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Let’s return to an example. In a traditional scenario, one customs declaration might cover 1,000 goods. For e-commerce goods, however, customs declarations are often filed for 1 to 5 lines, with each line representing one product. The classification risk in e-commerce is therefore much greater than in traditional trade. This is primarily because a customs broker handling 1,000 monitors in one declaration can dedicate more time to classification than when managing 1,000 separate declarations for individual monitors. Unlike traditional trade, customs brokers in e-commerce typically do not have a long-term relationship with importers and suppliers, given that there are often thousands of such parties per week.
The classification risk is also influenced by the availability of information and documentation. A customs broker often does not have access to a detailed invoice between the buyer and seller. Furthermore, no purchase-sale agreement is available. As a result, product classification often has to be based on less comprehensive documentation. If the underlying documentation is incomplete, the customs broker is less able to verify whether the declared commodity code is accurate.
However, this negative scenario regarding the availability of documentation is not the only possibility. There are also cases where customs brokers do have access to extensive information. For instance, if the broker has a URL for the product on the platform, detailed product information, including one or more photos, is often available. Both scenarios are therefore possible.