Agnostic Tariff
Use Case

Commercial Invoices Tariff Reviewer

An AI Agent that automates the extraction of data from an invoice and enriches it by looking up HTSUS tariff information online. It then calculates adjusted prices based on the tariffs and emails an Excel report containing the final, enriched data.

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Process Details

Inputs

Commercial Invoice document (e.g., PDF, JPG, PNG) received as an email attachment.

Outputs

An Excel file containing a detailed breakdown of original line items, retrieved tariffs, and calculated adjusted prices. An email notification containing a summary of the results in an HTML table. The original invoice and the generated Excel report sent as email attachments.

Systems

Email System (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace) for receiving invoices and sending reports. U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Harmonized Tariff Schedule API for data enrichment.

The Challenge

Manual processes
create real problems.

  1. 1

    High potential for costly errors from manual data handling.

  2. 2

    Significant time and resources are spent on repetitive, low-value work.

  3. 3

    The manual process is difficult to scale without increasing headcount.

  4. 4

    Process bottlenecks lead to delays and missed deadlines.

The Solution

Describe it in English.
It runs deterministically.

  1. 1

    Data Extraction

    The agent receives a commercial invoice (e.g., PDF, image) from an email attachment. It uses AI to extract structured header data (like Invoice #, Shipper, Bill of Lading #) and detailed line-item information (like Quantity, Description, HTSUS Code, Unit Price).

  2. 2

    Tariff Enrichment

    For each line item, the agent isolates the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) code, queries the official U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) public API, and retrieves the applicable tariff percentages.

  3. 3

    Price Calculation

    The agent calculates the aggregate tariff percentage for each item and then computes the new tariff-adjusted unit price and total price, adding this information to the extracted data.

  4. 4

    Report Generation

    It compiles all the original and newly calculated data into a structured Excel spreadsheet, named dynamically with the invoice number.

  5. 5

    Notification & Delivery

    The agent formats a summary of the results into an HTML table, embeds it in a professional email, attaches the generated Excel report and the original invoice document, and sends it to the designated recipient for review.

Primary Benefits

What you gain with
Kognitos automation.

Increase Efficiency

Dramatically reduce the time and manual effort required to complete the process.

Enhance Accuracy

Eliminate human error to ensure data integrity and reduce financial risk.

Empower Employees

Free your team from monotonous tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic work that requires their expertise.

Improve Scalability

Handle growing volumes of work without a proportional increase in operational costs.

Ensure Transparency

Maintain a complete, auditable trail of every action the AI agent takes, described in plain English.

FAQ

Common questions
answered.

It retrieves tariff data by directly querying the official Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) public API, which is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). This ensures that the tariff percentages used for calculations are always the most current ones published by the U.S. government.
The agent uses advanced AI-powered data extraction techniques. It can handle a wide variety of layouts from different suppliers, making it highly adaptable.
The agent is designed to grow with your business. It is built on a scalable, cloud-based platform. It can be configured to run in parallel, allowing it to process a high volume of invoices concurrently without creating a backlog.

Challenges

Solution

This use case solution follows these general steps at a high level:

  1. Data ExtractionThe agent receives a commercial invoice (e.g., PDF, image) from an email attachment. It uses AI to extract structured header data (like Invoice #, Shipper, Bill of Lading #) and detailed line-item information (like Quantity, Description, HTSUS Code, Unit Price).
  2. Tariff EnrichmentFor each line item, the agent isolates the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) code, queries the official U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) public API, and retrieves the applicable tariff percentages.
  3. Price CalculationThe agent calculates the aggregate tariff percentage for each item and then computes the new tariff-adjusted unit price and total price, adding this information to the extracted data.
  4. Report GenerationIt compiles all the original and newly calculated data into a structured Excel spreadsheet, named dynamically with the invoice number.
  5. Notification & DeliveryThe agent formats a summary of the results into an HTML table, embeds it in a professional email, attaches the generated Excel report and the original invoice document, and sends it to the designated recipient for review.

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