Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. v. United States

I believe that 19 U.S.C. § 1515(a) requires Customs to act on the merits of all protests within two years, and that all protests not expressly denied within that two-year period are allowed by operation of law. Because I would find Hitachi’s protests at issue were therefore allowed but its duties were not refunded, I would reverse the Court of International Trade (“CIT”) and find that it had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) to address Hitachi’s claims for refunds. I respectfully dissent.

I. Background

Hitachi commenced this action seeking to recover duties, plus interest, paid upon…