Treatment Previously Accorded
/ˈtriːtmənt ˈpriːviəsli əˈkɔːrdɪd/
Treatment previously accorded is a demonstrated, consistent practice CBP has applied to substantially identical transactions, even without a formal ruling. Under 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(2), CBP must follow the same notice-and-comment procedures to modify such treatment as it does to modify a written ruling.
In Detail
Not every classification position is memorialized in a ruling letter. An importer may have entered a product the same way for years, with CBP consistently liquidating entries without challenge or at a consistent duty rate. Section 1625(c)(2) recognizes that this kind of consistent CBP practice functions, in effect, like an unwritten ruling — and cannot be reversed without the same public notice-and-comment safeguards applied to formal ruling modifications.
Establishing "treatment previously accorded" requires more than a single favorable entry. CBP and the courts — notably in Precision Specialty Metals v. United States and Motorola, Inc. v. United States — look to factors including the number of transactions, the length of time CBP treated the goods consistently, whether CBP had actual knowledge of the material facts underlying the transactions, and the degree of uniformity across entries and ports.
If an importer can establish a qualifying treatment, CBP must handle a change in position the same way it handles a ruling modification — publishing notice in the Customs Bulletin, accepting public comments, and applying the new position only prospectively.
Classification Significance
Treatment previously accorded is a valuable but underused protection. Importers without a formal ruling often assume they have no defense against a sudden CBP reclassification, but a well-documented pattern of consistent entries can trigger the same procedural protections as a written ruling — provided the pattern is established with sufficient evidence.
How Kanon Handles This
Kanon's Classification Support Package creates a consistent, auditable classification record across every entry, which is exactly the kind of documentation needed to substantiate a treatment-previously-accorded argument if CBP later proposes a different classification for the same goods.