Review of Settlement Action

A carrier requested review of an Air Force decision on a claim for import services performed by a customs-house broker. Household goods belonging to an Air Force member were shipped from Japan to Hawaii on a Government bill of lading. The Air Force disallowed the claim because the charges were included within the single factor transportation rate, and contended that the charges assessed by the broker were for a customs duty and services incident to the payment of the duty on the containers used in the shipment, rather than for import services necessary to clear the member's household goods through customs. The carrier contended that it was entitled to the charges, alleging that they were incurred as a result of refusal by customs officials to clear the shipment, and that the charges represented the actual cost to the carrier as billed by the third-party broker. It also contended that the single factor rate contained in the tender did not include the charges paid to the broker because they were for services covered by an exception to the single factor rate. The file supported the Air Force position that the services performed by the carrier's broker consisted of paying a customs duty on the containers in which the household goods were packed and shipped. These containers were foreign-made containers on which there was a duty payable upon arrival in Hawaii. GAO believed that under the tender, the forwarders agreed to charge the Government for only those import services caused by Custom's refusal to clear the member's household goods. The duty on the containers was not included in the exception. Accordingly, the disallowance of the claim was sustained.