The AQL stands for the acceptable quality level. In the Single Sampling Plan (MIL-105D) below, the AQL% ranges from 0.25 to 6.5. The lower the AQL% means the stricter the requirement. The letter A is the acceptance number of the Total Demerit Rating (see Inspection Report) , while letter R is the rejection number. For example, a lot size is 800 and the sample size is 80, if the prior agreement between trader and vendor calls for an AQL% of 0.25, it means that at least one (1) defect found in the lot constitutes grounds for the rejection of the entire lot.

The product is rejected when its quality level, as determined by the random sampling, does not comply to the contractual requirements. The product rejection may mean a delay shipment or the trader's cancellation of the order. Please refer to the Reliability of the Suppliers for information on the drawbacks of a delayed shipment.

In exporting, the rejection normally applies to the entire lot. Most often, the vendor has to sort the acceptable from the unacceptable in a lot and rework the unacceptable, and then submit the lot for a re-inspection.

In case of a rejection, the trader may conduct 100% inspection of the lot, sort the acceptable from the unacceptable, then ship the acceptable only and return the unacceptable. In practice, however, this approach rarely is applicable due to the restrictions stipulated in the letter of credit (L/C), for example, when the partial shipment is prohibited or when the L/C stipulates the quantity in terms of a stated number of packing units or individual items.

Not all products can be sorted to separate the acceptable from the unacceptable. Whether the whole lot or only the unacceptable is reworked, the vendor's resubmission of the lot is subject to examination in the same manner as a homogeneous lot being submitted earlier. The re-inspection normally is tightened.

Under certain circumstances, such as the expiration of the letter of credit or export (or import) license and the short market supply in the product, sometimes a concession to accept the lot has to be made despite the fact that the lot did not meet the acceptable quality level. The decision to concede has to be made by the management.

The delivery of goods can be from the vendor's premises directly to customs or to the trader's premises first and then to customs, depending on the arrangement between trader and vendor. In either case, most product inspections are conducted at the vendor's premises.

In the FCL (full container load) shipment, it is a common practice that the loading or stuffing of a container after the inspection of goods is left completely to the vendor.

A fraudulent act by the unreliable vendors is unauthorized product substitution. After the lot has been inspected and accepted for shipment, part of the lot is substituted with the unacceptable products. Such a fiendish act is detrimental to the reputation of the trader.

There were fraudulent cases in the past involving dry cargo FCL (full container load) shipments. The goods had been inspected but the stuffing of containers went unsupervised by the trader. The end door layers of the packages in the container contain the goods ordered, while the rest were substituted not with unacceptable but with 'phony cargo'---a combination of cheap bricks and 'rubbish' in the export packages. The 'phony cargo' evaded the customs detection. Some of these cases stemmed from the supplier (manufacturer) going bankrupt and the work of a swindler. In certain cases, the manufacturer was not the culprit, it was the work of the trader with the intention to defraud the overseas buyer.