The basic importation and entry bond under 19 CFR 113.62 is the financial guarantee every importer of record must have on file before U.S. Customs and Border Protection will release goods. It is a three-party contract: you (the principal), a surety company that backs your promises with its own money, and CBP. The bond secures payment of duties, taxes, and fees, and it stands behind roughly a dozen other compliance obligations tied to bringing merchandise into the country.1eCFR. 19 CFR 113.62 – Basic Importation and Entry Bond Conditions
If you default, CBP does not have to prove damages in court. The bond sets the amounts in advance, and the surety pays if you do not.
Continuous or Single Transaction
The regulation allows two formats. A continuous bond covers every entry you make at any U.S. port and stays in effect until you or the surety cancels it. A single transaction bond covers one shipment and ends when that entry liquidates.2U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bonds – Types of Bonds
If you import more than a few times a year, a continuous bond is almost always cheaper. Single transaction bonds make sense for one-off shipments; the per-entry premium adds up quickly if volume rises.
How CBP Sets the Amount
The minimum for a continuous bond is $50,000. Above that floor, CBP calculates the amount as roughly 10 percent of the duties, taxes, and fees you paid during the prior calendar year, rounded to the nearest $10,000. Once your annual duty bill passes $1 million, the rounding shifts to the nearest $100,000.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Customs Directive No. 3510-004 – Monetary Guidelines for Setting Bond Amounts A new importer without a history uses estimated duties for the coming year.
A single transaction bond is generally set at the value of the merchandise plus estimated duties, taxes, and fees for that entry.2U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bonds – Types of Bonds The bond amount is a ceiling on what CBP can collect from the surety, so the agency wants it high enough to cover the shipment’s full exposure.
CBP can require a larger bond if it sees elevated risk, such as a pattern of liquidated damages claims, unpaid bills, or restricted merchandise in your history.
What the Bond Guarantees
Section 113.62 lists the conditions you agree to when you sign. The core ones matter more than the numbering.
Payment of Duties, Taxes, and Charges
Paragraph (a) binds the principal and surety jointly and severally to deposit all duties, taxes, and charges on any entry the bond secures.1eCFR. 19 CFR 113.62 – Basic Importation and Entry Bond Conditions “Jointly and severally” means CBP can collect the full amount from either party. The obligation continues past initial payment: if CBP reassesses at liquidation and issues a bill for more, you have 30 days to pay before the balance turns delinquent and starts accruing interest.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 1505 – Payment of Duties and Fees
Filing Entry Documentation
Paragraph (b) requires you to file everything CBP needs to release the goods, assess duties, gather trade statistics, and confirm compliance: commercial invoices, packing lists, entry summaries on CBP Form 7501, and any other records the agency requests. The deadlines follow the underlying regulations for each type of filing rather than a single fixed period.
Paragraph (c) covers the common case where CBP releases cargo before every document is in hand. You agree to produce the missing paperwork within the time CBP specifies. Failing to do so triggers liquidated damages based on the value of the merchandise.1eCFR. 19 CFR 113.62 – Basic Importation and Entry Bond Conditions
Redelivery and Rectification
Paragraph (d) is the redelivery condition. If CBP releases merchandise before confirming admissibility and later finds it noncompliant, unmarked, or needing further inspection, CBP can order you to return it. The agency must issue the demand within 30 days of release or within 30 days after the conditional release period ends, whichever is later. Your deadline to comply is stated in the redelivery notice itself.
FDA-regulated goods carry their own rules. The conditional release period ends when FDA refuses admission, clears the goods, or 30 days pass from release, whichever comes first. If FDA refuses admission, CBP will demand redelivery within 30 days, and failure to comply produces liquidated damages at three times the value of the merchandise.5eCFR. 19 CFR 141.113 – Recall of Merchandise Released From Customs and Border Protection Custody
Paragraph (e) is the rectification condition. If the problem can be cured, adding country-of-origin markings, fumigating, relabeling, CBP will set a deadline for you to fix it. If it cannot be cured, the goods must be exported or destroyed under CBP oversight.1eCFR. 19 CFR 113.62 – Basic Importation and Entry Bond Conditions
Duty-Free and Preference Claims
Paragraph (h) applies when you enter goods duty-free or at a reduced rate under a trade preference program or special provision. The bond guarantees you will actually use the goods in the qualifying manner and produce proof when CBP asks.
ISF and Advance Cargo Data
Paragraphs (j), (k), and (l) cover the Importer Security Filing (commonly called “10+2”), advance electronic cargo information, and Air Cargo Advance Screening. You agree to transmit the required data on time and in the required format. These conditions produce a large share of the liquidated damages claims CBP issues, because the deadlines are tight and the data fields are granular. A single late or inaccurate ISF transmission can generate a $5,000 claim.6eCFR. 19 CFR 113.62 – Basic Importation and Entry Bond Conditions
Liquidated Damages by Violation Type
Paragraph (n) sets the amounts. Rather than proving actual loss, CBP applies the schedule below.1eCFR. 19 CFR 113.62 – Basic Importation and Entry Bond Conditions
- General default involving merchandise: the value of the merchandise involved.
- Restricted or prohibited merchandise, or alcohol: three times the value.
- Default not involving merchandise: $1,000 per default.
- Failure to deposit estimated duties on time: two times the unpaid duties, taxes, and charges, or $1,000, whichever is greater. This is presumed if a check bounces or an ACH transfer does not reach CBP on time.
- ISF, advance cargo, or ACAS violations: $5,000 per violation.
CBP determines whether a default involves merchandise and values it using the transaction-value rules of 19 USC 1401a. The surety pays if you do not, which is why sureties look closely at compliance history before writing or renewing a bond.
Petitions for Relief
A liquidated damages claim is not final. You can petition CBP to cancel, reduce, or mitigate the amount. The petition goes to the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer named in the notice.7eCFR. 19 CFR Part 172 – Claims for Liquidated Damages and Penalties Secured by Bonds
You have 60 days from the date the claim notice was mailed. Extensions are available when circumstances justify one. There is no required form, but the petition must state the date and place of the violation and set out the facts supporting relief. The importer and the surety may each file. CBP regularly grants partial mitigation when the importer corrected the violation promptly or the default resulted from circumstances outside its control. Ignoring the notice is almost always worse than filing.
When CBP Raises Your Bond
CBP’s Revenue Division runs periodic sufficiency reviews to check whether your bond still fits your risk exposure. The review looks at import volume, liquidated damages history, payment record, outstanding bills, and the type of merchandise you handle.8U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A Guide for the Public – How CBP Sets Bond Amounts If CBP concludes the bond is insufficient, it recalculates using the 10 percent formula and adds surcharges based on delinquent bills.
An insufficiency determination is disruptive. Until you post a new or increased bond, CBP can hold cargo. If your existing surety will not raise the limit, you will need a new surety or single transaction bonds on each shipment, which gets expensive fast.
When the Surety Walks
A surety can terminate a continuous bond by giving written notice to CBP’s Revenue Division and to you. The standard minimum is 30 days.9eCFR. 19 CFR Part 113 – CBP Bonds Termination cuts off future obligations only; the surety remains liable for anything already charged against the bond.
Once the bond terminates you cannot file new entries until a replacement is on file. A pattern of liquidated damages claims makes sureties nervous, and termination notices can arrive with little warning, so importers with real volume should watch both their compliance record and their surety relationship.