Glossary term
Misclassification
Declaring goods under the wrong tariff code, whether by error or design.
Assigning the wrong tariff line to goods. It changes the duty, and it can change whether a licence, standard or restriction applies.
Customs treats it as the importer’s responsibility regardless of who prepared the entry, and post-clearance audits routinely reach back years. Where misclassification reduced duty, the exposure is the underpaid amount plus interest and penalties - and it compounds quietly, because the same wrong code is usually used on every subsequent shipment.