Pagoda Trading Corporation v. The United States

804 F.2d 665, 8 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1417, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 20382
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedNovember 3, 1986
DocketAppeal 86-750
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 804 F.2d 665 (Pagoda Trading Corporation v. The United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pagoda Trading Corporation v. The United States, 804 F.2d 665, 8 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1417, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 20382 (Fed. Cir. 1986).

Opinions

EDWARD S. SMITH, Circuit Judge.

The August 27, 1985, judgment of the United States Court of International Trade,1 holding that certain merchandise imported by Pagoda Trading Corporation (Pagoda) was “deemed liquidated” 1 year after entry into the United States, is affirmed.

Issues
The two issues are:
1. Whether the Court of International Trade erred in holding that Pagoda’s protest was sufficient to establish jurisdiction for the court to decide the “deemed liquidation” issue, and
2. Whether the Court of International Trade erred in finding that there was no valid basis for suspension of liquidation, that no extension of liquidation was effected, and that Pagoda’s entries were deemed liquidated at the rate of duty, value, and amount of duties asserted by Pagoda at the time of entry.

Background

Pagoda is an importer of Korean footwear, including moon boots and snowmobile boots. This case involves the computation of the duty on Pagoda’s imported merchandise.

The final computation of the duty on imported merchandise is known as “liquidation.” 2 Generally, merchandise must be liquidated within 1 year after entry into the United States or else it “shall be deemed [667]*667liquidated at the rate of duty, value, quantity, and amount of duties asserted at the time of entry by the importer.”3 The Secretary of the Treasury may extend the 1-year period for liquidation by giving notice of “extension” to the importer for certain reasons including “suspension” of liquidation “as required by statute or court order.”4

In the present case, the liquidation of Korean footwear was suspended from April 7, 1980, to March 18, 1981, pursuant to the order of the Department of Commerce (Commerce) (based on an earlier countervailing duty order). On five occasions between August 5, 1980, and September 9, 1980, Pagoda entered Korean footwear into the United States, and liquidation was suspended pursuant to the April 7, 1980, Commerce order.

On March 17, 1981, the relevant countervailing duty order was revoked. On March 18, 1981, Commerce notified the United States Customs Service (Customs) to proceed with liquidation of Korean footwear. Notwithstanding the directive to proceed with liquidation, during July and August 1981 Customs sent Pagoda computer-generated notices that liquidation was suspended for at least four of the five entries.

The Court of International Trade held that there was no basis for the computer-generated notices and, thus, the notices were not valid to suspend liquidation. The court also held that the notices of “suspension” were not effective to serve as notices of “extension” of the period for liquidation under 19 U.S.C. § 1504 (1982).

Section 1504 allows only 1 year from the date of entry for liquidation to occur, subject to valid extensions of that period. If the merchandise is not liquidated within 1 year, it “shall be deemed liquidated at the rate of duty * * * asserted at the time of entry by the importer.”5 Thus, the Court of International Trade held that the entries made by Pagoda from August 5, 1980, to September 9, 1980, were deemed liquidated by operation of law 1 year after the entries were made.

Without regard for the “deemed liquidation,” on February 26, 1982, Customs stated that it was liquidating all five Pagoda entries using American Selling Price appraisement, resulting in a duty higher than that asserted at the time of entry by Pagoda. On May 24, 1982, Pagoda submitted a protest challenging the appraisement and classification of the merchandise. On June 18, 1982, Pagoda filed a supplement to the protest, asserting that the February 26, 1982, liquidation was invalid because of the earlier “deemed liquidation.” On July 29, 1982, the protest was denied. Pagoda brought an action in the Court of International Trade contesting the denial of the protest.

The Court of International Trade asserted jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a) (1982). The court entered summary judgment in favor of Pagoda, holding that the “deemed liquidation” occurred by operation of law prior to the February 26,1982, liquidation asserted by Customs. The Government appeals. Jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(5) (1982).

Analysis

A. Jurisdiction of the Court of Internar tional Trade.

The Court of International Trade has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a) (1982) over a civil action to contest the denial of a protest under 19 U.S.C. §§ 1514, 1515 (1982). Pagoda’s May 24, 1982, protest was timely filed within 90 days of the February 26,1982, liquidation asserted by Customs. The May 24, 1982, protest was based on two grounds of objection under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a):

(1) the appraised value of the merchandise; [and]
[668]*668(2) the classification and rate and amount of duties chargeable[.]

On June 18, 1982, Pagoda filed a supplement to the protest asserting that a “deemed liquidation” had occurred 1 year after each entry, and that Customs’ classification and appraisement, as effected by the February 26, 1982, liquidation, were invalid. The trial court found that Pagoda filed the supplement shortly after the time for filing a protest had expired, but prior to disposition of the protest as required by section 1514.

In asserting the “deemed liquidation” issue, the supplement raised a “new ground” of objection under the following category of 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a):

(5) the liquidation or reliquidation of an entry, or any modification thereof[.]

In Old Republic Insurance Co. v. United States,6 the importer protested the duties resulting from a liquidation and later filed a supplement alleging that liquidation was improper because of Customs’ failure to send a notice of extension of liquidation. The Court of International Trade held that the supplement was permissible because (1) the original protest was sufficient to advise Customs that the liquidation was being protested and (2) new grounds may be presented in support of objections raised by a protest at any time prior to the disposition of the protest.7

Here, the trial court found that Pagoda’s supplement (raising the new ground of deemed liquidation) was timely because it related to the original protest of the classification and appraisement decisions and because the new ground was raised “prior to the disposition of the protest.”

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Pagoda Trading Corporation v. The United States
804 F.2d 665 (Federal Circuit, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
804 F.2d 665, 8 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1417, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 20382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pagoda-trading-corporation-v-the-united-states-cafc-1986.