Title 28Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73

§2637 Exhaustion of administrative remedies

Title 28 › Part PART VI— - PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › Chapter CHAPTER 169— - COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROCEDURE › § 2637

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Suing in the Court of International Trade over a denied protest under section 515 is allowed only if all related duties and charges are paid when the suit starts. The bond guarantor is liable only up to each entry’s bond amount. You must finish the steps in section 516 before suing on a denied petition. For other cases, the court usually requires you to try administrative remedies first.

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §2637

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A civil action contesting the denial of a protest under section 515 of the Tariff Act of 1930 may be commenced in the Court of International Trade only if all liquidated duties, charges, or exactions have been paid at the time the action is commenced, except that a surety’s obligation to pay such liquidated duties, charges, or exactions is limited to the sum of any bond related to each entry included in the denied protest.
(b)A civil action contesting the denial of a petition under section 516 of the Tariff Act of 1930 may be commenced in the Court of International Trade only by a person who has first exhausted the procedures set forth in such section.
(c)A civil action described in section 1581(h) of this title may be commenced in the Court of International Trade prior to the exhaustion of administrative remedies if the person commencing the action makes the demonstration required by such section.
(d)In any civil action not specified in this section, the Court of International Trade shall, where appropriate, require the exhaustion of administrative remedies.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 515 of the Tariff Act of 1930, referred to in subsec. (a), is classified to section 1515 of Title 19, Customs Duties. section 516 of the Tariff Act of 1930, referred to in subsec. (b), is classified to section 1516 of Title 19.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2637, acts
June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 982;
June 2, 1970, Pub. L. 91–271, title I, § 118, 84 Stat. 280;
July 26, 1979, Pub. L. 96–39, title X, § 1001(b)(4)(E), 93 Stat. 306, related to witnesses and inspection of documents, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 96–417. See section 2641 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Subsec. (c) of this section applicable with respect to civil actions commenced on or after Nov. 1, 1980, see section 701(b)(1)(B) of Pub. L. 96–417, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1980 Amendment note under section 251 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 2637

Title 28Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73