United States v. United States Shoe Corp., 523 U.S. 360, 7 (1998)

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366

UNITED STATES v. UNITED STATES SHOE CORP.

Opinion of the Court

"any civil action commenced against the United States . . . that arises out of any law of the United States providing for — "(1) revenue from imports or tonnage;

. . . . . "(4) administration and enforcement with respect to the matters referred to in paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection . . . ."

This dispute, as the Federal Circuit stated, "involve[s] the 'administration and enforcement' of a law providing for revenue from imports because the HMT statute, although applied to exports here, does apply equally to imports." 114 F. 3d, at 1571. True, § 1581(i) does not use the word "exports." But that is hardly surprising in view of the Export Clause, which confines customs duties to imports. Revenue from imports and revenue from customs duties are thus synonymous in this setting. In short, as the CIT correctly concluded and the Federal Circuit correctly affirmed, "Congress [in § 4462(f)(2)] directed [that] the [HMT] be treated as a customs duty for purposes of jurisdiction. Such duties, by their very nature, provide for revenue from imports, and are encompassed within [§ ]1581(i)(1)." 907 F. Supp., at 421. Accordingly, CIT jurisdiction over controversies regarding the administration and enforcement of the HMT accords with § 1581(i)(4).3

III

Two Terms ago, in IBM, this Court considered the question whether a tax on insurance premiums paid to protect

3 Because we determine that the CIT has exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to the HMT under § 1581(i)(4), it follows that the Court of Federal Claims lacks jurisdiction over the challenges to the HMT currently pending there. See 28 U. S. C. § 1491(b). The plaintiffs in these challenges may invoke § 1631, which authorizes intercourt transfers, when "in the interest of justice," to cure want of jurisdiction. See also § 610 (as used in Title 28, the term "court" includes the Court of Federal Claims and the CIT).

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