Late Protest Leaves Engine Parts Ineligible for Retroactive MTB Treatment, Says CBP

A Caterpillar Logistics Services protest filing that requested retroactive duty-free treatment under the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) was too late, said CBP in ruling HQ H158855 (here). Caterpillar filed an application of further review of protest after it entered diesel engine components through the Port of Charleston in 2010 without claiming MTB eligibility. The company missed its window to claim the retroactive treatment, the agency said in the May 12 ruling.

The 2010 MTB allowed for retroactive treatment for qualifying goods entered during a period before the bill became law (see 10081218). The engine parts were entered under subheading 8408.20.20 during that period, without an MTB eligibility claim, and later liquidated under the same heading, said CBP. The company then filed a protest on Feb. 14, 2011, that said the engine parts should also be classified in subheading 9902.25.31, which allowed for duty-free entry under the MTB.

The 2010 MTB also required that reliquidation requests for retroactive treatment were made not later than 180 days after the bill was enacted. That 180-day period ended in Feb. 7, 2011 and Caterpillar's protest filing was a week late, said CBP. "Accordingly, the instant merchandise does not fall within the scope of the retroactive applicability provisions of the Act and is thus not eligible for classification under subheading 9902.25.31," said CBP.