The Department of Justice reports that two U.S. companies and their principals have paid more than $10 million to resolve allegations that they failed to pay millions of dollars in customs duties on goods imported from China, including Section 301 tariffs.
According to a DOJ press release, from 2016 through November 2021 the companies submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection false commercial invoices that significantly undervalued goods imported from China. Specifically, two Chinese suppliers sent the companies invoices with the full, actual price of the goods imported, but the companies then altered the invoices to reduce the prices, generally by 70 percent. The altered invoices were then provided to a customs broker that unknowingly submitted the false invoices to CBP.
DOJ notes that the companies initially paid CBP approximately $4.2 million in duties lost from this undervaluation scheme and that under a settlement agreement subsequently paid another $6 million to fully resolve their liability for the alleged evasion of duties, including potential liability under the False Claims Act.
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