The Liquidation of U.S. Customs Duties in the Import Clearance Process for America

The duties imposed at the time of clearance in the U.S. are always provisional duties. The final determination of U.S. customs duties to be paid for importing into America is made through the duty liquidation process. U.S. customs has 314 days to finalize the duties.

In the context of the U.S. clearance process, therefore, “duty liquidation” represents the final calculation and official determination of the duties, taxes, and fees owed on imported goods.

Duty liquidation marks the final phase of the import process and definitively establishes the total amount owed by the registered importer, or any potential refund to be received.
 

Estimated Duties vs. Final Duties

At the time of entry, the importer pays estimated duties. Subsequently, U.S. customs [CBP] reviews the details of the import (customs classification, value, and origin) to determine the final amount due during the liquidation process.

• If the final duties are higher than those estimated and already paid, U.S. customs issues an additional invoice for the difference.
• If, on the other hand, the final duties are lower than those estimated, U.S. customs provides a refund for the difference.
• If the difference between estimated and liquidated duties is less than 20 USD, it is generally ignored (neither collected nor refunded)

Technical Notes on the Clearance and Duty Determination Procedure for the United States

• Timeframes related to the U.S. duty liquidation process
  An import is generally liquidated within one year (often about 314 days) from the date of entry, unless extensions or suspensions are decided by the CBP or a court order.
• Notification of duty liquidation
  The official notice of liquidation is published electronically on the CBP website: www.cbp.gov
• Challenges to the decision on the final amount of duties
  Once an import is liquidated, meaning the provisional duties have become final, the importer has 180 days to file a formal protest if they disagree with the final determination by U.S. customs. Before liquidation, the importer can submit a Post Summary Correction (PSC) to correct any errors in the declaration.