HQ 225674

June 21, 1995

LIQ-4-01/LIQ-11-R:C:E 225674 CC

CATEGORY: Liquidation

District Director

U.S. Customs Service

300 South Ferry Street

Terminal Island

San Pedro, CA 90731

RE: Protest and Application for further Review No. 2704-94-101678;
deemed liquidation; 19 U.S.C. 1504(d); Canadian Fur

Trappers Corp. v. United States; HQ 225885

Dear Sir or Madam:

The above-referenced protest was forwarded to this office

for further review. We have considered the facts and issues

raised, and our decision follows.

FACTS:

According to the file, the entry of the merchandise the

subject of this protest was made on February 19, 1988. The

merchandise entered was certain steel pipe from India.

Antidumping duties at the rate of 7.08 percent were deposited at

the time of entry.

The merchandise at issue was the subject of an antidumping

investigation (case A-533-502). In a notice of preliminary

determination, published in the Federal Register on December 31,

1985 (50 FR 53356), Customs was instructed to suspend liquidation

for the subject merchandise entered on or after the date of

publication.

Notice of preliminary results of administrative review of

the subject merchandise for the manufacturer under consideration

were published in the Federal Register on June 10, 1991 (56 FR

26650). Notice of final results of administrative review of the

subject merchandise for the manufacturer under consideration were

published in the Federal Register on December 12, 1991 (56 FR

64753). In that notice, the dumping margin for the subject

merchandise was determined to be 77.32 percent. In addition, it

was stated in that notice \"\[t\]he Department \[of Commerce\] shall

determine, and the United States Customs Service shall assess,

antidumping duties on all appropriate entries \[and\] \[t\]he

Department shall issue appraisement instructions directly to the

Customs Service.\"

Customs did not receive appraisement or liquidation

instructions from the Department of Commerce for the merchandise

under consideration in the time period under consideration until

March 14, 1994 (Message No. 4073112). In those instructions,

Customs officers were instructed to liquidate all shipments of

the merchandise under consideration during the period from May 1,

1987 to April 30, 1988, with a dumping duty of 77.32 percent.

The protested entry was liquidated on April 29, 1994. The

protest was filed on June 10, 1994. The protestant argues that

suspension of liquidation was lifted when the Department of

Commerce published the final results of administrative review on

December 12, 1991 (56 FR 64753). Therefore, the protestant

contends that since suspension of liquidation was lifted within

four years of the entry date, the entry should have been deemed

liquidated (at the 7.08 percent antidumping rate deposited at the

time of entry) by operation of law four years from the date of

entry, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1504(d) and Nunn Bush Shoe Co. v.

United States, 16 CIT 45, 784 F. Supp. 892 (1992).

ISSUE:

Whether the subject entry was deemed liquidated by operation

of law pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1504(d)?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Initially, we note that the protest was timely filed

pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1514(c).

In addition, we note that 19 U.S.C. 1504(d) was amended by

section 641, title VI - Customs Modernization, Public Law 103-182, the
North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

(107 Stat. 2057), enacted December 8, 1993. Title VI of Public

Law 103-182 took effect on the date of enactment of the Act

(section 692 of the Act). Since entry occurred prior to the date

of enactment, the amended law does not apply in this instance.

See HQ 225576 of November 15, 1994.

Our analysis in this protest is the same as that contained

in HQ 225885 of June 7, 1995, a similar protest relating to

the assessment of antidumping duties to steel pipes from India

and containing the same issues concerning deemed liquidation

(copy enclosed and incorporated into this ruling). In HQ 225885

we found that the suspension of liquidation is lifted when

Customs receives instructions from the Department of Commerce.

Since the suspension of liquidation was not lifted until more

than four years after entry, Nunn Bush is inapplicable and

Canadian Fur Trappers Corp. v. United States, 12 CIT 612, 691 F.

Supp. 364 (1988), affirmed, 7 Fed. Cir. (T) 136, 884 F.2d 563

(1989), controls. The protested entry was liquidated promptly,

less than two months after the suspension of liquidation was

lifted. The protest is therefore denied.

HOLDING:

The subject entry was not deemed liquidated by operation of

law pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1504(d). The protest is DENIED.

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, Freedom of Information Act

and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Commercial Rulings Division

Enclosure