Customs Broker Asks US for More Specific Complaint in Unpaid Duties Case
Aegis Security, a customs broker involved in two U.S.-brought suits to collect duties that have gone unpaid for decades (see 2503030043 and 2504180051), moved May 8 for a more definite complaint in one. In the more recent complaint filed this year, Aegis said the government failed to provide an adequately detailed explanation of the facts behind its claim (United States v. Aegis Security Insurance Co., CIT # 25-00051).
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The U.S. pointed to “28 single-transaction bonds” Aegis issued a garlic importer, DMT International, as the reason Aegis was liable for unpaid duties. But the government didn’t attach copies of the bonds to the complaint, nor provide the bond numbers or effective dates, the broker said. It also didn’t provide any details about the entries covered by the bonds other than their numbers, including their ports or exporters.
The broker also said the government hadn’t shown conclusively that the entries in question had been deemed liquidated. It said that deemed liquidations could only be proved by demonstrating “certain underlying facts,” but “the Government failed to plead a single fact supporting its alleged entitlement to relief.”