Answer first
Core rule
Bond amount is activity- and risk-specific. Under CBP's published importer guidance, a continuous import bond is generally set at 10% of duties, taxes, and fees paid in the prior 12 months, with a $50,000 minimum; a single-transaction import bond is generally the entered value plus duties, taxes, and fees. These are operational baselines, not limits on CBP's authority to require additional security.
Authority and lookup route
Locate the rule before returning to the facts. Links point to government or official publications.
Reference lookup task
Using CBP's current guidance, calculate a continuous import bond working amount for $420,000 of prior-12-month duties, taxes, and fees. Then list three facts under § 113.13 that could justify a different or larger amount.
Route: Identify bond activity and form → § 113.13 → current CBP amount guidance → risk and sufficiency review
Worked example
An importer paid $420,000 in duties, taxes, and fees during the prior 12 months and seeks a continuous import bond. What is the ordinary published-guidance starting amount?
- 1Calculate 10% of $420,000: $42,000.
- 2Compare $42,000 with the published $50,000 minimum.
- 3Use $50,000 as the ordinary starting amount, then assess whether current activity or risk supports a higher amount under § 113.13.
Conclusion: $50,000 is the ordinary guidance-based starting amount because the 10% result falls below the published minimum. It is not a guarantee that CBP will accept that amount in every risk situation.
Common traps
- Confusing the regulation's general minimum language with CBP's published $50,000 continuous-import operational minimum.
- Treating 10% as a statutory ceiling or an amount that never changes.
- Using prior duties alone while omitting taxes and fees included by the applicable guidance.
- Applying the continuous-bond formula to a single-transaction bond.