§2633. Procedure and fees

(a) A filing fee shall be payable to the clerk of the Court of International Trade upon the commencement of a civil action in such court. The amount of the fee shall be prescribed by the rules of the court, but shall be not less than $5 nor more than the filing fee for commencing a civil action in a district court of the United States. The court may fix all other fees to be charged by the clerk of the court.

(b) The Court of International Trade shall prescribe rules governing the summons, pleadings, and other papers, for their amendment, service, and filing, for consolidations, severances, suspensions of cases, and for other procedural matters.

(c) All summons, pleadings, and other papers filed in the Court of International Trade shall be served on all parties in accordance with rules prescribed by the court. When the United States, its agencies, or its officers are adverse parties, service of the summons shall be made upon the Attorney General and the head of the Government agency whose action is being contested. When injunctive relief is sought, the summons, pleadings, and other papers shall also be served upon the named officials sought to be enjoined.

(Added Pub. L. 96–417, title III, §301, Oct. 10, 1980, 94 Stat. 1732 .)

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2633, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 980 ; June 2, 1970, Pub. L. 91–271, title I, §114, 84 Stat. 279 ; July 26, 1979, Pub. L. 96–39, title X, §1001(b)(4)(D), 93 Stat. 306 , related to precedence of cases, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 96–417. See section 2647 of this title.

Schedule of Fees

(Effective November 1, 1988, as amended to July 1, 1998)

As provided by 28 U.S.C. §2633(a) and the Rules of the United States Court of International Trade, the clerk of the court shall collect the fees set forth below. No fees are to be charged for services rendered on behalf of the United States, with the exception of those specifically prescribed in items 2, 4 and 12 of Additional Fees. No fees under this schedule shall be charged to federal agencies or programs, including, but not limited to, agencies, organizations, and individuals providing services authorized by the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. §3006A, and Bankruptcy Administrator programs.

Filing Fees-USCIT R. 3(b)

1. For filing an action other than one commenced under 28 U.S.C. §1581(a) or (d)(1), $150.00.

2. For filing an action commenced under 28 U.S.C. §1581(a), $120.00.

3. For filing an action commenced under 28 U.S.C. §1581(d)(1), $25.00.

4. For filing a complaint in an action commenced under 28 U.S.C. §1581(a) or (b) prior to March 1, 1987, $25.00.

5. For filing a complaint in an action commenced under 28 U.S.C. §1581(a) on or after November 1, 1997, $30.00.

Attorney Admission Fees-USCIT R. 74(b)(3)

For the original admission of an attorney to practice, including a certificate of admission, $50.00.

Additional Fees-USCIT R. 80(g)

The clerk shall collect in advance from the parties fees for miscellaneous services as are consistent with the "Judicial Conference Schedule of Additional Fees for the United States District Courts." The additional fees that are applicable to the court are as follows:

1. For filing or indexing any paper not in a case or proceeding for which a case filing fee has been paid (e.g., filing a petition to perpetuate testimony pursuant to Rule 27, the filing of letters rogatory or letters of request, and the registering of a judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1963), $20.00.

2. For every search of the records of the court for each case searched, $15.00. This fee shall apply to services rendered on behalf of the United States if the information requested is available through electronic access. The court has adopted guidelines consistent with those promulgated by the Judicial Conference of the United States to provide guidance in the application of this fee.

3. For certification of any document or paper, whether the certification is made directly on the document or by separate instrument, $5.00.

4. For exemplification of any document or paper, $10.00.

5. For reproducing any record or paper, including paper copies made from either original documents; or microfiche or microfilm reproductions of the original records, $.50 per page. This fee shall apply to services rendered on behalf of the United States if the record or paper requested is available through electronic access.

6. For reproduction of magnetic tape recordings, either cassette or reel-to-reel (including the cost of materials), $15.00.

7. For each microfiche sheet of film or microfilm jacket copy of any court record, where available, $3.00.

8. For retrieval of a record from a Federal Records Center, National Archives, or other storage location removed from the place of business of the court, $25.00.

9. For a check paid into the court which is returned for lack of funds, $25.00.

10. For a duplicate certificate of admission or certificate of good standing, $15.00.

11. For handling registry funds, a charge shall be assessed from interest earnings and in accordance with the detailed fee schedule issued by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 3%.

12. For usage of electronic access to court data for each minute of usage, $.60. The court may, for good cause, exempt persons or classes of persons from the fees, in order to avoid unreasonable burdens and to promote public access to such information. This fee shall apply to the United States. The court has adopted an advisory note consistent with that approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States clarifying the policy with respect to exemptions from this fee.

PRACTICE COMMENT: Any reference in the Schedule of Fees pertaining to electronic access or an automated database will apply only as of the date on which the Clerk's Office has an automated database that is available to the public. As of July 1, 1998, that automated database is not available.