Deemed Liquidation occurs when CBP fails to liquidate an entry within the statutory deadline. In that case, the entry is "deemed liquidated" at the rate of duty, value, and amount of duty asserted by the importer on the entry summary. The doctrine is codified in 19 U.S.C. § 1504.
The 314-day rule. CBP has 314 days from the date of entry to either:
- Liquidate the entry, or
- Issue an extension of liquidation, or
- Have the entry under suspension of liquidation
If none of these occurs by day 314, the entry is automatically deemed liquidated on day 314, at the importer's declared rate. CBP can no longer assess additional duty for that entry.
One year for extended entries. Once CBP extends liquidation, the agency has up to four additional one-year extensions (maximum approximately five years from entry date) before deemed liquidation kicks in.
Practical implications:
- The importer can rely on the declared rate becoming final
- CBP's failure to act becomes an irrebuttable presumption in favor of the importer
- The 180-day protest window begins to run on the deemed liquidation date
- Deemed liquidation provides certainty for importers but also closes off CBP's opportunity to assess additional duty
Antidumping and countervailing duties. Deemed liquidation has special significance in antidumping and countervailing duty cases. If Commerce instructs CBP to liquidate AD/CVD entries at a particular rate but CBP fails to act in time, the entries are deemed liquidated at the cash deposit rate originally posted — sometimes lower than the final assessed rate.
The leading deemed-liquidation case is International Trading Co. v. United States (332 F.3d 1373, Fed. Cir. 2003).