Court of International Trade Decisions
In U.S. v. Inn Foods, Inc., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that litigation filed by the U.S. on December 14, 2001 to collect Customs duties and fees from Inn Foods for violations of 19 USC 1592 regarding produce imported from Mexico was untimely by one day.
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CIT Finds Litigation to Collect Customs Duties and Fees is Untimely by One Day
According to the CIT, Inn Foods argues that a two-year extension of a December 14, 1999 waiver had expired on December 13, 2001, while Customs argues that it expired on December 14, 2001. The CIT concurs with Inn Foods, finding that the waiver agreement between Inn Foods and Customs explicitly stated that it was to begin on December 14, 1999, and as such expired at 11:59 p.m. on December 13, 2001, making the U.S.' complaint untimely. (Slip Op. 03-50, dated 05/13/03, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/slip_op03/SlipOp03--50.InnFoods.pdf )
CIT Imposes Maximum Penalty Against Importer for Negligent Recordkeeping, Etc.
In U.S. v. Yuchius Morality Company, Ltd. and Intercargo Insurance Company, the Court of International Trade (CIT) levied the maximum penalty against an importer for its failure to ensure its entries were correct. The CIT states that this failure was at least the result of negligence on the importer's part, constituting a violation of 19 USC 1592.
According to the CIT, Yuchius made hundreds of entries from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia over a number of years whose value totaled $59,944,282; however, the company declared to Customs that the value of this merchandise was only $49,691,820. The CIT found Yuchius' recordkeeping inadequacies to amount to negligence. Because of this finding, among other actions discussed, the CIT found that the maximum penalty of two times the lawful duties, taxes, and fees of which the U.S. was or may have been deprived is warranted. Using this calculation, the CIT determined that Yuchius owed a penalty of $642,612.00. In its judgment, the CIT ordered that in addition to this penalty, Yuchius was also to pay $271,306.00 in unpaid duties and $276,162.51 in prejudgment interest on the unpaid duties.
The CIT stated that co-defendant and cross-claimant, Intercargo Insurance Company (Yuchius' surety for the duties at issue), had already settled in full with the government in this matter and is entitled to recover the face amount of its bond, $50,000.00, plus $32,567.45 in reasonable attorney's fees, expenses and other costs incurred. (Slip Op. 02-124, decided 10/18/02, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op02/slip-op02-124.pdf; judgment issued 12/11/02, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op02/slip-op02-146.pdf)