Practical Exercise

Practical Exercises: Invoices, Forms & Entry Summaries

Every released exam has a block of case questions built on one exhibit: a commercial invoice, an excerpted CBP Form 7501, a CBP Form 5106 or a calendar of federal holidays. CBP warns that the documents may contain errors. You win these by checking each block or invoice line against one rule, then doing the arithmetic in order: value, classification, duty, MPF, HMF and the due date.

Practical Exercise6 min read8 sections

Must-know for the exam

Entry summary due within 10 working days after entry (19 CFR 142.12(b)); immediate delivery the same (142.23). Skip weekends and federal holidays (101.1, 101.6(a)).
Statement processing: scheduled statement date within 10 working days of entry, never a Saturday, Sunday or holiday; CBP gives no warning if late (24.25(c)(1), (e)).
MPF 0.3464%: FY2026 limits $33.58 / $651.50; FY2027 (from Oct 1, 2026) $34.58 / $670.86 (90 FR 34665; 91 FR 48398).
HMF 0.125% of the 1401a value, only for cargo unloaded from a vessel at a listed port (24.24); never on air or truck cargo.
Mode of transport codes: 10 vessel, 11 vessel container, 30 truck, 31 truck container, 40 air, 41 air container (ACE ES Instructions).
Canadian-origin goods use province codes (XO Ontario, XQ Quebec), not CA, in Block 10 and in the MID (ACE ES Instructions).
Every invoice needs the 141.86(a) items, including country of origin, itemized charges and a responsible employee (141.86(j)).
Importer number suffixes: letters O, Z and I barred; one CBP Form 5106 per branch suffix; numbers lapse 1 year after last use (24.5(d)-(e)).
GRI 3(b) sets: X line carries the set's number, duty, MPF and HMF; V lines follow, first V line matches the X line (ACE ES Instructions).
Transaction value: deduct itemized international freight and insurance; add packing, selling commissions, assists, royalties and proceeds (152.102(f), 152.103(b)).

On this page · 8 sections

Traps that cost marks

Treating any vessel shipment as code 10 without checking whether the cargo was containerized.
Stopping at 'of cotton' in 6302.91 instead of using the terry subheading that names the fabric.
Keeping the exhibit's 9.2% rate or forgetting that vessel cargo also owes HMF.
Counting Columbus Day as a working day.
Adding a buying commission as if it were a selling commission.
Taking the 'not over $20' line without working out the unit value.
Assuming a seller's foreign address shows the country of origin.
Entering the CIF invoice total as the entered value.

What the exhibit is testing

CBP's practical exercises give you facts plus a document and ask 2 to 4 questions on it. The April 2026 exam used three sets: an excerpted CBP Form 7501, a commercial invoice and a CBP Form 5106. Each question usually turns on one block, one invoice field or one date. The references are open: the ACE Entry Summary Instructions (v2.4a), 19 CFR and the HTSUS Basic Edition.

Read the facts first and list the dates, modes, origins and parties. Then read the exhibit block by block and mark anything that does not match the facts.

CBP Form 7501 blocks that carry most errors

Block	What it must show	Common error
1 Filer code/entry no.	XXX-NNNNNNN-N; check digit from the ACE formula (142.3a)	Check digit not recomputed
2 Entry type	01 consumption, 03 AD/CVD, 11 informal	01 used for a $2,000 shipment
5 / 4 Bond type / surety	8 continuous, 9 single; surety 999 when waived, 998 cash in lieu	998 used for a waived bond
6 Port code	Port where entered or released (Schedule D, DDPP)	Port of unlading entered after an in-bond move

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