Classifications

HTS classification is the process of assigning the correct 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule code to every product you import. The HTS code determines your duty rate, your trade program eligibility, and whether the product can legally enter the country. Get it right and you pay what you owe. Get it wrong and you either overpay duties for years or trigger CBP penalties; sometimes both.

Because the wrong HTS code costs money in two directions. Misclassify a product into a higher duty bracket and you overpay on every entry until someone catches it. Misclassify into a lower bracket and CBP can issue penalties for negligence or, if the misclassification is found to be intentional, fraud under 19 USC §1592. Importers are legally required to use reasonable care in classification, and that responsibility falls on the importer, not the broker.

Trade Audit is reactive. It scans entries you've already filed and finds duty you overpaid. Classification is proactive. It makes sure your products are coded correctly before they're entered, so the overpayment doesn't happen in the first place. The two work together: Classification prevents future errors, Trade Audit recovers money lost to past ones.

Licensed customs brokers in-house. Classification is part of Caspian's advisory practice, which layers onto the platform with human expertise where the work requires it. The brokers review your products, assign HTS codes, and document the rationale. This is the kind of reasonable-care record that protects you if CBP ever questions a classification.

Caspian's Dynamic Product Catalog updates in real time as your products and HTS codes change, so the classifications feeding into your filings stay current as your catalog evolves.

CBP can challenge a classification through a rate advance, a Notice of Action, or a formal ruling request. If the disagreement results in a rate advance after liquidation, the response is a Protest under 19 USC §1514.  If it surfaces before liquidation, a PSC corrects it. Caspian files both PSCs and Protests, so disputes get handled on the platform without routing to outside counsel for the filing itself.

Sometimes. If your products are currently misclassified into a higher-duty code than the law requires. The goal of classification work isn't to find the lowest possible code; it's to find the correct code. When the correct code happens to carry a lower duty rate than the one currently being used, the savings are real and ongoing.  Trade Audit will surface those opportunities; Classification work locks them in going forward.

Classification pricing is structured around the volume and complexity of your product catalog and is quoted directly. Schedule a call with the team for a tailored estimate.