Background
Voith US Inc. imported QualiFlex press sleeves from Germany in 2021 and 2022. Voith alleged that U.S. Customs and Border Protection incorrectly classified the sleeves under HTSUS subheading 3926.90.9985 and that they instead belonged under subheading 8439.99.1000 as parts used in papermaking machinery.
Voith’s summons listed 36 protests, but only six had been denied when the action commenced; the other 30 remained pending before Customs. Voith’s later complaint also identified two additional protests that were not included in the summons. The government moved to dismiss the claims associated with the 32 disputed protests for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction over the 30 protests still pending when Voith filed its summons. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a), denial of a protest is a jurisdictional prerequisite to an action contesting that denial, and jurisdiction must exist separately for each protest when the action is commenced. Customs’ later denial of the protests could not cure the jurisdictional defect.
The court also dismissed the two protests included in the complaint but omitted from the summons, a result to which Voith agreed. It rejected Voith’s requests to preserve the disputed protests or permit jurisdictional discovery because the relevant fact—that the 30 protests were pending when suit began—was undisputed. The court declined to compel Voith to amend its complaint, limited the action to the six timely denied protests and their underlying entries, and gave the government 60 days to answer.
Key Takeaways
- A denied Customs protest is a jurisdictional prerequisite to an action under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a).
- Jurisdiction must be established for each individual protest when the summons is filed; a later protest denial does not cure a premature filing.
- A protest omitted from the summons cannot be brought into the action merely by including it in a later complaint.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores the need for importers to track the status and filing deadline of each Customs protest independently. Listing pending protests alongside denied protests in one summons does not preserve judicial review of the pending matters.
The practical consequence can be severe: Voith asserted that the 180-day period for filing separate actions had expired by the time the government sought dismissal, but the court held that this did not permit it to exercise jurisdiction Congress had not granted.