USA Customs & Duty under the $800 personal use exemption

Placed some of my first international purchases of 2023, and US Customs has increased it's scrutiny of purchases under the $800 personal use exemption. On discussion with DHL, they said that Customs has become more sensitive when they see multiple packages to an addressee at the same time, especially if they are from the same seller/sender. It gives the appearance of trying to avoid paying duty and being outside of the exempted dollar amount, and triggers a review.

Lesson learned...if you are placing multiple orders from the same vendor, it's best to space them out over days.

I've also had two snafu's that triggered this last year. One small seller was slow shipping my orders, and decided to bundle two orders into one box. Another vendor made an error in an order, and decided to throw in a freebie to make up for it. Well guess what...the original order was just below the $800 exemption, and the freebie, worth all of $20, actually pushed me over and triggered $50 in duty.

Here is the language for the "violation" if anyone wants to go down the rabbit hole of knowledge.
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You are in violation of section 321 more than one shipment and total value is over $800

Section 321 De Minimis Value Entry - https://www.pcbusa.com/post/secti...entry-8304

A de minimis shipment commonly referred to as Section 321, allows for goods valued at $800 USD or less, to enter duty-free into the U.S. Under this legislation they are also permitted to enter without formal entry. Applies to shipments of articles imported by one person (e.g., a company) on one day.

"Unless a CBP official has reason to believe that a Section 321 low-valued shipment fails to comply with any pertinent law or regulation, section 10.153 sets forth the guidance to be applied by a CBP officer in determining whether an article or parcel shall be exempted from duty and tax under section 10.151 and qualify as a Section 321 low-valued shipment.
Accordingly, consolidated shipments addressed to one consignee shall be treated as one importation".

Regardless of the value, USCBP reserves the right to deny section 321 and demand a formal customs entry.

Some goods may not qualify under Section 321 under the following circumstances.
· Goods needing inspection as a condition of release, regardless of value
· Merchandise subject to Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) and/or Countervailing Duty (CVD)
· No alcoholic beverages, perfume containing alcohol, cigars, or cigarettes
· Products regulated by the following Partner/Other Government Agencies (PGA/OGA's):
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)
National Highway Transport and Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSA)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

(List of Partner Government Agencies) https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-i...ort-guides

More info on DE Minimis shipments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d...nvironment