Limitation for customs appeals permits exclusion of time during...

Limitation for customs appeals permits exclusion of time during which appeal papers, filed within the prescribed period, remained before an incorrect forum; the first appeal was treated as timely and remanded for merits determination. An appeal emailed and dispatched within the statutory period could not be rejected as time-barred; alternatively, any marginal delay in physical receipt fell within the condonable period. Refund of customs duty paid under protest was available for finally assessed bills of entry where assessment accepted the importer's declared classification and no reclassification proceedings displaced the protest. Each bill of entry constituted a separate assessment, so proceedings concerning other bills could not defer refund. Refund was confined to finally assessed bills, excluding provisionally assessed bills.