Types of Tariffs and Customs Fraud
Some of the most common examples fraud involving customs and tariffs include:
- Evasion of tariffs imposed under anti-dumping or countervailing duty orders (AD/CVD orders), either by transshipping the goods through third countries or by misclassifying the goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to make US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) believe that the goods are outside the scope of the AD/CVD orders.
- Evasion of Section 301 or Section 232 tariffs, again either through transshipping or misclassification under the HTS.
- Falsifying the value or quantity of imported goods, including the use of forged or altered invoices or other documents, leading to underpayment of duties.
- Falsification of other information submitted to CBP on the Entry Summary, CBP Form 7501, leading to underpayment of duties.
- Failing to properly mark imported goods with the country of origin, either by failing to include any country-of-origin marks, marking using improper methods, or marking with the wrong country of origin. Such failure to properly mark can lead to the imposition of “marking duties,” which a False Claims Act qui tam lawsuit can recover.
What are AD/CVD orders?
AD/CVD orders, or Antidumping and Countervailing Duties, help protect U.S. companies against unfair competition from foreign companies trying to sell or export their goods to the U.S. Some foreign companies may try to sell their goods in the U.S. at a lower price than what they charge in their country of origin with the intent of gaining a competitive advantage in the U.S. market. AD/CVD orders help prevent that by imposing tariffs on these goods.
Foreign exporters or domestic importers may seek to avoid paying AD/CVD orders by falsifying customs forms, misrepresenting information on customs forms, or bypassing finished products through a country that does not impose customs duties. This illegal activity is often hard to detect from the outside without the help of an industry or a company insider.
Reporting Customs Violations
The government cannot catch every instance of fraud as it happens, and the customs system operates primarily as an honor system that leaves a lot of room for fraudulent behavior by importing companies looking to avoid customs and tariffs. If you have information – whether as an insider, consumer, or competitor – about customs and tariffs fraud taking place, you have options for reporting it. You can either submit an e-allegation to the CBP or file a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act with the help of a customs and tariffs fraud whistleblower attorney.
Benefits of Being a Customs Fraud Whistleblower Under the False Claims Act
Why file a qui tam case under the False Claims Act, rather than report the suspected fraud to CBP through an e-allegation or other procedure? This crucial strategic decision should be made only after consulting with an attorney who understands both options and the pros and cons of each. Here are three major benefits of filing a qui tam case under the False Claims Act:
- The False Claims Act is the only way a private citizen or company can bring charges of US customs fraud in federal court. When you do this, the case is overseen by a federal judge, which offers some assurance that the process will move at a predictable pace and that the outcome will be fair and according to law.
- When you file a qui tam case under the False Claims Act, you are dealing with CBP and the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Every qui tam case has at least one DOJ attorney assigned to it, and that attorney has independent resources at his or her disposal to help investigate the matter. Also, the DOJ attorney assigned to the case becomes a point of contact who will talk to you about the case and with whom you can share information confidentially. Therefore, the qui tam process is much more transparent than the “black box” of reporting directly to CBP.
- If the qui tam case is successful, you can earn a substantial monetary reward. The person or company who initiates the suit (known as the “relator”) is entitled to an award of between 15 and 30 percent of the amount of money recovered for the government. And because the False Claims Act provides for treble damages (meaning, the government recovers three times the amount of the unpaid duties) and statutory penalties, the amounts recovered for the government can be quite large. Relators in qui tam cases routinely receive awards worth millions of dollars.
Finding the Right Customs Fraud Lawyer
Our law firm, Tycko & Zavareei LLP, is one of the leaders in this cutting-edge area of False Claims Act litigation. Our firm has represented clients — including both individuals and significant American manufacturers — in qui tam cases alleging various types of customs fraud. We understand how importing works, the tariff system’s intricacies, and how to carefully assemble a False Claims Act case designed to get results.
Our firm’s partners, Jonathan Tycko and Anna Haac, were the lead attorneys in one of the most groundbreaking customs fraud court decisions in recent years, United States ex rel. Customs Fraud Investigations, LLC v. Victaulic Company. In this case, a US Court of Appeals ruled for the first time that “marking duties” — a particular type of duty owed when an importer fails to mark imported goods with a truthful country of origin — are covered by the False Claims Act, thereby opening the door for whistleblowers to file qui tam lawsuits. Since that decision in 2016, our firm has handled many additional large customs fraud cases, representing both traditional internal whistleblowers and American manufacturers seeking to protect their markets from unscrupulous importers of foreign-made knock-off products.
Contact an Attorney Experienced in Customs Fraud Qui Tam Cases
Anyone with non-public information about fraudulent activity can file a customs fraud qui tam case. You might be someone working for the importing company who is now ready to blow the whistle. You might be a customs broker or logistics specialist who has been asked to participate in or otherwise learned about an illegal fraud scheme, such as transshipping to avoid AD/CVD tariffs. You might be an American manufacturing company that believes a competitor is gaining an unfair advantage in your market by evading taxes on imported products that compete with yours.
The lawyers at Tycko & Zavareei LLP have substantial experience in customs fraud qui tam cases brought under the False Claims Act. If you have information about customs fraud, or simply want more information about the qui tam process, please call our attorneys today or complete our confidential case evaluation form, and someone from our firm will be in touch soon.
