CIT Drops Plywood Entry From Customs Challenge Due to Lack of Protest

The Court of International Trade ruled June 29 it doesn't have jurisdiction over one of 12 entries of plywood from China in a customs case because the plaintiff didn't protest that entry's reliquidation. The lawsuit will continue over the remaining 11 entries.

The Bral Corp. initially filed its case against the 12 entries claiming that the plywood entries were defective and should therefore be reassessed duties at 18% of its original value. Of the 12 entries, three were liquidated on May 3, 2019. CBP deemed nine liquidated then reliquidated. One of those nine was reliquidated again March 13, 2020.

Bral protested all the liquidation decisions except for the March reliquidation, making it unactionable under Section 1581(a) denied protest jurisdiction. “Jurisdiction under § 1581(a) is conditioned upon the denial of a protest challenging a decision made by Customs that is filed in accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1514,” Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves wrote. “If an importer does not avail itself of the protest process, the decision made by Customs 'shall be final and conclusive upon all persons,' 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a), and judicial review is statutorily precluded.”