Are you an owner or officer of a small or midsize business? An import or trade compliance professional? Someone whose job responsibilities include some aspect of the process of importing merchandise into the United States, whether or not that includes the "formal entry" of merchandise? As of September 16, 2014, the possibility of finding yourself personally exposed to potentially massive civil penalties for your company's import activities has skyrocketed.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its en banc opinion on September 16 in the closely watched case of United States v. Trek Leather, Inc. This case stems from a civil penalty issued by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to an importing company, Trek Leather, and its president, Harish Shadadpuri, for Trek Leather's failure to declare the value of assists to imported suits. The government sought to impose civil penalties against both the company and Mr. Shadadpuri under the customs civil penalty statute, 19 USC § 1592.