KENT, Wash. (BRAIN) — As part of a review late last year, managers at Accell North America discovered that the company had been underpaying U.S. Customs on some bike import duties since 2013. The company wound up paying 4 million euros ($4.9 million) in repayments and interest.
Because the mistake was self-reported, ANA was not fined. The problem arose because of the classification of hybrid bikes had not been applied consistently, ANA's new CEO, John Short, told BRAIN on Thursday.
"We took a look at it and we thought it was not right and we went back and asked the Customs guys and they said, 'yeah, that's probably not right,'" Short said. "It was a significant number of bikes, going back many, many years. It was something we just had to make right."
Short said discovering the mistake indicates a new discipline at Accell Group.
"When any entity has a certain amount of sickness, it goes through the natural process of cleaning itself out. I think that's a sympton of the past and it's us really taking care of some of the things that weren't right, and I think that's the kind of discipline you'll see from us when it comes to brand marketing, the consumer experience and the sales experience through the IBD," he said.
