The Court of International Trade on Sept. 18 ordered the government to pay for an importer’s legal fees incurred in a drawn-out and ultimately successful legal challenge to the tariff classification of its tobacco products. Shah Bros. sought compensation under the Equal Access to Justice Act after the government allowed litigation to proceed even though it had conceded in a case involving identical merchandise four years earlier. The trade court found no justification for the delay and ordered the government to pay the importer’s legal fees at rates determined by a survey of several customs law firms.
CBP is unable to refund the alchohol excise tax it collected from a company that mistakenly listed a tax rate over the actual required amount, the agency told Southern Wine and Spirits of America in July 3 ruling. The ruling, HQ H214255, addressed whether CBP has the authority to refund the excess payment that was a result of a miscalculated tax rate listed by Southern Wine on its entry filing. In this case, listing the wrong tax rate was a clerical error, rather than a "mathematical error," leaving CBP unable to give the refund, it said in the further review of protest.
The other government agencies involved in the completion of the International Trade Data System have become increasingly engaged in that work following the February Executive Order on ITDS, said Carol Cave, director of Import Surveillance, Consumer Product Safety Commission. Cave and other agency officials discussed the progress on Sept. 15 during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference. "There is a major shift going on with [the Border Interagency Executive Council]" as the government works to finish the system by 2016, as required in the Executive Order (see 14021928). For example, there's been a lot more coordination in looking at which agencies collect the same information that the CPSC also requires, said Cave.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Court of International Trade ruling in Trek Leather that said corporate officers can be liable for negligent misstatements on entry documentation in a Sept. 16 decision. The ruling marks an apparent change of heart for the CAFC, which reviewed the question of corporate officer liability in the case as part of an en banc rehearing (see 14030601). The Appeals Court previously ruled against the CIT and found that Trek Leather's owner, Harish Shadadpuri, was not liable for his company’s undervaluation of entries of men’s suits (see 13073025). Customs lawyers said the case should be the source of serious concern for corporate compliance executives who may face new risk as a result of the finding.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 8-14:
CBP is undergoing its "own version of a corporate reorganization" as the agency continues work to increase the role of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, said Deputy Commissioner Kevin McAleenan , who spoke during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 16. The agency is aligning its staff with how industry is set up, he said. That includes adjustments to the agency's field operations, the Office of Trade and legal counsel, all of which is helping CBP develop a better "compliance and security posture," said McAleenan.
It’s murky just who is bankrolling the efforts by national advocacy groups to generate hundreds of thousands of comments to the FCC in the net neutrality debate.
Just who is bankrolling the efforts by national advocacy groups (WID Sept. 11 p1) to generate hundreds of thousands of comments to the FCC in the net neutrality debate is murky. Phil Kerpen, president of free-market American Commitment, which said this week it’s countering the mobilization efforts of pro-Title II groups, declined to say where the organization gets its funding. Two of the pro-Title II groups that organized Wednesday’s Internet slowdown protest disclosed to us their major donors, but neither fully made its funders public. Two other protest organizers would not say how their efforts are being funded.
Just who is bankrolling the efforts by national advocacy groups (CD Sept 11 p10) to generate hundreds of thousands of comments to the FCC in the net neutrality debate is murky. Phil Kerpen, president of free-market American Commitment, which said this week it’s countering the mobilization efforts of pro-Title II groups, declined to say where the organization gets its funding. Two of the pro-Title II groups that organized Wednesday’s Internet slowdown protest disclosed to us their major donors, but neither fully made its funders public. Two other protest organizers wouldn’t say how their efforts are being funded.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 1-7: