Question 31
Domain 5: Penalties, Liquidation, and Post-EntryFor a first violation, Customs and Border Protection may impose a civil fine on any person who directs, assists financially or otherwise, or aids and abets the importation of merchandise seized for bearing counterfeit marks in the amount of:
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Under customs counterfeit-mark penalties, a first violation allows a civil fine against anyone who “directs, assists financially or otherwise, or aids and abets” the importation of seized merchandise. The fine is capped at “not more than the value of the merchandise had it been genuine,” measured by the manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States at the time of seizure.
Why each option is right or wrong
A. Not more than the domestic value of the imported merchandise at the time of seizure.
Domestic value of the seized counterfeit goods is not the statutory first-violation measure.
B. Not more than the value of the merchandise had it been genuine, according to the manufacturer's suggested retail price in the United States at the time of seizure.
19 U.S.C. § 1526(f)(2) authorizes Customs and Border Protection to assess a civil fine against any person who directs, assists financially or otherwise, or aids and abets the importation of merchandise seized for counterfeit marks. For a first violation, the statute caps the penalty at not more than the merchandise’s genuine value, measured by the manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States at the time of seizure.
C. Not more than twice the domestic value of the imported merchandise at the time of seizure.
Twice domestic value uses both the wrong valuation basis and an incorrect multiplier.
D. Not more than twice the value the merchandise had it been genuine, according to the manufacturer's suggested retail price in the United States at the time of seizure. CBLE P. 25
Double the genuine-value measure corresponds to a later violation, not the first.