Lawfirm

I'm falling behind on my goal of blogging a ruling a week. So, I am cheating and calling an action of the United States Supreme Court a "ruling," which it technically is. Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari in Shadadpuri v. United States . That means that the decision of the full United States Court of Appeals in Trek Leather  stands as the law of the land. Is this a terrible result? Probably not in that particular case. It appears that Mr. Shadadpuri was a bad actor in terms of customs compliance. But, the decision is not limited to bad actors. It means that anyone who provides information to Customs that is material to its handling of an entry is potentially liable for a penalty if that information turns out to be false by reason of fraud, gross negligence, or negligence. By anyone, I mean anyone. This applies to the importer, individuals who are employees of the importer, and third parties including brokers, carriers, sureties, and domestic ...

Its a worst nightmare come true for a marketer, the brand getting into a health controversy. India's favorite noodles brand Maggi landed in its biggest challenge of its life when the health officials from Uttarpradesh FDA asked the company to recall one batch of noodles of a suspected high levels monosodium glutamate (MSG).The news spread like a wildfire both in social media and mainstream media .  The company sprang into action by denying any addition of MSG to its noodles however with a caveat that glutamate may have occurred naturally to noodles because of some ingredients. ( really !). Another news that went viral is that Maggi Noodles contains excessive quantities of the metal lead and hence it is going to be banned. Again the company in its clarification says that they test noodles for lead content and it is within the permissible limit ( really !) . Its a crisis for a brand which is having more than 70% share in the Indian market but with competition hotting up. A big blow t...

May 19th is a holiday for customs and trade professionals. I know that because I declared it to be so. If you don't recall, read this post .

The best part about getting healthy and achieving a lean body is that each of us already have what it takes to make that happen.  Also, it does not cost lots of money nor does it require anything special, not even a gym membership.  We can achieve a lean body naturally and that happens with how we live.  Our lifestyle determines what are body will look and feel like. Being consistent with eating healthy, exercise, staying hydrated and getting plenty of rest will create a lean physique naturally.  It starts with our shopping lists and the foods we are buying to maintain the body we have.  If we are buying crap then we will create a body of crap.  I know that sounds bluntly harsh, but the truth can sting when it hits us between the eyes.  The same goes for exercise and guaranteed if you are not moving and taking care of that body with a regular fitness program, it will let you know through injury or stiffness. We can lean up naturally by purchasing h...

Several alert readers have pointed me in the direction of the May 6, 2015 Customs Bulletin & Decisions in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposes to revoke NY N035321 (Aug. 18, 2008). In that ruling, Customs considered the classification of a 14-inch plastic penguin made of red, orange, green and clear beads. To make the item even more impressive, it is equipped with light bulbs that run through the frame and it wears a "Santa hat" made of lights. Stop there for a moment. As with my lighted tie , I have been unable to find a picture of this particular item. Note to anonymous law clerk who found me a representative tie: treat this as a challenge. Find me a picture, please. Customs originally classified this item in Heading 3926 as an other article of plastic. The importer asked for reconsideration of that decision and asserted that it is properly classified as a festive article in heading 9505. As you probably know, the scope of heading 9505 has been the subje...

Do you remember the tale of Customs Fraud Investigations, LLC v. Victaulic Company ? If not, you should go back and read that post. CFI is an entity established to conduct research and analysis with the apparent goal of identifying customs fraud. The ultimate goal of which appears to be to profit by bringing False Claims Act cases against alleged fraudsters. Nice business model. In the case of Victaulic, CFI claimed that the company was not labeling its products consistent with the country of origin marking laws and regulations. While doing so, Victaulic also allegedly failed to notify Customs and Border Protection of the violation and deposit marking duties. As a result, according to CFI, Victaulic has committed customs fraud and, by making a false claim, deprived the U.S. government of lawful revenue. CFI claims it should be able to maintain a False Claims Act case on this basis and receive a portion of the revenue eventually paid to the U.S. As previously discussed, CFI based this a...

How simple that sounds but it really is a choice.  The weekend is upon us and all the excitement of what that means to each of us: a break from work, social drinking, parties, indulgence in unhealthy foods, and plain slacking off from our goals of living a healthy lifestyle.  It is almost as if the weekend turns us into different people ... the "Jekyll and Hyde" of fitness and health exposed. I admit to letting my hair down a bit on the weekend, and especially a little more this Sunday and Monday to celebrate Mother's Day and my Fabulous 51 Birthday.  However, I do not agree with plunging completely into the dark side of forgetfulness of living a healthy life, and not being able to exemplify what that means not only to me but those I teach and motivate on the daily. Moderation is knowing how to moderate.  A treat day does not need to turn into a cheat weekend because I guarantee that guilt and feeling like crap will come knocking at the door. It is really OK to enjoy...

Brand : RUOSH Company : Sara Suole Pvt Ltd Brand Analysis Count : # 557 Ruosh is an interesting brand. The brand came to my notice through some good print ads in the TOI supplement with a very intriguing tagline " Pity we don't make shoes for women". I wondered how a brand can put such a tagline with a risk of offending women consumers. Ruosh is a premium brand of shoes from a little-known Bangalore based  company - Sara Suole. Although the company is little known to the consumer world, Sara Suole has been a supplier of shoes to some of the well known global brands like Espirit, Kenneth Cole, Louis Phillippe etc. The company which was established in 2001 is a leading exporter of shoes and soles. Its natural that a quality product supplier would want to establish its name in the branded world rather than remain as a little-known supplier of shoes. We have seen companies like Mirza Tanners launching their own brand (Red Tape). RUOSH was thus born. The brand which started sm...

Note, this is not another post about tariff classification. Read through the facts to get to the more interesting issue. How much controversy could there possibly be over the tariff classification of an add-on child safety seat for bicycles? Apparently, enough to general HQ H170637  (Feb. 11, 2015). Kent International imports the Wee Ride child safety seat that is designed to mount in front of the saddle on an adult bicycle. Here's what it looks like: Back in 2005, CBP issued a ruling classifying the Wee Ride as a bicycle accessory in 8714.99.80, subject to a 10% rate of duty.  Customs subsequently issued rulings to other importers classifying similar safety seats in 9401.80.40 as seats, which is a duty-free provision. Obviously, that gave competitors an advantage and probably annoyed Kent. Kent even got some protests approved on the basis of the subsequent rulings. However, Kent's subsequent entries were liquidated in 8714, forcing anther round of protests, which includ...