the form. The form instructions and CBP's ACE Entry Summary Business Rules both give 30 days.

If you cannot reply in 30 days, contact the CBP officer named on the form before the 30 days end. CBP can allow an extension at its discretion. Keep the officer's answer in writing.

Samples need special care. CBP can ask for samples of goods that it already released. If you do not send them promptly, CBP can demand the goods back under your bond (19 CFR 151.11).

What should I send?

A complete reply has three parts:

1. A copy of the CF-28. The instructions ask you to return a copy of the form with your reply.
2. A short cover letter that answers each question in the order of the form. It names the document that supports each answer.
3. The documents and, if CBP asks for them, the samples. Mark the samples with the entry number.

An appropriate official of your company signs the certification on the form that the information is true and correct. The form says that this is not required when a foreign firm completes the form.

Send the reply through the ACE Portal or through CBP's Document Imaging System (DIS). The form instructions say that CBP treats all information submitted as confidential. Mark business-confidential pages as such.

What are the common mistakes?

• Counting the 30 days from the day you opened the form. The clock starts on the date of the request.
• Answering some questions and skipping others. Answer every question to the best of your knowledge. If a question does not apply, say so and say why.
• Forwarding the form to the supplier and sending CBP whatever comes back. Read the supplier's documents first. They can contradict your entry.
• Sending a product description that does not fit the HTS number on the entry. Find out why before you reply.
• Sending documents for a different shipment. The form asks only about the shipment that it names.
• Guessing. If you do not know a fact, say that you do not know it.
• Not answering. CBP then decides with the information that it already has.

What if I find an error while I prepare the reply?

Deal with the error before you answer. Do not send CBP an answer that you know is not correct.

If the entry has not liquidated, a post-summary correction can fix it. If the same error is on other entries, a prior disclosure can reduce the penalty risk (19 U.S.C. 1592(c)(4)).

CBP's prior disclosure guide says that a request for samples or product literature alone does not start a formal investigation. But the timing matters, so talk to your broker before you reply.

What happens after I answer?

CBP reads the reply. The form can close with no change. If CBP decides to change the classification or the value, it sends CBP Form 29, Notice of Action.

CBP's business rules give the 20 days for a proposed action. After liquidation, a protest is the way to challenge the change (19 U.S.C. 1514).

How can Allied help?

Allied prepares and files CF-28 replies for importers, also for entries that another broker filed. You sign a power of attorney and send us the form and the entry number.

We list what CBP wants, check your documents against the entry and draft the cover letter. After you approve it, we file the reply before the due date.