Description
Enforce customs and trade laws by inspecting travelers and cargo, assessing and collecting duties and taxes, and investigating import/export violations to protect revenue and interdict prohibited goods.
- • Collect duties, tariffs, and fees from importers, exporters, and travelers according to customs laws and regulations.
- • Maintain knowledge of customs law, tariff classifications, valuation, and trade agreements to evaluate declarations and financial information.
- • Maintain case records, including contacts, shipment details, and enforcement actions taken.
- • Confer with importers, customs brokers, or their representatives to explain requirements, resolve entry issues, and ensure compliance.
- • Contact importers or exporters to address discrepancies and request supporting documentation such as invoices, manifests, and certificates.
- • Issue notices of detention, seizure, penalties, or delinquent accounts when required.
- • Notify parties of overpayment or underpayment of duties and process refunds or demand additional payment.
- • Review customs entries to determine whether claimed classifications, valuations, exemptions, or trade program benefits are allowed by law.
- • Select shipments or travelers for examination and determine the scope of inspection or audit.
- • Enter and update entry, inspection, and enforcement information in customs information systems.
- • Examine importer records and accounting systems to verify proper customs valuation, classification, and recordkeeping compliance.
- • Set payment deadlines on assessed duties, penalties, or liquidated damages and monitor compliance.
- • Verify that identities, shipment data, and documentation match across manifests, bills of lading, and declarations, and that calculations are correct.
- • Analyze duty, tax, and penalty liabilities to resolve compliance issues and delinquent accounts.
- • Determine appropriate enforcement or debt-settlement actions, such as release under bond, mitigation, penalty assessment, or seizure and forfeiture.
- • Obtain agreements to pay assessments or refer contested matters for administrative review or judicial action.
- • Prepare reports and assist in executing searches, seizures, and evidence collection for criminal or civil cases.
- • Serve or coordinate service of legal documents, such as summonses, seizure notices, penalty notices, or warrants.
- • Investigate claims of inability to pay by researching liens, assets, or financial statements and by contacting third parties.
- • Participate in informal conferences, protests, or petitions on contested customs determinations.
- • Answer questions from travelers and trade participants and assist them in completing customs declarations and forms.
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
