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| General Schedule Position Classification Standard | Classification Programs Division | |||
| Draft Job Family Standard for Administrative Work in the Investigation, Enforcement, Inspection, and Compliance Group, GS-1800 | ||||
| Release Date: December 2001 - DRAFT | Section Seven of Thirty-One | |||
This series covers two-grade interval administrative positions that administer, supervise, lead, or perform work that involves compliance, analysis, or providing advice that is not classifiable to a more specific series in the GS-1800 group or to another series in a different occupational group. Work in this series requires knowledge of Federal compliance laws, regulations, or other mandatory guidelines.
There are no titles prescribed for this series. Agencies may construct titles that appropriately describe the work.
This is a general series for the GS-1800 job family. Work within this series involves ensuring compliance of individuals or organizations with laws, rules, regulations, Executive orders, or other mandatory guidelines. There is no specific occupational information for this series due to its broad coverage. See other individual series in this job family for occupational information.
BACKThis series covers two-grade interval administrative positions that administer, supervise, lead, or perform work that involves:
Inspectors may determine and/or adjust monetary penalties assessed against violators of mine safety and health laws or regulations. This series covers work concerned with underground and surface mining and milling operations associated with coal, metal and nonmetal mines, and plants where ores are processed for distribution. Positions in this series require:
The basic titles for positions in this series are:
Mine Safety and Health Inspector - For positions that include inspecting mines and milling operations for compliance with Federal and State safety and health laws, regulations, and standards.
Mine Safety and Health Specialist - For positions that include promoting and enforcing mine safety and health beyond routine inspections and investigations such as:
Mine inspectors and specialists develop, enforce, promote, advise on, and administer laws and regulations concerning safety and health in mines and plants that are part of the mining process. A mine is defined as a pit or excavation from which mineral substances are taken. Minerals which are located in mines include a wide range of substances, including stone, coal, salt, sand, gold, and copper. A plant (sometimes referred to as a mill or a preparation plant) is a facility where ore that has been removed from the earth is processed into a distinct mineral of a particular size and consistency. This process typically involves separating the waste (e.g., rock, dirt, and miscellaneous other minerals) from the desired mineral, and cleaning, drying, sizing, grinding, crushing, heat treating, packaging, and shipping.
The Mine Safety and Health Act requires that information be obtained about safety and health conditions in and around mines by:
Inspectors and specialists issue citations or Orders of Withdrawal when they find violations of health or safety regulations. The mine operator is then obligated to correct the violations within a reasonable period of time. When inspectors or specialists issue Orders of Withdrawal to mine operators, they can either close a segment or the entire mine to protect the safety and/or health of the workers. Under provisions of the law, mine owners receive a monetary penalty for each violation.
Federal laws and standards regulate a variety of hazardous and potentially hazardous conditions in and around mines. For example, the laws and regulations for underground and surface mines and mills address:
Providing technical advice and guidance to mine operators on how to comply with health and safety requirements is another important aspect of this occupation. Mine operators who have small or inadequate technical staffs, in particular, utilize the capabilities of mine safety and health inspectors and specialists to help them solve mine safety and health problems. To perform mine safety and health duties, inspectors and specialists must have knowledge of:
Inspector Functions
Most positions in this occupation are directly involved in making onsite inspections and, in some circumstances, investigations. Federal laws require periodic safety and health inspections of total mining operations. Inspectors also perform limited inspections that target specific safety and health issues or problems; e.g., dust control, ventilation, roof control, or follow-up on previous inspections. General safety and health inspections typically involve:
Inspectors also investigate accidents, disasters, and complaints to determine whether laws and regulations have been violated. They identify the causes of accidents and disasters and determine how they might be prevented. Sometimes the cause(s) of accidents are apparent from a few simple observations and discussions. Other times there may be no apparent explanation. Inspectors specializing in various areas of mining (such as electrical and ventilation) may be requested to make an in-depth technical analysis of the conditions and circumstances surrounding an accident.
In rescue and recovery operations, a mine inspector may issue orders as deemed necessary to ensure the safety of any person in a mine. If determined appropriate, an inspector on the scene may direct and supervise rescue and recovery operations.
Specialist Functions
Specialists in this series perform these other functions as part of administering the Mine Safety and Health Act:
This series covers two-grade interval administrative positions that administer, supervise, lead, or perform work that involves:
Work requires knowledge of:
The basic title for this occupation is Agricultural Compliance Examiner.
The United States Warehouse Act authorizes businesses to license agricultural warehouses under the Act, provided the businesses and their warehouses meet certain established requirements. When a warehouse owner applies for a license, an agriculture compliance examiner:
To verify and ensure that the warehouse owner continues to meet all requirements, subsequent examinations are made of the warehouse and the stored products. When poor business practices or unhealthy conditions are uncovered by subsequent examinations, the warehouse owner is directed to correct these conditions. If appropriate corrections are not made within specific time periods, the warehouse license may be suspended or revoked. If the warehouse owner fails to make the proper corrections, the farmers and agencies having a contract or agreement with the storage facility are advised:
Agricultural products stored by the Government can then be removed from the warehouse and no additional agricultural products in which the Government has a financial interest are placed in such storage until the warehouseman has corrected the deficiencies. Examinations that reveal possible fraud or conversion may lead to prosecution of the offending warehouse owner.
Because a licensed warehouse is under the supervision of the Federal Government, depositors of agricultural products that are stored "identity preserved" are assured of receiving the same products they deposited. In the case of products stored on a fungible basis, depositors are assured of receiving products of the same quality and quantity, or they have redress under the law. Because of this assurance, warehouse receipts issued to depositors provide sound collateral for loans and other business transactions.
Many government programs require participants to submit accurate reports or other documentation to comply with Federal laws or regulations. Participants may be eligible to receive government payments. Examiners conduct a review to determine compliance or to verify eligibility for payments received under various government programs. They review supporting documents and other business records to determine that reports or requests for payments are accurate.
There are three basic types of examinations Primary, Secondary, and Other Compliance Examinations each broken down into major categories. While the details of these examinations vary, depending on whether they are concerned with the U.S. Warehouse Act or with government agreements or contracts for handling or storage, the methods and techniques of conducting them are similar. Examinations can involve total quality systems audits on suppliers for food assistance programs. They may include interviewing Federal, State, and local government officials, suppliers, warehouse operators, shippers, bankers, auditors, and trade associations. Types and categories of examinations are:
Examiners perform all examinations in accordance with quality standards under the International Organization for Standardization; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP); Federal, State, and local food safety laws, regulations, and requirements; Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR); and official commodity standards of the United States.
This series covers two-grade interval administrative positions that supervise, lead, or perform work that involves inspecting establishments engaged in the production, import/export, distribution and use of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosive products. Work requires knowledge of:
The basic title for this occupation is Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Inspector.
Work in this occupation requires:
Inspectors ensure that the industries regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms including users, dealers, importers, exporters, manufacturers, and wholesalers, comply with laws and regulations. They have knowledge and experience to detect fraudulent and/or incomplete records, trafficking, diversion, and willful noncompliance. Inspectors generally:
In addition to inspecting regulated industries, inspectors also review the finances, personnel, organizational structure, and proposed operations of applicants who require permission to engage in regulated activities. During compliance reviews, the inspectors:
Work may include participating on task forces to assist or develop investigative leads for collateral law enforcement investigations regarding the importation, manufacturing, and diversion of statutorily regulated alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosive commodities.
BACKThis series covers two-grade interval administrative positions that supervise, lead, or perform work that involves the acceptance, tariff classification, appraisement, allowance of specified types of drawback claims, and/or liquidation of formal entries of imported merchandise. The major objectives of the work are to assess customs duties and associated taxes to be paid on imported merchandise, and to assure compliance with related laws and regulations. Work requires:
The basic title for this occupation is Import Specialist.
Import specialists classify commercially imported articles or products into the most appropriate class of thousands of separate, but often very similar, items identified under the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA). They also appraise the statutory unit value of the imported merchandise and determine the applicable rate of customs duty and internal revenue tax. Depending on the time required, import specialists may also calculate the total amount of duty and taxes owed on an importation.
Located at seaports, international airports, border crossings, and other strategic inland locations, import specialists examine document packages submitted by importers or by representatives called customhouse brokers. The importers or brokers must submit document packages known as "formal entries" in order to legally enter foreign merchandise into the commerce of the United States.
Where there are no obvious restrictions, customs inspectors at the piers and loading docks may release the actual merchandise well before the documentation of a formal entry ever reaches the import specialist's desk. If the import specialist determines that the imported merchandise is a prohibited substance or article or otherwise violates law or regulation and should have been denied entry into the nation's commerce, the specialist withholds appraisement and initiates an order for redelivery of the merchandise. Monetary bonds required of importers at the time they file their entries help to induce compliance with the law and regulations and, when necessary and practicable, compliance with Customs Service orders for redelivery.
Importers or brokers are required to:
Often entries contain claims for conditionally free or reduced rates of duty that require the importer or broker to provide additional documentation in order to substantiate the claim.
Ideally, the importer's or broker's "entered classification" and "entered value" are correct based on proper application of the tariff schedules and the value law. However, the import specialist often must change the entered classification, value, or both. Importers or brokers may consult the import specialist in advance of an importation to avoid unanticipated changes in the duty and tax they must pay. Upon completion of the review and/or computation of the final duty and tax liability, the import specialist forwards the entry package to a unit that computes the final duty and tax liability when necessary, bills importers for additional duty and taxes owed, and issues refunds for over payments.
Import specialists make their classification decisions by identifying the imported article or product, including its features or uses that are significant for tariff classification purposes, and applying the tariff classification principles. They appraise merchandise by identifying the dutiable costs involved in its transfer from foreign seller to importer and applying the value law. Import specialists physically examine samples of imported merchandise or use the results of Customs laboratory analyses when they decide such measures are necessary to make classification and value decisions.
In addition to their role in the traditional Customs Service mission of revenue collection, import specialists perform significant trade related functions. These trade related functions include:
The work of import specialists is varied and is covered by many distinct legal and regulatory guidelines. Execution hinges on proper classification and appraisement requiring knowledge of the:
Import specialists must be alert for misrepresentation and fraud. They request financial audits and criminal investigations by other Customs organizations when they suspect that fraud is a possibility. They recommend potential areas of inquiry and explain the significance of information developed by auditors and investigators. Their knowledge of particular commodities and the manner in which the commodities are bought, sold, packaged, and shipped makes import specialists valuable members of "special enforcement teams" established by the Customs Service to combat fraud and smuggling of contraband. Based on their knowledge of repeat importers, they recommend whether and to what extent, Customs should consider the excuses cited by penalized importers.
Import specialists perform their duty assessment and trade related functions within a framework of law and regulations which includes the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, the Tariff Schedules, and the legal definitions of value for customs purposes collectively known as the value law. Over the years, the Tariff Act has been amended by Congress through ratification of a series of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements negotiated between the United States and other nations and through enactment of legislation based on foreign policy and economic considerations. In order to carry out the basic law, a large body of customs regulations has been developed and, in the course of interpreting law and regulation, an even larger body of administrative and legal rulings has grown up. The administrative rulings are issued by the Customs Service. Legal rulings result from judicial decisions on duty assessment and other customs related issues contested in the Court of International Trade and on appeals heard in the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.
The laws, regulations, and rulings are the guidelines that both constrain and assist import specialists. Importers may challenge decisions and actions that import specialists take, particularly on new importations, through administrative channels and the courts. If sustained, the contested decisions and actions add to the body of local or national precedent. Therefore, import specialists spend a significant portion of their time writing reasoned explanations for their decisions, drawing upon law, regulation, and precedent rulings. Import specialists may, at times, serve as technical resources to Government attorneys or testify in court to explain a challenged determination.
The Tariff Schedules and Tariff Classification
Import specialists use the Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA) as one of their primary guidelines. Assembled and published by the U.S. International Trade Commission, it consists of seven commodity specific schedules. It lists and groups thousands of commodities by broad categories such as "Animal and Vegetable Products" and "Textile Fibers and Textile Products." It further subdivides these broad categories into increasingly narrower categories such as "Live Animals," "Meats," or "Bird Meat." There is an eighth schedule listing special classification provisions such as those for American goods returned from foreign countries under a variety of circumstances. There are also several appendices, the first of which lists tariff item numbers pertaining to temporary changes to the preceding tariff provisions due to Congressional or Presidential action. The tariff schedules are annotated with general and commodity specific headnotes that provide instructions to users and rules for interpreting the tariff language and distinguishing the most appropriate tariff classification from overlapping and competing provisions. There are also statistical annotations that include coded categories that are often more specific than the statutory items that determine a rate of duty.
Under any of the first seven schedules, there are five bases (with a few exceptions) on which to classify a given imported article or product:
In some cases, articles or products are "specifically provided for" by the schedules on one of the above mentioned bases. There are also general categories for imports that cannot be classified to a specific provision. Import specialists refer to these catch all provisions as "basket" provisions.
The "Value Law" and Appraisement
Another basic guideline, the value law, or Section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, controls the appraisement work of import specialists. The law establishes and defines several bases of value for customs purposes. It also establishes the circumstances under which each basis of value is to be applied in appraising an imported article and generally the costs involved in an importation that are to be considered in the appraisement. The value of merchandise appraised by import specialists is significant for customs and related Government purposes, but will not necessarily equal the value of the same merchandise appraised for commercial purposes. Although the value law specifies what kinds of costs are to be considered, the task of identifying the presence of such costs and their true amounts requires thorough knowledge of particular commodities and how they are traded as well as skill in the use of a variety of factfinding techniques.
There are several bases of value used by import specialists to appraise the unit value of imported merchandise.
In situations where these bases of value cannot be determined or used as strictly defined by the law, import specialists appraise imported merchandise by following the methods outlined for each of these bases, but reasonably adjusted within the limits of the law. At times, there may be additional, special bases of value such as those enacted in the past to protect particular domestic industries; e.g., appraisement on the basis of the selling price of American made articles closely resembling the imported merchandise. At times, there may also be several value laws in effect simultaneously due to trade considerations or concern for the orderly transition from an established value law to a new one.
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