HQ 224582: Protest #0101-93-100014 concerning the assessment of intereston antidumping duties (ADD); 19 U.S.C. 1677g; 19 U.S.C. 1504.

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                            HQ 224582

                           May 27, 1994


LIQ-4-01 CO:R:C:E 224582  TLS

CATEGORY: Entry

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
P.O. Box 4688
Portland, Maine  04112


RE: Protest #0101-93-100014 concerning the assessment of interest
on antidumping duties (ADD); 19 U.S.C. 1677g; 19 U.S.C. 1504.


Dear Sir:

     This office has received the request for further review of
the above-referenced protest as provided for under Customs
regulations.  We have considered the request and made the
following decision.

FACTS:

     A series of entries were made by the protestant between
February 4, 1977 and April 13, 1981.  The International Trade
Administration (ITA) of the Dept. of Commerce published results
of its administrative review for the time period covering the
subject entries on May 11 and 24, 1982.  Pursuant to those
notices, Customs was issued instructions on July 20, 1982 (CIE
No. N-350/71 Supp. 13) and December 19, 1983 (CIE No. N-350/71
Supp. 16) to lift the suspensions and liquidate the entries.  The
entries were actually liquidated on November 13, 1992.  The
protestant argues that the entries should have been deemed
liquidated 90 days after the suspensions were lifted.  Customs
has since conceded that most of the entries made on or after
April 1, 1979 were in fact deemed liquidated by operation of law
and the 11-13-92 liquidations were done in error.  For the
entries made before 4-1-79, Customs does not believe those are
deemed liquidated by operation of law, although the protestant
argues such.

     The protestant also argues that interest payments should not
apply to any of the entries regardless of date because no cash
payments were made on any of them.  Customs agrees with this
assessment as well.  Thus, what remains at dispute are the
entries made before 4-1-79 and whether they should be deemed
liquidated by operation of law.

     This protest was timely filed on February 9, 1993, 88 days
after Customs liquidated these entries.

ISSUE:

     Whether the subject entries made before April 1, 1979 should
be deemed liquidated by operation of law pursuant to P.L. 95-410,
codified as 19 U.S.C. 1504.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     The relevant parts of 19 U.S.C. 1504 read as follows:

     (d) Limitation.--Any entry of merchandise not
     liquidated at the expiration of four years from the
     applicable date specified in subsection (a) of this
     section, shall be deemed liquidated at the rate of
     duty, value, quantity, and amount of duty asserted at
     the time of entry by the importer, his consignee, or
     agent, unless liquidation continues to be suspended as
     required by statute or court order.  When such a
     suspension of liquidation is removed, the entry shall
     be liquidated within 90 days therefrom.

Section 209(b) of Pub. L. 95-410 provides that the statute
applies to the entry or withdrawal of merchandise for consumption
on or after 180 days after the enactment of the statute.  The
statute was enacted on October 3, 1978; April 1, 1979 is the
180th day after that.  There is no dispute that the entries made
after the April 1 date are subject to the statute's provisions. 
Thus, the only question to be answered here is whether the
entries made before April 1 are subject to the statute's
provisions.

     The effective date of the statute, as noted before, is 180
days after the enactment date of October 3, 1978, or April 1,
1979.  It is beyond obvious to recognize that the statute could
not possibly have effect on entries made before the statute even
became effective!  We simply do not find any merit in this
argument.  We must presume that Congress purposely chose the
enactment date it did for definite reasons; we are not in a
position to question such.  Therefore, we are compelled to find
that Customs acted within its authority under law at the time
with respect to the subject entries made before April 1, 1979. 
They are not deemed liquidated pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1504.

     It should also be noted that the importer's list of entries
it believes are subject to this ruling includes entries made
after April 1, 1979, but not included among the entries listed
under Supp. 16 that Customs was instructed to lift suspensions on
and liquidate.  Those entries are subject to Supp. 13 and should
be deemed liquidated accordingly.  In addition, Supp. 16 lists
three entries made after April 1, 1979 that were to be liquidated
pursuant to the instruction but are not among the entries listed
by the importer.  Those entries are not subject to this ruling as
they have not been protested.  In any case, only those entries
made after April 1, 1979 that are listed in Supp. 16 and have
been protested here (entries XXX718 (August 14, 1980), XXX052
(January 2, 1981), XXX317 (March 11, 1981), and XXX647 (April 13,
1981)) or those subject to Supp. 13 (entries XXX742 (March 3,
1980), XXX953 (March 10, 1980), and XXX458 (August 6, 1980)) are
subject to this ruling.

HOLDING:

     Interest on anti-dumping duties should not be charged when
cash deposits were not required, as is the case here.

     The entries subject to this protest that were made after the
April 1, 1979 (the effective date of 19 U.S.C. 1504) that are
listed in CIE No. N-350/71 Supp. 16 (December 19, 1983) and the
three entries noted above that are subject to CIE N-350-71 Supp.
13 (July 20, 1982) are deemed liquidated by law.

     The entries made before April 1, 1979 are not deemed
liquidated by operation of law because they were made prior to
the effective date of 19 U.S.C. 1504.  This protest should be
ALLOWED with respect to the entries noted above and DENIED with
respect to the entries made before 4-1-79.

     In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive
099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest
Directive, this decision should be mailed by your office to the
protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. 
Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision
must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision.  Sixty
days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and
Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to customs
personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public
via the Diskette Subscription Service, Lexis, Freedom of
Information Act and other public access channels. 

                    Sincerely,




                    John Durant, Director
                    Commercial Rulings Division