4.8 Examination, Detention, Conditional Release, and Redelivery
Key Takeaways
- 19 U.S.C. 1499 gives CBP plenary authority to examine any imported shipment, and under 19 CFR 151.6 the importer bears the expense of preparing the merchandise for examination and of closing the packages.
- A detention under 19 U.S.C. 1499(c) is distinct from an exclusion or a seizure: CBP must issue a notice within five days of a decision to detain, and if no decision on admissibility is made within 30 days of presentation the merchandise is deemed excluded.
- Conditional release periods in 19 CFR 141.113 differ by defect: 30 days for merchandise not legally marked, 180 days for textiles whose origin was misrepresented, and for FDA-regulated products the earliest of refusal, clearance, or 30 days after release.
- No demand for redelivery may be made after the liquidation of the entry has become final (19 CFR 141.113(h)).
- Failure to comply with a lawful demand for redelivery makes the importer liable for liquidated damages equal to the value of the merchandise, or three times that value for restricted or prohibited merchandise (19 CFR 141.113(i)).
4.8 Examination, Detention, Conditional Release, and Redelivery
Four events, four rule sets. Questions in this area are usually built by mixing them. Examination is CBP looking at the goods. Detention is CBP holding them while deciding admissibility. Conditional release is the period after release during which CBP can still demand the goods back. Redelivery is the demand itself. Each has its own authority, its own clock, and its own consequence.
Examination Authority and Cost (19 U.S.C. § 1499; 19 CFR Part 151)
Under Section 499 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1499) and 19 CFR Part 151, CBP may examine any imported merchandise. Examination verifies that the cargo matches the invoice description, detects contraband, enforces intellectual property and forced-labor prohibitions, and confirms country of origin marking.
Modes of Examination
| Mode | What Happens | Typical Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Non-intrusive inspection (NII) | X-ray or gamma imaging without opening the container | Targeting score, random selection |
| Tailgate examination | Seal broken at the dock, doors opened, visual check of staging and packaging | Manifest or documentary discrepancy |
| Intensive examination | Container moved to a bonded centralized examination station (CES), partially or fully devanned, cartons opened, goods counted, samples drawn | Suspected misdescription, AD/CVD scope, IPR, PGA hold |
Who Pays
19 CFR 151.6, titled Place of examination, provides that the importer shall bear any expense involved in preparing the merchandise for CBP examination and in the closing of packages. In practice that principle carries through the whole chain: cartage to the CES, devanning, restuffing, and the demurrage and storage accruing while the container sits are the importer's cost, whether or not the examination finds anything. CBP bears no part of it. This is why an exam question about a clean intensive examination still has a cost consequence.
Sampling
CBP may take samples for laboratory analysis. A refusal to comply promptly with a request for samples is itself a basis for demanding redelivery under 19 CFR 141.113(e).
Detention (19 U.S.C. § 1499(c))
A detention is a hold pending an admissibility decision. It is neither an exclusion nor a seizure, and the statute puts CBP on a clock:
- Notice within 5 days. CBP must issue a notice to the importer no later than five days, excluding weekends and holidays, after the decision to detain, stating the reason for the detention, the anticipated length, the nature of the tests or inquiries to be conducted, and the information that would accelerate the decision.
- Decision within 30 days. If CBP does not make a final determination as to admissibility within 30 days after the merchandise is presented for examination, the merchandise is deemed excluded.
- Deemed exclusion is protestable. An exclusion — actual or deemed — is a protestable decision under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(4), which is the mechanism that gets a stalled detention in front of the Court of International Trade.
- Costs of detention are borne by the importer.
Detention is the front end of several regimes covered elsewhere in this guide: a UFLPA or forced-labor detention under 19 CFR 151.16 gives the importer 30 days to respond and, for goods connected to the Xinjiang region or an Entity List party, requires clear and convincing evidence to rebut the statutory presumption; an IPR detention under 19 CFR Part 133 proceeds toward seizure if the goods bear a counterfeit mark; and an FDA hold proceeds toward a notice of refusal of admission.
Conditional Release (19 CFR 141.113)
Release from CBP custody is not the end of CBP's authority. Merchandise released before a final admissibility determination is released conditionally, and 19 CFR 141.113 sets the period paragraph by paragraph. The single most common error on the exam is applying one universal period:
| Provision | Merchandise or Defect | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 141.113(a) | Merchandise not legally marked (19 U.S.C. § 1304; the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act; the Wool Products Labeling Act; the Fur Products Labeling Act; HTSUS Chapter 91) | Demand made no later than 30 days after the date of entry or examination, as applicable |
| 141.113(b) | Textiles and textile products whose country of origin was misrepresented | Release is conditional during the 180-day period following release |
| 141.113(c) | Food, drugs, devices, cosmetics, and tobacco subject to FDA jurisdiction | Conditional release ends on the earliest of an FDA notice of refusal, an FDA notice of clearance, or 30 days after release; a redelivery notice must issue within 30 days of a refusal or notice of noncompliance |
| 141.113(d) | Other merchandise found after release not entitled to admission | CBP may demand return |
| 141.113(e) | Importer fails to comply with a request for samples or for examination | CBP may demand return |
| 141.113(h) | Outer limit for all paragraphs | No demand may be made after the liquidation of the entry has become final |
THE 180-DAY TRAP: The 180-day conditional release period belongs to textiles and textile products whose origin was misrepresented, under paragraph (b). It is not a general Partner Government Agency period, and it does not apply to FDA-regulated food and drugs — those fall under paragraph (c), where the period can end as soon as FDA clears the shipment and in no event runs past 30 days after release absent a refusal. A large share of wrong answers in this area come from attaching 180 days to the FDA.
The Demand for Redelivery and Its Consequences
The demand is made on CBP Form 4647, Notice to Mark and/or Notice to Redeliver, or by letter (19 CFR 141.113(g)). It is directed to the importer of record, or to the actual owner where an owner's declaration was filed (141.113(f)). The importer must return the merchandise to customs custody within the period stated in the notice.
Liquidated Damages (19 CFR 141.113(i))
Failure to comply with a lawful demand makes the importer liable for liquidated damages equal to the value of the merchandise, or three times the value where the merchandise is restricted or prohibited. Petitions for relief from liquidated damages are filed under 19 CFR Part 172 within 60 calendar days of the notice.
The Three Ways to Satisfy a Form 4647
For a marking defect the notice offers three cures, and they recur across the guide:
- Mark the merchandise properly under CBP supervision;
- Export it; or
- Destroy it under CBP supervision.
If none is accomplished before liquidation, the 10 percent ad valorem special marking duty under 19 U.S.C. § 1304(i) attaches, and it is mandatory — CBP has no discretion to waive it. That duty is an exaction, so it is contested by protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(3), not by a petition for mitigation.
Sequencing the Whole Chain
| Stage | Authority | Clock | Failure Consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 19 U.S.C. § 1499; 19 CFR 151.6 | None | Importer bears all preparation, cartage, devanning, and storage cost |
| Detention | 19 U.S.C. § 1499(c) | Notice within 5 days; decision within 30 days or deemed excluded | Deemed exclusion, protestable under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(4) |
| Conditional release | 19 CFR 141.113(a)–(e) | 30 days marking; 180 days textiles; earliest of FDA refusal, clearance, or 30 days | CBP may demand redelivery within the period |
| Outer limit | 19 CFR 141.113(h) | Liquidation becomes final | CBP authority to demand redelivery ends |
| Redelivery demand | 19 CFR 141.113(g); CBP Form 4647 | Period stated in the notice | Liquidated damages: value, or 3× value if restricted or prohibited |
| Marking cure | 19 U.S.C. § 1304(i); 19 CFR 134.54 | Before liquidation | Mandatory 10% special marking duty |
A container of canned seafood subject to FDA jurisdiction is released on June 1. On November 10 — 162 days after release, with the entry still unliquidated — CBP issues a demand for redelivery on the ground that FDA has refused admission. The importer argues the demand is untimely. Who is right?
CBP selects a container for intensive examination, has it moved to a centralized examination station, devanned, and restuffed. The examination finds no discrepancy and the cargo is released. The importer receives invoices for cartage, devanning, restuffing, and five days of demurrage. Who bears these costs?
CBP decides on March 3 to detain a shipment presented for examination on March 1 while it investigates whether the goods are subject to an antidumping order. CBP issues no notice and makes no admissibility determination. As of April 5, what is the status?