Importers’ Case Over Virgin Islands Excise Tax Deemed Untimely

Six merchants waited too long to seek US Virgin Islands excise tax refunds on goods they imported into the territory, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said Thursday, affirming dismissal of the case.

A two-year federal statute of limitations—not the territorial three-year period—applies to the companies’ dormant commerce clause challenges for tax years 2016 to 2018, the court said in an unpublished opinion.

The trial court was also right not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the companies’ claims under territorial law because the USVI stopped charging excise tax on all imported goods in 2019. “We would ...