Question 39
Domain 6: Broker Compliance and RecordkeepingA customs broker discovers that a client has omitted information from an affidavit. The broker believes the client omitted the information by mistake and advises the client promptly of the omission and the proper corrective actions required. What else must the broker do?
Correct answer: C
Explanation
A customs broker who discovers an omission must not only advise the client of the mistake and corrective steps, but also keep documentation of that advice. The rule requires the broker to “retain a record of their communication with the client,” so the communication is preserved as evidence of prompt disclosure and compliance.
Why each option is right or wrong
A. Provide the client with the monetary penalty associated with making the omission.
Penalty amounts are not the broker’s required additional duty in this situation; recordkeeping is.
B. Tell the client the broker can no longer conduct customs transactions on the client's behalf.
An inadvertent client omission does not automatically require ending representation after giving corrective advice.
C. Retain a record of their communication with the client.
Under the customs broker recordkeeping rules, once the broker identifies an omission and promptly notifies the client of the error and the corrective steps, the broker must also preserve evidence of that disclosure by keeping a record of the communication. The requirement is to retain the communication itself or a contemporaneous record of it, so the broker can later show the omission was addressed promptly and properly.
D. Suspend their customs broker's license until the client resolves their omission on the affidavit.
License suspension is not a self-imposed corrective step for discovering a client’s mistaken omission.