How to Win a CBP Audit Before It Begins

“Protect yourself at all times.”

Frankie Dunn’s advice to his fighter in Million Dollar Baby might as well be carved into every importer’s compliance manual. It’s also the first rule of surviving a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) audit.

CBP expects importers to exercise reasonable care to take the same prudent steps a knowledgeable person would take to ensure their import declarations are true and correct. The agency does not expect perfection, but it does expect diligence, documentation, and defensibility.

The truth is simple: audits are won before they begin. 

Once a Form 28 or audit letter hits your inbox, it’s too late to build a defense. The best compliance programs don’t scramble to react; they’re designed to prove readiness on demand.

Documentation Is Your Defense

When CBP reviews an entry, they’re not just checking whether the declared HTS code or value is right. They’re checking whether you can explain why it’s right. A well-documented file is the difference between “we think this is correct” and “here’s how we reached this conclusion.”

Good documentation shows that your team followed a reasoned process:

• You identified the relevant General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).
• You reviewed CBP rulings and Explanatory Notes.
• You considered the product’s characteristics, function, and use.
• You recorded your rationale in a contemporaneous record.

CBP calls that reasonable care. You can also call it peace of mind.

Defensibility Begins Where Convenience Ends

Many importers have “compliance programs” that are really just filing systems. They meet deadlines, file entries, and move on. That’s not compliance. That’s administration.

A defensible compliance program goes further. It documents the why behind each decision in real time, not in hindsight. It shows that every code, value, and claim was chosen through analysis, not convenience.

As Cypress Hill put it more bluntly: “When tha shit goes down, ya better be ready.” 

CBP’s version of “when” is a Form 28, a CF-4647, or an audit notice. By the time it arrives, your only defense is the paper trail you’ve already built. 

Avoiding the Punch Altogether

Mr. Miyagi offered another kind of compliance wisdom in The Karate Kid Part II: “Best way to avoid punch: no be there.”

The surest way to avoid penalties is to stay off CBP’s radar entirely by making your entries internally consistent and self-explanatory. When your import files clearly show how classifications, valuations, and claims were determined, there’s no mystery for CBP to solve and no reason to dig deeper. You’ve already eluded their scrutiny. And their punch in the form of an audit. 

Write What You Do. Do What You Write.

One of the fastest ways to lose credibility with CBP is to say one thing and do another.
If your written desk procedures look impressive but don’t match what actually happens on the floor, CBP will notice. What was meant to defend your compliance program can quickly become evidence that you do not follow it.

Auditors often compare your policies to your operational reality. If the two diverge, it raises a red flag: either your team is not following procedures, or your procedures were never realistic in the first place. Both outcomes point to negligence, not reasonable care.

Effective documentation is not about sounding sophisticated; it is about being accurate. The most defensible compliance manuals are those that mirror the real world, even if that world is messy, evolving, or imperfect. A modest procedure that truthfully reflects daily practice is far more credible than a polished document no one actually uses.

Write what you do, and do what you write. When your documentation reflects genuine behavior, it protects you twice: once with CBP, and again in your own operations.

The Compliance Takeaway

CBP doesn’t punish effort; it punishes negligence. The difference is in the documentation.
Build your files as if an auditor will one day read them, because one might. Protect yourself at all times.

O’Meara & Associates helps importers design practical, audit-ready compliance systems that demonstrate reasonable care, reduce exposure, and make every entry defensible. Contact us today and turn “we think it’s right” into “we can prove it.”