CBP protest: how to challenge a US customs decision within 180 days

What can be protested

Under 174.11, a protest can challenge the appraised value, the classification, rate and amount of duties, charges or exactions including interest, the exclusion of goods from entry or delivery or a demand for redelivery, the liquidation, reliquidation or modification of an entry, a refusal to pay a drawback claim, and certain refusals to reliquidate. Clerical errors and mistakes of fact adverse to the importer can also be protested.

Protests may be filed by the importer or consignee of record and their sureties, anyone paying a charge or receiving a refund, anyone seeking entry or delivery, drawback claimants, qualifying exporters or producers in certain origin decisions, and authorised agents.

What the protest must contain (174.13)

• Name and address of the protestant and its importer number
• Entry number and date
• Date of liquidation or of the decision protested
• A specific description of the merchandise affected
• The distinct and specific objections and the reasons for them
• Any related pending protests
• A declaration on whether the entry is subject to drawback

Review and next steps

The protest is filed on CBP Form 19, in quadruplicate, at the port of entry, or electronically through ACE, and it can be amended until the 180-day period ends. Several entries can be covered in one protest if they have the same protestant, merchandise category and decision. CBP must allow or deny the protest within 2 years; a party can request accelerated disposition by registered or certified mail, and the protest is deemed denied if CBP does not act within 30 days.

An application for further review can ask for review at a higher level, for example when the decision is inconsistent with a CBP ruling or raises unresolved questions of law or fact. If the protest is allowed, excess duties are refunded. If it is denied, the protestant can file a civil action in the US Court of International Trade within 180 days after the denial notice is mailed or after a deemed denial.