Thursday, April 8, 2010

April 2010 Customs Broker Exam - Preliminary Answers-Updated!

***Exam Key Updated Monday April 12 at 5:30 PM***

Determining potential answers for the broker's exam questions after the test is different in a few key ways from taking the test, but none is more key than the fact that we have more than four hours. That means that we can take the time to research as much as we need to in order to get the most accurate (though still unofficial) document possible to all of you. Our first attempt may have some mistakes, but they will be corrected as new updates are posted.With that said, we're not finished yet -- BUT we do have most of them completed.

Click here for the preliminary unofficial exam answers.


No additional updates planned. Detailed commentary will be available soon for purchasers of the exam materials.

Note: Answers followed by "*" denote that there may be issues concerning the question and warrant additional investigation.


We'll post an update when the remaining answers are completed. As always, remember that these answers represent only our opinion. The official answers will come from Customs and Border Protection in a few weeks and will be posted on their site. In other words, we're probably answered the majority of the questions correctly, but these answers do not guarantee whether or not you've passed; it merely is presented as a helpful tool for broker students who are (quite understandably) eager to have any idea of where they stand.


If you would like to share your answers, explanations, questions, and other comments, we invite you to post them as comments to this blog; however, we ask that comments be professional and to the point. (emails sent directly to the Wizard may not be answered this week, so please use the comments!) Remember, we do not have the official answers. You’ll have plenty of time to argue with CBP if you disagree with their answers.


Happy browsing!

98 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much...however we can't see answers to #54 & 55.

Anonymous said...

Q64, Isnt 19 CFR 102 Rules of Origin De Minimus provided for as 7% of value (answer A) not 7 percent of weight (answer B)?

Anonymous said...

Nice job, Wizard! You are very kind to post your preliminary answers. In the spirit of gratitude and friendly discussion, may the following be offered:

Q. 4--24.24(f) (April 2009) states: Quarterly periods end on the last day of March,
June, September, and December.

Answer: D

Q. 20.--141.68--Date of entry for Immediate Delivery situation is listed as date entry summary is filed with estimated duties.

Answer E

Q. 68--Repeat from October 99, Q. 75, Answer: B

Anonymous said...

Q. 4--24.24(f) (April 2009) states: Quarterly periods end on the last day of March,
June, September, and December.


agreed...I think the answer should be (A)

Good Luck to all who have taken this test!

Karin said...

Wizard on Question 4:
The quarterly periods END on the last day of March, June, September and December. The question asks when the payments are DUE not when the period ends.

Anonymous said...

Agreed with Wizard on Q. 4, but there is no correct answer, which would be: January, April, July, and October.

Answer: Void

Anonymous said...

Thanks Wizard for all of your hard work. I have a couple of questions that someone maybe able to explain to me:

Q# 30 - Where in CATAIR does it actually state that one of the choices is authorized to certify a source document for RLF?

Q# 33 - Isn't answer A more specific w/ the ribbon like swirls cut into the side of the glass?

Q# 56 - Does anyone agree w/ me that the wording on this one is a little off. It just says "shall be accepted by CBP" ~ but in what case? I answered C as it would be accepted 30 calendar days after date of discovery.

Q# 70 - The regs do not specify 90 calendar days or business days. Is it just assumed that when the regs are not specific that they mean calendar days?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous on Question #30--See CATAIR Appendix B, Pg. B-19 (or thereabout, upper part of the page. Only a few codes are authorized at this point.

On Question #56, very good point and the additional answer C should be credited.

Unknown said...

Q. 59, repeat from October 2007, Q. 48

Answer: A

Anonymous said...

Q. 60--Most likely intended answer is E. But, question wording is pretty confusing. Protest-able?

Anonymous said...

Question 61--HTSUS General Note 12(f)(vi) de minimus for textiles, answer is B

Anonymous said...

Q.65 could B also be a choice? Venezuela is not a beneficiary country of the Andean Trade Preferance Act.

Anonymous said...

Question # 3 seems to have two answers. Answer B is Ok, but why does a U.S. citizen residing in Texas need someone else to receive service of process? Answer A fits with 19 CFR 141.18:
Entry by nonresident corporation.

A nonresident corporation (i.e., one which is not incorporated within the Customs territory of the United States or in the Virgin Islands of the United States) shall not enter merchandise for consumption unless it:
(a) Has a resident agent in the State where the port of entry is located who is authorized to accept service of process against such corporation;

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anonymous:
Q.65 could B also be a choice? Venezuela is not a beneficiary country of the Andean Trade Preferance Act.

Can someone please explain why this would not be a correct answer too?

Unknown said...

Q60: The truck was never imported into the USA so it cant be a returning good. I read it as it was shipped from the manufacturer in Japan to Canada. Assembled in Canada and them imported. Answer should be C. There was not a tariff shift. Let me know what you all think.

Anonymous said...

Any thoughts on the answer for Q# 57? Does anyone feel like they may have the right answer?

Anonymous said...

What about #6 it doesn't say anything about caskets??? I understand the single best answer idea but....

Anonymous said...

For 6, The flowers only matter whether it is accompanied by a corpse, not whether it is with a casket, which can be there, but is not a necessity.

Anonymous said...

#6 GN 3 (e) (i) says "Corpses, together with their coffins and accompanying flowers"

Anonymous said...

I thought that all three had to be present (coffin+corpse+flowers). The language says together with coffins and flowers. I also samples is a better answer, but I don't understand the issue with C.

Anonymous said...

Hi wizard, On question 11 I don't think that D can be correct as only Least Developed Countries are exempt from MPF. That would be a symbol of A+. I don't think there is a correct answer. I picked B, but only because I couldn't find a better answer.

Anonymous said...

Q#11 - to answer the last post GSP, I believe, uses SPI of A and A*.

Unknown said...

Q11 A* only applies to the countries listed in GN 4 (d). GN 4(b)(i) and (b)(ii) discuss the "least developed" countries that are identified with an A+. 24.23(c) only exempts the "least developed" countries. I dont think the answer to 11 can be D.

Anonymous said...

MPF is only exempt for A+. However, MPF can be exempt for ATPA (J) entries under HTS 98. So answer A could be right. It will be interesting to know what CBP was thinking.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation on #11...it will be interesting what cbp says. I hope that they credit both or throw it out!

Anonymous said...

The wording in #60 isn't clear. "A company in ND shipped the truck cab and chassis.....to Canada. Did it come from Japan? Or was it here in the US prior to going to Canada? The question should have stated that: "it was shipped to Canada FROM..." I think this one could be protestable.

Anonymous said...

Two things bother me about #57.
1. We do not know the information to figure out the regional content value and to determine if the trim is deminus.
2. The citations in B, C and D appear to be incorrect. If anyone knows what page 12(iii) is on, please post. I really believe C and D were suppose to be 12(b)(ii)(A).

Anonymous said...

Q68- correct answer is A. On the October 1999 exam, Q75 has A&B switched from this exam. Answer B on the October 1999 exam is answer A on this exam and answer A on this exam is answer B on the October 1999 exam. So the correct answer to Q68 is A.

Anonymous said...

Hello Wizard,

First, thank you for taking the time to take this test to help give all of us an indication of how we did. Unfortunately I'm still on the fence and need three more correct answers. Any chance any of the blank ones from yesterday's post have you had the chance to review?

Karin said...

Great Discussions. Please rememeber that most of these posts are anonymous. If the Wizard has something to say, you will see "Wizard said..." instead of "Anonymous said..."

Anonymous said...

Hi Wizard,

Q#70 ~ I choose B = 90 business days. The regs only state 90 days and apparently days = calendar days. I am thinking about protesting this one since I have found several examples in the regs where they do specify calendar, working and business days.

Q#69 ~ I choose D $450 Transaction Value of Identical or Similar merchandise. Doesn't this get kicked out of Trans value because the test values are not within the range of 5%? (153.103 under Test Values) The next step would be Trans Value of Identical or Similar merch.

How are the remaining 5 questions coming along?

Karin said...

An update on the preliminary answers will be posted sometime Monday afternoon. Many of you have asked about the 5 questions not originally answered. Please review some of the commentary provided by others on these questions. There may be some information provided by other commenters that will be useful to you.

Anonymous said...

Anyone have any thoughts on Question 31?

Karin said...

Wizard on Question 4 - Payments due within 31 days of close of the quarter - doesn't say to exclude holidays.
Scenario 1
Quarters close -
March 31 (April = 30 +1 day = Due May 1)
June 30 (July = 31 = Due July 31)
September 30 (October = 31 - Due Oct 31) 
December 31 (January = 31 - Due January 31)
Answer should be May, July, Oct and January; however, no answers match this one.

If considering holidays....
March 31 (April = 30 + 1 = May 1 - Due May 1 - no holidays)
June 30 (July = 31 + one day holiday for July 4 = Due August 1)
September 30 (October = 31 + one holiday = Nov 1
December 31 (January = 31 + two holidays = Due Feb)
Answer should be May, August , November, Feb
Answer D fits this scenario.

The Wizard has a really twisted mind to come up with these scenarios!

Karin said...

Wizard on Question 57 -
Answer D? Check out the scenario in CBP Ruling HQ 958103.

Karin said...

Wizard on Q31
This is a tough one. How about Answer D?

Answer A is eliminated under 142.3a(d) because this action is allowable. However, this provision may be modified based on the outcome of Lizarraga Customs Broker v. Bureau of customs and Border Protection.

171 App C:
When a penalty against a broker is contemplated, the “appropriate Customs officer”, ( i.e. , the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer) shall issue a written notice which advises the violator of the allegations which would warrant imposition of a penalty.

We have a due process issue...bascially CBP must provide notification prior to the final action.

Anonymous said...

Hi Wizard,

Thank you for updated the answers. I have a couple of questions as I am right on the border of passing:

#3~ Is the answer still B or has it changed to A which is in your comments section?

#11~This question is confusing me. I choose D however I am not sure if you changed the answer to A which is in the comments section. I see that someone made a comment about the SPI code of A or A+..

#40~Is answer C not possible....I see that you changed it to D. I am still getting answer C for ruling HQ954144.

#71~ I also answer A however I think that I may be wrong. I am thinking that the answer might be D. Shouldn't we split the value ~ $100,000 under the 9802 and $2000 under the dutiable 9012?

Thanks for your help!

Anonymous said...

Question 21: You say the answer is E. however in section 191.11 it states that in order to use tradeoff, tradeoff must occur between two separate legal entities. How did you read this question? I answered A since I couldn't read in the question where it qualified the transaction between two separate legal entities

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your insight and possible answers.

Question regarding Q1.
I choose B based on 141.43 which states that resident principals cannot appoint a subagent except for shippers export declarations. Friends of mine have stated that they believe E to be the answer per 141.46. I can’t rule that answer out and I fear I may have this question wrong now. You have also B for question 1. What cite invalidates E or makes B the better answer?

Anonymous said...

Regarding Q#1...I am also in the middle between both answers. I answered E however I agree that B looks correct either. I can't seem to find anything that may indicate that E is incorrect. I only see that Government agencies may not need a bond however nothing about a POA.

Anyone have any comments on Q#1?

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard or recieved anything from Customs yet??

Anonymous said...

Hi Wizard,

Heard a rumor that the pass rate was 11.1% for the April 2010 exam......

xPEACEMAKERx said...

Answers are posted on Customs website....I passed!

Anonymous said...

Cbp posted the answers.....

Anonymous said...

I passed!!! Customs has the answers up on their website as of this morning!!

Anonymous said...

Curious if anyone has heard an "official" pass rate ??
Can't imagine it will be a high pass rate

professionelle said...

does anyone know if now that the answers are posted, we can call the port to confirm whether we passed?

thanks.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone received their letter or a phone call from Customs yet? Anyone thinking of protesting any questions?

Anonymous said...

I was told that Charlotte results are mailing out today (Friday). Not sure if that's nationwide.

Anonymous said...

I called SF Port this morning and they have the results available.

Unknown said...

I got a letter today from Customs. I passed.

Anonymous said...

I got my results today, Saturday May 1st. I passed!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

got my letter today, I passed! Conrats to all, what a hard exam.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard the official pass rate for this exam?

Anonymous said...

Any chance the Wizard could post any possible questions to protest?

Unknown said...

So far I've found decent protests for 54 and 56, but I need 3 questions to pass. Anyone else find any good ones?

Anonymous said...

Hi Murph,

I also wanted to protest #56 as I thought there could be several correct answers to this one.

Not sure what you answered for #25, but I will be protesting this one. Did you get that one correct?

Anonymous said...

I’m not sure the answer for Q 25 is can be protested. The release of the FDA material in the question is conditional for a 30 period unless certain actions happen as outlined in 141.113. Per the question none of those actions happen. The conditional release period then expires accordingly. CBP recall is “30 days from date of release” but the release was conditional until the point at which it expired. The CBP recall option starts from that date the conditional release period expires and the status is “released”. The two time frames together add up to 60 days and the only answer that allowed CBP to still request within their time frame was D.

Anonymous said...

Regarding #25.....we are to assume that the freight was released on Feb 1st as per CBP's response. The question does not state "entered and released" on Feb 1st. If we are assuming that the release is the same day why can't we assume that the notice of sampling did extend the conditional release period from Feb 5th which would bring the last day for a redelivery notice to April 6th. All HQ 's rulings for this type of scenario specifies the release date and this question does not. Since the release date was not specified Feb 5 becomes the relevant date for determining the conditional release period. Since no Notice of Refusal of Admission or Notice that Merchandise May Proceed was issued, the default date for the end of the conditional release period would be 30 days after the date of the sampling notice. Customs has 30 days after March 7 to issue the CF4647, which would be April 6.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to all that have passed.
Is it possible to protest 15 questions on this test as this is what I need to pass...

Also, I would like everyones input on the Boskage study guide. I am seriously thinking of using their study guide and program for the next test.
your input is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Hi Murph,

Do you mind sharing your thoughts on #56 which you are planning to protest?

Anonymous said...

Are there any general ideas as to what questions are a good candidate for an appeal?? I was thinking about questions #1, #3, #5and #11?

Anonymous said...

Hi Wizard,

Can you give me your opinion on #40? CBP's answer is D - 7508.90.5000 - other articals of nickel, other, other. I choose C - 7505.12.3000 - Nickel rods, of nickel alloys, not cold-formed. It seems to me that C shows rods specifically stated so why would we move further in the HTS to 7508 other? What do you think?

Thanks for your help!

Karin said...

Wizard on Question 40 -

Answer C is incorrect because the amount of iron does not qualify the whole as an alloy. See Subheading Notes to Chapter 75.

Anonymous said...

Hi Wizard,

Maybe I am not reading the note correctly. It states in 1(b)- Nickel alloys:

(ii) The content by weight of at least one of the other elements is greater than the limit specified in the foregoing table, or
(iii) The total content by weight of the elements other than nickel plus cobalt exceeds 1 percent.

I understand now that (ii) would not work because the iron is only at 46% and it should be at 50% - correct? However, point (ii) does say the word "or" and goes on to point (iii): The total content by weight of elements other than nickel plus cobalt exceeds 1 percent. Excluding the nickel plus cobalt leaves 46% Iron which exceeds 1 percent.

Again, I am not sure if I am reading this correctly ~ what do you think?

Anonymous said...

Hi Wizard,

Regarding #40, as we researched further it seems that it does qualify as an alloy. However, it seems that 7505 may not have been considered correct because the tie rod was to be a specific part. In my opinion, the question did not go into specifics such as "structural rods" or that the rods were "threaded" and a finished part. It says "exclusively" however how do we know that the part was not further processed in the usa for use on a turbine engine? I think that the question is lacking information needed to classify this piece into "other articles" ~ which would make you stop at Nickel alloy rods.

What's your opinion?

Thanks:)

Karin said...

Wizard on Q40
Try doing a search of CROSS using a few key terms from the question. I suspect you'll find a ruling that is almost identical to the scenario presented in Q40.

Anonymous said...

jarito
I missed the 75% by 5 questions... I am planning to appeal, if someone is interested please let me know, we could try to work together, maybe we have some answers in common...

Anonymous said...

WIZARD:
COULD YOU PLEASE POST A LIST OF POSSIBLE QUESTIONS THAT COULD BE APPEAL?

Karin said...

Wizard on Protests
For all who have asked, please check out the comments for this blog for possible protest questions posted by readers. With all of the freebies CBP gave, the Wizard doesn't see much in the protest category for this test. If you find one, it won't hurt to try.

Anonymous said...

jarito:
I have all the freebies right... it's not fai r :(
Can somebody please explain me the process of the appeals? Which are the changes they approve them?

Anonymous said...

WIZARD:

Could you please post up everyone’s comments, not just the ones you pick and choose.

Karin said...

To Anonymous,
With all of the spam, comments bashing CBP and those with inappropriate tones, all comments are not published. Unfortunately when you have a lot of anonymous commenters, you get a lot of spam and inappropriate comments. Just think of the spam you get in your email every day and multiply it. In the midst of moderating those, all comments may not get posted and we certianly didn't intend to offend anyone. We also have some comments about one topic posted under an unrelated or older blog posting and we can't move them to the appropriate topic. Remember that the comments are moderated, so there is no guarantee that all comments will be posted.

Anonymous said...

WIZARD:
Could you please explain how the appeals process work?
Thank you, i really apreciate the time you take to do this.

Karin said...

Wizard on Appeals
For information on how to appeal and the process, please see the blogs posted on 5/26 and 5/27. Check out the links to actual court cases for some interesting reading on appeals.

Anonymous said...

Just a little side note so that no one gets nervous about the protest like I did. I sent my protest via UPS on Friday, May 28th to the address indicated on the Customs letter (DC address). However, after the holiday, I tracked my shipment to make sure that it arrived and was signed for. When tracking through UPS it showed the delivery address as "Capitol Heights, MD". So, I called the broker compliance branch in DC and they explained that most of the mail is diverted to another location for screening and then forwarded to the correct address.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone received feedback on their protest? I just sent mine out on 6/22 and show delivered. Wondering how long until you hear back from CBP...

Anonymous said...

Has anyone received feedback on their protest? I just sent mine out on 6/22 and show delivered. Wondering how long until you hear back from CBP...

Karin said...

Wizard on Protests....

Unfortunately, you may not hear anything about your protest until a week before the exam and maybe not even then. Don't expect to hear anything before September. That way you can be excited if you hear something before then.

Anonymous said...

So whenever people begin hearing back on protests, try to post what was granted and what was not! It will give all of us an idea of what to expect!

Anonymous said...

Waiting, not so patiently! However, I did register for the next exam hoping that it's true what they say……..customs tries to advise anyone registered for the next exam at least by the cut off date in order for you to get your money back.

Anonymous said...

Not true in my case......I received my October protest results two weeks after I received my letter saying I passed the April exam. I called customs a day or two before the refund date was applicable and they still could not indicate if I passed on the protest.

Anonymous said...

The same this happened to me. I didn't get the notice that I passed the October exam until 2 weeks after i received noticed I passed the April exam. I took it twice and passed it twice.

Anonymous said...

Thanks! Well, I guess that blows my theory:( I do not want to take this test again.....I only missed it by 1. I guess that I will start trying to call in Sept and see if I can find anything out. Thanks for the information!!

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard anything regarding protests? Anything at all!

Anonymous said...

no, nothing yet. It's driving me crazy ~ did you register for the next exam?

Anonymous said...

I need to this week. I would prefer to not take the exam. I am so anxious to find out about my protests and seriously hope we will find out soon.

Anonymous said...

I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some letters were mailed on Friday and Monday this past week. The rest are still in the process of being signed. They gave me credit for the FDA question, # 25………only needed the 1 to pass!!

Boskage said...

Congratulations on passing with the prostest to Q25! We hope others will share similar good news!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on passing with protest question #25! This was one I protested as well. Can you please give the response you sent into Customs for protesting?

Anonymous said...

If any one else has received theirs back as well, could you post some of the questions you where granted?

Anonymous said...

Thank you! If you look at my post from May 3rd...it starts out "regarding #25"...I actually made my protest a little less complicated than that original post - I protested by stating that none of the answers were correct because the question does not state the actual release date. The question only states the entered date of Feb 1st. The regs to support this question are all based off of release date which is not provided. The answer which Customs gave was based off of the feb 1st entry date however the question should have stated "entered and released". So basically I stated that the question did not provide enough information to answer the question.
I didn't try to prove my answer because I would have had to use the word assume and in the end that is what you had to do w/ custom's answer...assume that feb 1st was the release date. How did you argue it? How many did you miss it by? I also protested #40 but they only gave me #25.

Anonymous said...

Even if you "assume" the release date was Feb 1st. The answers are still all incorrect. When FDA issued the notice for sampling, that then extends the conditional release period to 60 days from the date of sampling. All the answers where incorrect even if they would have stated the release date was Feb 1st.

Anonymous said...

congrats to all those who passed with your protest. I am 3 questions short and did not get credit on any of my responses. I did get credit on Q 25 which I believe is granted to everyone. Check your scores, you might be pleasantly surprised. good luck for Oct 04 2010

Anonymous said...

I am sorry that you missed it by 3.....believe me, I understand! Good luck for Oct's test!! Did you receive your official letter? Was it sent out from DC or from your local port? I am still waiting for my official letter. I went to my port last week to withdraw from Oct's test and they advised me that the person was out on vacation.....just wondering if DC sends out the letters?

Anonymous said...

Hi yes I got official letter with explanations of why my protests were denied. Document came from DC not my local port. You will probably get yours shortly. congrats again.

Anonymous said...

Wizard or other readers: do you have any last minute tips for next Monday's exam? special areas to focus on, etc? I have been studying and doing practice exams for the last two months already and do not want to leave anything out.
thanks

Anonymous said...

Has anyone that protested the april 2010 exam and passed received any communication from Customs? My fingerprints were received back from the FBI and my file was sent to the investigator however I have not received nor have my references any phone calls yet.