In late June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers Kentucky detained and seized a shipment containing over 300 counterfeit items shipped from Hong Kong.

While the outside packing list indicated the contents were belts, CBP officers instead found watches from “Rolex”, “Cartier” and “Panerai Luminor”. The shipment also contained sandals from Tory Burch, earrings from Chanel, Gucci sandals bracelets, LV scarves, Gucci scarves, Chanel Scares and many more luxury branded goods. CBP indicated the shipment contained over $371,365 worth of goods – if authentic.

Author’s note: in general, CBP will detain goods suspected of being counterfeit and then send images or samples of the goods to the trademark holder. If the trademark holder tells Customs the goods are not authentic – CBP will seize them and issue the importer of record a seizure notice.

Also – in addition to seizing the goods for being counterfeit, CBP can also seize any goods that are included in the shipment, but not properly declared or mis-declared on the packing list and entry paperwork.

In general – it is easy to run into Customs problems – before you import, or before you export, contact David Hsu by phone/text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com for a free consultation.