INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
CBP Form 28 Requests for Information & Prior Disclosures
A CBP Form 28, the Request for Information, is U.S. Customs and Border Protection asking you to prove something about an entry — invoices, payment records, classification support, origin documentation. You have 30 days from the date of the request to respond, and the form is rarely random: it usually means an import specialist has questions about your classification, declared value, or country of origin, and your other entries of the same merchandise are likely getting the same look. The response you file becomes part of the record — every statement in it is effectively an admission. And if gathering the documents reveals an error that runs through many entries, the most important decision isn’t how to answer the form. It’s whether to file a prior disclosure first.
This guide covers what a Form 28 is, how to respond well, what it can escalate into, and how the prior disclosure decision works.
What a CBP Form 28 Is
CBP Form 28 is a formal request for documents or information about an entry, issued — typically by an import specialist at a Center of Excellence and Expertise — when the entry papers don’t give CBP enough to verify appraisement or classification. The authority comes from CBP’s duty under 19 U.S.C. 1500 and 1401a to appraise and classify merchandise, implemented through 19 CFR 151.11. Common requests include:
- Commercial documents — invoices, purchase orders, proof of payment, contracts.
- Valuation detail — related-party pricing support, assists, royalties, additions to price.
- Classification support — product specifications, materials breakdowns, samples, marketing literature.
- Origin and preference proof — manufacturing records and affidavits, especially where a free trade agreement claim or Section 301 exposure turns on origin.
Read the request as a map of CBP’s suspicion. A Form 28 asking for payment records signals a valuation concern; one asking for a materials breakdown signals classification; one asking for production records signals origin. Whatever CBP is probing on this entry, assume it is interested in every entry like it.
The 30-Day Response Window
The form gives you 30 days from the date of the request to respond. If you can’t make the deadline, the instructions say to contact the CBP officer named on the form — extensions are sometimes granted, but ask before the deadline, not after. Don’t ignore the form: an unanswered Form 28 doesn’t make the question go away. CBP simply decides the issue on the information it already has, and the usual next step is a CBP Form 29 Notice of Action advancing the rate or value — followed by liquidation of the entry at the higher duty.
How to Respond Well
A good Form 28 response is complete, accurate, documented, and no broader than it needs to be. The standards are not symmetrical: an incomplete answer invites a rate advance, while an inaccurate one can become evidence in a penalty case. Practical rules:
- Answer what was asked — fully. Address each request, tie each answer to a document, and organize the package so the import specialist can verify your position quickly. Persuading CBP now is far cheaper than protesting later.
- Verify before you submit. Confirm the facts with your supplier, broker, and accounting records. Your response is a representation to a federal agency; a guess dressed up as a fact is how a duty question becomes a 19 U.S.C. 1592 penalty problem.
- Don’t volunteer beyond the scope. Answer honestly, but you are not obligated to brief CBP on issues it didn’t raise — especially when those issues belong in a prior disclosure instead.
- Get counsel involved when exposure exists. If pulling the documents reveals misclassification, undervaluation, or a bad origin claim — particularly across multiple entries — have a trade attorney review the response before it goes out. The order in which you answer CBP and disclose to CBP can determine your penalty exposure.
What a Form 28 Can Lead To
A Form 28 is a question; what follows depends on the answer. If your response holds up, the entry liquidates as filed and the inquiry ends. If it doesn’t — or you don’t respond — the typical escalation runs: Form 29 notice of action, liquidation with increased duties, and, where CBP believes false statements or omissions caused a revenue loss, a penalty case under 19 U.S.C. 1592, where negligence penalties can reach two times the lost duties and fraud penalties the domestic value of the merchandise. Suspected counterfeit goods or serious violations can take the separate and harsher seizure track.
The Prior Disclosure Decision
A prior disclosure is a voluntary report to CBP, under 19 U.S.C. 1592(c)(4) and 19 CFR 162.74, of violations you discovered yourself — made before, or without knowledge of, the commencement of a formal investigation, with a tender of the lost duties. Its value is the penalty cap: for negligence or gross negligence, a valid disclosure limits the penalty to interest on the lost duties; even for fraud, it is capped at one times the lost duties (or 10% of dutiable value where no duty was lost). Compared with up to twice the lost duties for ordinary negligence — across five years of entries — the difference is routinely six or seven figures.
Timing is everything, and the Form 28 complicates it. A Form 28 by itself does not normally mean a formal investigation has commenced — it is an inquiry from an import specialist, and CBP’s stated policy is not to use the Form 28 as notice that an investigation has begun. But the regulation presumes you knew about an investigation once CBP informs you of the violation’s circumstances, a special agent makes inquiries or requests records, a pre-penalty or penalty notice issues, or merchandise is seized. A Form 28 means CBP is already looking at exactly the issue you would be disclosing — and with every week of delay, the door can close. A disclosure filed after a Form 28 arrives can still be valid, but the analysis is fact-specific and worth an attorney’s review before anything is filed or answered.
File a Disclosure or Respond Narrowly?
| Situation | Response posture |
|---|---|
| Documents support your entry as filed | Respond fully and on time; no disclosure needed |
| Isolated error on the queried entry only | Respond accurately and correct the entry; disclosure usually unnecessary |
| Error repeats across many entries, modest duty loss | Attorney review; often respond truthfully and file a prior disclosure covering the affected entries |
| Systemic undervaluation, misclassification, or false origin | Counsel first, before responding; prior disclosure likely, sequenced ahead of or with the response |
| Signs of an active investigation (agent contact, seizure, penalty notice) | Disclosure window may be closed; build a penalty defense with counsel |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a CBP Form 28 an accusation?
No. It is a request for information, not a penalty or a finding. But it signals genuine scrutiny, and the response becomes part of the record — treat it with the care you’d give a legal filing.
How long do I have to respond to a CBP Form 28?
30 days from the date of the request. If you need more time, contact the CBP officer named on the form before the deadline and ask for an extension.
Does a Form 28 mean I can no longer file a prior disclosure?
Not by itself. A Form 28 is generally not notice that a formal investigation has commenced. But it shows CBP is examining the issue, and events that follow it — agent inquiries, penalty notices, seizures — can cut off disclosure benefits. If you have real exposure, the disclosure analysis should happen now.
What happens if I ignore a Form 28?
CBP decides the classification or value question on the record it has, typically issues a Form 29 notice of action, and the entry liquidates with increased duties — with penalty referral on the table if CBP believes the original entry was false.
A Form 28 is the moment to find out how big the problem is — before CBP does. Reidel Law Firm represents importers nationwide in Form 28 responses, prior disclosures, and customs penalty defense, with flat-fee engagements available so you know the cost before the work begins.
