Janssen, Government Reach Settlement on Duty-Free Classification of Active Ingredient

Janssen Ortho and the government have signed a settlement agreement regarding the duty-free treatment of an active pharmaceutical ingredient imported by Janssen Ortho, according to an Oct. 17 motion asking the Court of International Trade to dismiss related cases. The Oct. 14 settlement agreement resolved all outstanding claims in the three cases and applied the Court’s final judgment from Janssen Ortho, LLC v. U.S., case number 13-00296, to all the relevant entries and drawback claims. In that case, the court ruled that darunavir ethanolate is properly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. subheading 2935.00.60 and eligible for duty-free treatment. The settlement preceded an Oct. 17 deadline ordered by CIT Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves, which would have required the company to refile its 13-00296 complaint if the parties could not come to a settlement agreement. Neither Janssen nor DOJ responded to requests for comment on the settlement.