Post Summary Correction (PSC): 300-Day and 15-Day Windows

Key Points

• A post summary correction (PSC) is filed through ABI and is available only while the entry is unliquidated, no later than 300 days after the date of entry and no later than 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date.
• A PSC retransmits the whole entry summary, every line and not just the changed one, so each PSC is a new entry summary made under the reasonable-care standard in 19 U.S.C. 1484.
• An underpayment is paid with the PSC and bears interest under 19 U.S.C. 1505; an overpayment is refunded at liquidation, not when the PSC is accepted.
• After liquidation the route is a protest under 19 U.S.C. 1514, and a pattern of errors that may amount to a 19 U.S.C. 1592 violation belongs in a prior disclosure, which is a separate filing.

On this page

1. What a post summary correction is
2. The 300-day and 15-day windows
3. How a PSC is filed in ACE
4. What happens to the duty
5. When a PSC is the wrong tool
6. What importers should do
7. Key references

A post summary correction is the ACE transaction that replaces a filed entry summary before the entry liquidates. It must be filed no later than 300 days after the date of entry and no later than 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date, whichever leaves less time. Extra duty is paid with the PSC, and a refund of overpaid duty comes at liquidation.

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the statutes, regulations, and CBP pages themselves. Read the source.

What a post summary correction is

A PSC is how a filer fixes data on an entry summary that has already been accepted in ACE, without waiting for liquidation and without filing a protest. Typical corrections involve classification, value, quantity, country of origin, or a special program indicator. The PSC does not amend the old summary line by line. It replaces it.

Who files it

The PSC is filed through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) by the filer. That is either the original filer or another filer who has the importer's authorization. The importer of record does not file it directly unless it is also an ABI filer.

Why each PSC carries compliance weight

Because the PSC retransmits the entire entry summary, it is a new entry summary. It is made under the reasonable-care standard in 19 U.S.C. 1484. A filer who corrects one line is therefore also re-attesting to every other line on the summary. Review the whole summary before you transmit, not just the field that prompted the correction.

The 300-day and 15-day windows

Two limits apply at the same time, and both must be met.

• Entry unliquidated: a PSC is available only while the entry has not liquidated.
• 300 days: the PSC must be filed no later than 300 days after the date of entry.
• 15 days: the PSC must be filed no later than 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date.

The 15-day limit is the one that catches filers. If CBP has scheduled liquidation earlier than the 300-day mark, the PSC window closes 15 days before that scheduled date. Check the scheduled liquidation date on each entry rather than counting only from entry.

Once the window closes, the entry will liquidate as filed and the correction path moves to a protest, discussed below.

How a PSC is filed in ACE

Reason codes and explanations

Each change on a PSC carries a PSC reason code and an explanation. Treat the explanation as a record that CBP and your own auditors will read. State what was wrong and why the new data is right, in a sentence or two, and keep the supporting documents on file.

Every line goes back in

Transmit the complete corrected summary. Lines you did not change must still be present and accurate. Omitting a line is not a way to leave it alone.

Acceptance, rejection, and review

CBP may reject a PSC or hold it for review. Acceptance of the transaction is not a ruling that your correction is right. A rejected PSC is not on file, so watch your response messages and re-file inside the windows. If you wait until the final days, a rejection may leave no time to fix the transmission.

What happens to the duty

Underpayment

If the correction increases duty, the additional duty is paid with the PSC. It bears interest under 19 U.S.C. 1505. Filing the PSC before liquidation, and paying with it, is generally the cleanest way to put additional duty on the record.

Overpayment

If the correction decreases duty, the refund is not issued when the PSC is accepted. It is refunded at liquidation. Importers who expect immediate cash back after a PSC should plan for the wait until the entry liquidates. For the broader set of recovery routes and their deadlines, see Customs Recovery: 4 Ways to Get Overpaid Duty Back and Deadlines.

When a PSC is the wrong tool

After liquidation: protest

Once the entry has liquidated, a PSC is no longer available. The route is a protest under 19 U.S.C. 1514. See CBP protest under 19 U.S.C. 1514 for how that process works.

A pattern of errors: prior disclosure

A single clerical mistake is a PSC problem. A pattern of errors across entries that may amount to a violation of 19 U.S.C. 1592 is a different problem. That belongs in a prior disclosure under 19 U.S.C. 1592(c)(4) and 19 CFR 162.74. A prior disclosure protects the importer only when it is made before, or without knowledge of, the commencement of a formal investigation of that violation. See CBP prior disclosure: how it works and when to file.

Two separate filings

A PSC corrects the entry. A prior disclosure addresses the violation. They are separate filings, and filing one does not substitute for the other. If you are deciding which applies, the routing logic is in Correct HTS classification after entry: PSC, protest, or prior disclosure. This article covers the PSC itself.

What importers should do

• Track the date of entry and the scheduled liquidation date for every entry you may need to correct, and calendar the earlier of the 300-day and 15-day cutoffs.
• Before transmitting, review the entire entry summary, since the PSC is a new entry summary under the reasonable-care standard.
• Write a specific reason code and explanation for each change, and keep the supporting records with the entry file.
• Pay any additional duty with the PSC, expect refunds only at liquidation, and escalate repeat errors across entries for a prior disclosure review rather than fixing them one PSC at a time.

Key references

• 19 U.S.C. 1484: entry of merchandise and the reasonable-care standard that applies to each entry summary, including a PSC.
• 19 U.S.C. 1505: payment of duties and interest on underpayments.
• 19 U.S.C. 1514: protest of liquidation decisions after liquidation.
• 19 U.S.C. 1592: penalties for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence, including the prior disclosure provision at subsection (c)(4).
• 19 CFR 162.74: prior disclosure regulation.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection: agency landing page for ACE and ABI entry summary guidance.