How can one freight import case be expanded into controlled variants?

A freight forwarder's import desk opens SHP-5521, a pallet consignment of machinery parts arriving by sea. The broker's file holds a commercial invoice, a packing list and a bill of lading. The rule set for this tariff class also requires a certificate of origin when the claimed duty rate is preferential.

The generated task pack contains this case as a base plus variants: - the base case, certificate absent, preferential rate claimed - the same pack with a standard rate claimed, so no certificate is needed - a certificate present but issued to a different consignee - a certificate present with an issue date after the vessel departure - an invoice total that disagrees with the packing list on one line item

A customs broker agent reads the file, checks the claimed rate, and acts. In the base case it sends a request to the importer for the certificate and sets SHP-5521 to Hold - Documents. In the standard-rate variant the correct action is to release the entry for lodgement with no request at all. In the mismatched-invoice variant it requests a corrected invoice rather than the certificate.

Each variant ends in a different checkable state: status, requested items, and whether the lodgement queue contains the shipment.

**What it teaches** - One case can be expanded into variants that differ in a single fact, which isolates what the agent reads. - Not requesting anything is a valid correct outcome. - Mismatches between documents are separate gaps from missing documents.