19 agosto 2026
Fixing a customs entry after the fact: PSC before liquidation, protest within 180 days after
If you overpaid duty or filed a customs entry with a mistake, there are exactly two administrative ways to fix it, and they live on opposite sides of one event called liquidation. Before CBP liquidates the entry, your broker files a Post Summary Correction (PSC) in ACE, available up to 300 days after entry and no later than 15 days before scheduled liquidation. After liquidation, your only tool is a protest under 19 USC 1514, and the deadline is 180 days from the date of liquidation, a hard jurisdictional line that no one can extend. Miss both windows and you are into litigation territory, which for most entries means the money is gone. We handle both with the licensed customs broker we work with, since filing PSCs and protests is licensed customs business (19 USC 1641), and knowing these two windows is how you avoid needing the bad third option.
Liquidation is the event both clocks run against
Liquidation is CBP's final computation of the duties, taxes, and fees owed on an entry. Until it happens, the entry is still open and correctable; after it happens, the numbers are final unless you formally challenge them.
Most entries liquidate roughly a year after the entry date. CBP publishes the scheduled liquidation date, and your broker can see it in ACE, so there is no excuse for being surprised by it.
Everything that follows hangs on this one date. Which fix you can use, and whether you can get a refund at all, depends on whether the entry has liquidated yet.
Before liquidation: the Post Summary Correction
A PSC is the easy path. It is an electronic amendment to the entry summary, filed in ACE, and it can correct most entry data: declared value, tariff classification, duty amounts, and more.
The window has two limits and you must satisfy both. A PSC can be filed up to 300 calendar days after the entry date, but never later than 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever comes first.
If you overpaid and catch it in time, a PSC gets the refund without any formal dispute. This is why we tell importers to reconcile their duty spend well before the one-year mark, not after.
After liquidation: the protest and its 180 days
Once an entry liquidates, the PSC door closes and the protest under 19 USC 1514 is the only administrative remedy. It is filed on CBP Form 19 or electronically in ACE, by the importer, a licensed broker, or an attorney.
The deadline is 180 days from the date of liquidation or reliquidation. Not from the entry date, not from the date you paid the duty, a distinction that trips up importers constantly.
The deadline is jurisdictional, which means it cannot be extended for any reason. A protest filed on day 181 is void, no matter how strong the argument inside it.
The two windows people confuse, side by side
The 300-day window is the PSC window and it runs from the entry date, before liquidation. The 180-day window is the protest window and it runs from the liquidation date, after. They measure from different events and cover different phases, which is exactly why they get mixed up.
A practical rule of thumb: caught the error within the first ten months, ask us about a PSC. Caught it after liquidation, count 180 days from the liquidation date on the entry and move fast.
There is one more path worth knowing exists: under 19 USC 1501, CBP itself can voluntarily reliquidate an entry within 90 days of liquidation. You cannot force it, but a broker can sometimes prompt it for a clear clerical error.
After 180 days, the honest bad news
Once the protest window closes, there is almost nothing left short of litigation. For the vast majority of entries, the overpaid duty is simply gone, which is why calendaring liquidation dates matters more than any clever argument later.
If a protest is filed on time and CBP denies it, the fight is not necessarily over: the denial can be appealed to the Court of International Trade within 180 days of the denial. That is real litigation with real cost, so it only makes sense when serious money is at stake.
The cheap version of all of this is prevention. Get classifications and values right at entry, and review liquidations as they post instead of years later.
How we handle it, and who actually files
Yes, we handle PSCs and protests. Filing them is customs business, and under 19 USC 1641 customs business must be conducted by a licensed customs broker (or, for protests, an attorney), so ours go through the licensed customs broker we work with. This post is orientation, not legal advice.
We also provide the operational side: the container drayage, the storage, and clean handling records, plus a straight answer about which window you are probably in when you call us worried about an old entry.
If you think you overpaid on an entry, check the liquidation date first, then get in touch quickly. We take it up with the licensed customs broker we work with and handle your freight in the meantime.
customs protest · post summary correction · liquidation · CBP Form 19 · refunds
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Risposte dirette
What is the difference between a post summary correction and a protest?
They sit on opposite sides of liquidation. A post summary correction is an electronic amendment to the entry summary, filed in ACE while the entry is still open, and it can correct declared value, tariff classification, duty amounts and more. A protest is the remedy after liquidation, filed under 19 USC 1514 on CBP Form 19 or electronically. Same goal, different door, and which door is open depends entirely on whether CBP has liquidated the entry yet.
How long do I have to file a post summary correction?
The window has two limits and you have to satisfy both. A PSC can be filed up to 300 calendar days after the entry date, but never later than 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever arrives first. CBP publishes the scheduled liquidation date and a broker can see it in ACE, so the date is knowable well in advance. That is why reconciling duty spend before the one-year mark beats discovering the problem after it.
When does the 180 day protest deadline start?
From the date of liquidation or reliquidation. Not from the entry date, and not from the day you paid the duty, which is the distinction that trips importers up most often. The deadline is jurisdictional, meaning it cannot be extended for any reason at all. A protest filed on day 181 is void no matter how strong the argument inside it, so the liquidation date is the one to put on a calendar.
What happens if CBP denies my protest?
A denial can be appealed to the Court of International Trade within 180 days of the denial. That is real litigation with real cost, so it tends to make sense only when serious money is at stake. There is also a quieter path worth knowing about: under 19 USC 1501, CBP can voluntarily reliquidate an entry within 90 days of liquidation. You cannot force it, but a broker can sometimes prompt it for a clear clerical error.
Can I fix an entry after the protest window closes?
Realistically, no. Once the 180 days run out there is almost nothing left short of litigation, and for the vast majority of entries the overpaid duty is simply gone. That is why calendaring liquidation dates matters more than any clever argument made later. The cheap version of all of this is prevention: get classifications and values right at entry, and review liquidations as they post rather than years afterwards.
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