Classification consistency is the goal that the same merchandise receives the same HTSUS classification no matter which port it enters through, which import specialist reviews it, or which broker files it. CBP pursues it through binding rulings published in the CROSS database, through the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, which review entries by industry rather than by port, and through headquarters review when ports or rulings disagree.
Consistency cuts both ways for importers. A classification that departs from how CBP has treated substantially identical goods invites a CF-28 or CF-29 and is hard to defend in an audit. An established and uniform CBP practice, on the other hand, is a treatment that CBP generally cannot change without the notice-and-comment process in 19 U.S.C. 1625(c). Classifying an importer's own similar products in different headings is also difficult to square with reasonable care. The terms in this category explain how uniformity is defined and maintained, and what happens when two rulings or two ports reach different answers.