A Voluntary Tender is a voluntary payment of additional duties, taxes, or fees owed to CBP on previously entered merchandise, without filing a formal prior disclosure under 19 U.S.C. § 1592(c)(4). It is most commonly used for small, isolated, or unambiguous errors where the additional protections of a full prior disclosure are not warranted — or not available.
Tender mechanisms in ACE:
- Post-Summary Correction (PSC) under 19 CFR § 174 — Used when liquidation has not yet occurred. PSC amends the original entry summary, and additional duties are billed and paid.
- Protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 — Used after liquidation when the importer challenges (or seeks to correct) the liquidated rate. Not strictly a "tender" but can result in additional payment.
- Reconciliation — For importers participating in CBP's Reconciliation Program, an unresolved value, classification, or origin issue can be reconciled within 21 months of the original entry.
- Voluntary letter to CBP — A straightforward letter to the port director enclosing payment for additional duties owed on identified entries; receipt acknowledged by CBP and the duty applied to the entries.
Voluntary Tender vs. Prior Disclosure — key differences:
| Voluntary Tender | Prior Disclosure | |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory basis | None (administrative practice) | 19 U.S.C. § 1592(c)(4) |
| Penalty cap reduction | None — full § 1592 exposure remains | Statutory cap (interest only for negligence/gross negligence; 1× duty for fraud) |
| CBP acknowledgment | Receipt of payment | Formal acceptance letter |
| Recommended for | Small, isolated, unambiguous errors | Material errors, pattern violations, sophisticated issues |
When Voluntary Tender is appropriate:
- Minor clerical or arithmetic errors (incorrect quantity, transposed values) detected internally
- Single-entry classification errors with low duty impact and clear correction
- Pre-liquidation corrections via Post-Summary Correction
- Reconciliation of known issues already flagged in the original entry
When Prior Disclosure is the better choice:
- Pattern errors across many entries
- Material loss of duties (typically >$10,000 in additional duties)
- Issues that would be hard to defend if discovered in audit
- Any sense that CBP may already be investigating
Caution: A Voluntary Tender does not prevent CBP from later assessing a Section 1592 penalty for the same conduct — the importer still has full statutory exposure. Counsel should evaluate the facts before choosing tender over disclosure; for material errors, the additional procedure and disclosure-letter content of a formal prior disclosure is almost always worth the modest extra effort.