CBP compares what you file with the commercial invoice, the carrier's manifest and the importer security filing. When the shipper's documents disagree with each other, the entry is built on a guess. These are the ten mismatches we see most, and what to do about each.
1. Carton count
The invoice says 420 cartons, the packing list 418, the bill of lading 420. Ask the shipper which is right before you file the manifest quantity.
2. Gross weight
Weights are retyped by hand and digits get swapped: 9,840 kg on the bill of lading and 9,480.5 kg on the packing list. A gap of more than about 2% deserves a question.
3. Net weight entered as gross
Some packing lists show only net weight. If the entry or the ISF uses it as gross weight, it will not match the manifest.
4. Quantity in the wrong unit
The invoice sells sets; the HTSUS line reports pieces (“No.”), kilograms or dozens. Convert to the unit the tariff line names. Our HTS pages show the unit for every line.
5. Line totals that do not add up
1,500 sets at $6.80 is $10,200, not $10,800. A wrong line total changes the entered value and every duty based on it, so get a corrected invoice.
6. Freight inside the price
On a CIF or delivered invoice, the international freight and insurance are inside the price. They must be shown so they can be left out of the entered value, or the importer pays duty on freight.
7. Foreign tariff codes
Exporters print their own country's code. Only the first six digits are shared worldwide; a US entry line needs the ten-digit HTSUS number. Check any number here.
8. Country of origin vs. country of export
Goods shipped from Vietnam may be made in China. Origin drives Section 301 and AD/CVD duties, so confirm where the goods were made, not where they left from.
9. No manufacturer address
Without the manufacturer's name and street address you cannot build the MID. How to build a MID.
10. Container and seal numbers
A container number has a check digit, so a typo can be caught before it reaches the ISF. Check a container number.
Checking a shipment in two minutes
FreightProof reads the invoice, packing list and bill of lading together, in any language, and flags each of these mismatches with the values from every document. See a real report or check one of your shipments free.