Acme Steel Co. v. United States

48 Cust. Ct. 497
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJanuary 3, 1962
DocketReap. Dec. 10135; Entry No. 18419
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 48 Cust. Ct. 497 (Acme Steel Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Acme Steel Co. v. United States, 48 Cust. Ct. 497 (cusc 1962).

Opinion

Mollison, Judge:

This is an appeal for reappraisement of values returned by the appraiser on an importation of three sizes of steel strapping, exported by the Acme Steel Company of Canada, Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, to the Acme Steel Company, Chicago, Ill., on or about March 14,1960.

The parties have agreed that such merchandise is not specified on the final list (T.D. 54521), published by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 6(a) of the Customs Simplification Act of 1956 (T.D. 54165). Consequently, its valuation is governed by the provisions of section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the said Customs Simplification Act.

[498]*498The merchandise was entered at the invoiced prices, which were in Canadian dollars, packed, and was appraised on the basis of the constructed value, as defined in section 402(d) of the tariff act, as so amended. The appraisement was made in Canadian dollars at the entered unit values, plus 27.40 per centum, packed.

Plaintiff contends, first, that an export value, within the meaning of the definition in section 402(b) of the tariff act, as amended, existed for the merchandise, and that such value was the entered values. Alternatively, plaintiff agrees with the defendant that constructed value is the proper basis for the determination of the value of the merchandise, but contends that such value is the entered values.

The exporter is the wholly owned subsidiary of the importer. The exporter produced and sold merchandise such as or similar to that here in issue for home consumption in Canada, but, at the time of exportation of the involved merchandise, it sold such merchandise for exportation to the United States only to the importer, its parent company. At the said time, another Canadian firm produced and sold similar merchandise for home consumption in Canada, but did not sell for exportation to the United States, so that, at the pertinent time, the exporter was the sole firm engaged in the sale in Canada of merchandise such as or similar to that here in issue for exportation to the United States.

The record reveals that the mechanics of entry and appraisement proceeded in this manner: On entry, the importer deducted 30 per centum from the prices at which such merchandise was sold for home consumption in Canada, and entered the merchandise at the result of that action. Such entered prices corresponded to the invoiced prices. The 30 per centum deduction represented an allowance for expenses that were claimed not to be incurred in selling such merchandise for exportation to the United States, but which were incurred only in selling in the domestic market in Canada. It is contended that, in sales for exportation to the United States, there were no selling expenses (i.e., salaries and expenses of salesmen, etc.), distribution, warehousing, or advertising expenses. Furthermore, the home market prices were delivered prices, while the export price was f .o.b. Toronto, and the home market sales included free tool service repair, which was not given in the case of export sales.

On appraisement, the appraiser added 27.40 per centum of the invoiced and entered prices to such prices, inasmuch as the parties have stipulated that the only item of constructed value in dispute is the item of general expenses under section 402(d) (2) of the amended tariff act, and that the 27.40 per centum of the invoiced values represents part of the difference between the home market price and the export price to the United States, it is clear that an allowance was made by the appraiser “for certain costs which would not accrue in [499]*499the normal course of trade in sales for export” (defendant’s brief, p. 9). Tbe nature of the said costs is not revealed in the record, but it is most likely that they covered the expense items of freight and tool repair service, which were specifically excluded from sales for export.

For the purposes of the amended tariff act, export value is defined as follows:

Expobt Value. — For the purposes of this section, the export value of imported merchandise shall he the price, at the time of exportation to the United States of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, at which such or similar merchandise is freely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale in the principal markets of the country of exportation, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, for exportation to the United States, plus, when not included in such price, the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature and all other expenses incidental to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.

The term “freely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale” appearing in the definition of export value is defined, so far as pertinent to this issue, in section 402(f) (1) as follows:

(f) Definitions. — For the purposes of this section—
(1) The term “freely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale” means sold or, in the absence of sales, offered—
(A) to all purchasers at wholesale, or
(B) in the ordinary course of trade to one or more selected purchasers at wholesale at a price which fairly reflects the market value of the merchandise,
without restrictions as to the disposition or use of the merchandise by the purchaser * * *.

Both parties have proceeded along the line that the importer was a “selected purchaser,” within the meaning of the foregoing definition, and the evidence shows that the sales for exportation to the United States were without restrictions as to the disposition or use of the merchandise by the purchaser, and that the prices did not vary by reason of the quantity purchased.

The dispute as to whether or not an export value for the merchandise, within the meaning of the amended tariff act, existed centers about the question of whether the export sales were “in the ordinary course of trade” and whether they were “at a price which fairly reflects the market value of the merchandise.”

The term “in the ordinary course of trade” is defined in section 402 (f) (2) of the amended tariff act as follows:

(2) Tbe term “ordinary course of trade” means tbe conditions and practices wbieb, for a reasonable time prior to tbe exportation of tbe mercbandise undergoing appraisement, bave been normal in tbe trade under consideration witb respect to mercbandise of tbe same class or kind as tbe mercbandise undergoing appraisement.

[500]*500The term, “price which fairly reflects the market value of the merchandise,” is not further defined in the amended tariff act.

The parties differ in their view as to the meaning of these terms. For example, for the plaintiff, it is urged that the “trade under consideration” in the definition of “ordinary course of trade” in this case means the trade in selling steel strapping in Canada for exportation to the United States (plaintiff’s brief, p. 13). On the other hand, the defendant contends that the term means the trade of selling steel strapping in Canada for home consumption as well as for exportation to the United States (defendant’s brief, p. 7).

I am of the opinion that the plaintiff’s view comports with the intent of the statute, and that the defendant’s does not.

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48 Cust. Ct. 497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acme-steel-co-v-united-states-cusc-1962.