Environmental Testing Laboratory Inc.

The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (Customs) is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security with principal jurisdiction for enforcing the laws of the United States related to the importation or exportation of any person, thing, service, or technology. There are specific Customs regulations governing how these things or people or services are permitted to lawfully cross the border into or out of the U.S.

Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc. (ETL), assists its clients in understanding and complying with Customs requirements for many imported and exported products; however, we focus our practice on articles that are highly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (BATF).

ETL is unique in its expertise in dealing with the intersection of law and regulations of these different federal agencies whenever a highly regulated product is imported or exported. ETL is able to identify issues that involve other regulatory agencies (federal and state) to ensure all compliance elements and enforcement risks are properly addressed prior to importing or exporting goods.

Customs works with other federal agencies like FDA, USDA, EPA, CPSC, DEAL, and TTB to ensure these other government agencies' requirements are met when products are imported, and to enforce all relevant federal and state laws and regulations. Customs has unique enforcement tools, such as the authority to demand redelivery of imported merchandise into Customs' custody, the power to issue and resolve claims for liquidated damages (bond actions) when an importer or warehouse or carrier fails to comply with Customs bond provisions, and the authority to issue and collect civil monetary penalties or to administratively seize or detain goods imported contrary to law. FDA uses these tools quite frequently, and thus generates revenue for both Customs and the U.S. Treasury when importers or their imported products fail to comply with federal regulations or the importation process.

Environmental Testing Laboratory, Inc., represents many clients before Customs in such actions, particularly when the underlying violation is one related to the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and FDA regulation. If you receive a Customs Demand for Redelivery or a Claim for Payment of Liquidated Damages, or a Customs civil monetary penalty or administrative seizure notice, do not delay in calling ETL for help. If the product involved is regulated by another federal agency, you need expertise in both Customs law and regulations and the law and regulations of the other agency. That's where ETL steps in to show The Way Through the maze of import enforcement.

Imports • U.S. Customs • FDA Requirements • FDA Enforcement • Import Alerts • FDA Refusals • FDA Inspections • Import Delays & Detentions

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