American Greiner Electronic, Inc. v. United States

79 Cust. Ct. 92, 441 F. Supp. 915, 79 Ct. Cust. 92, 1977 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 913
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedNovember 4, 1977
DocketC.D. 4718; Court Nos. R61/20887, etc.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 79 Cust. Ct. 92 (American Greiner Electronic, Inc. 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
American Greiner Electronic, Inc. v. United States, 79 Cust. Ct. 92, 441 F. Supp. 915, 79 Ct. Cust. 92, 1977 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 913 (cusc 1977).

Opinion

Landis, Judge:

These actions, consolidated for trial,1 involve the valuation of variously described watch timers and parts exported from Switzerland in the years 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. The mer[93]*93chandise was manufactured and exported by Greiner Electronic, Ltd., of Langenthal, Switzerland. It was imported into the United States by the American Greiner Electronic, Inc., Stamford, Connecticut.

Pursuant to section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956,2 the merchandise was appraised at various unit values on the basis of constructed value.3 The preferred statutory basis for valuing imported merchandise is export value.4 Plaintiff alleges that the merchandise in these consolidated actions should all be appraised at the values represented by the invoice prices on the preferred export value basis, as provided for in section 402, which defines export value, including definitions.5

[94]*94The appraisement on the basis of constructed value is presumed to be correct.6 Presumptively, therefore, as defined above, there was no export value for the merchandise at the times exported. Mannesmann-Meer, Inc. v. United States, 58 CCPA 6, 8, C.A.D. 995, 433 F. 2d 829, 831 (1970). In challenging the appraisement, plaintiff must prove the price, at the times of exportation to the United States, at which the imported merchandise was freely sold in Switzerland in the ordinary course of trade for exportation to the United States.

The only evidence on the issue of export value in this case is the testimony of the president of Greiner Electronic, Ltd., Mr. Rudolph Greiner, Jr. of Langenthal, Switzerland. He testified that in 1958, after college, he went to work in the office of Swiss Greiner and also did some work in the laboratories at the plant site to broaden his technical background; that he stayed with Swiss Greiner until 1959; that in 1960 he went to work for American Greiner and remained there two years as office manager and service manager; that he returned to Swiss Greiner in 1962 and remained there until 1965 doing, successively; public relations, sales administration, pricing, invoicing, and export paper work.

Mr. Greiner further testified that Swiss Greiner organized American Greiner to service its products in the United States markets; that the business of American Greiner was to buy equipment manufactured by Swiss Greiner and then sell and service the equipment in the United States; that in the years 1958 through 1962, Swiss Greiner sold watch timers and parts to no one’but American Greiner; that Swiss Greiner and American Greiner are not related companies; that they do have a common stockholder, namely, his father who at the times of exportation owned 98 percent of the stock in Swiss Greiner and 100 percent of the stock in American Greiner.

Asked if he was familiar with the manner in which the selling prices from Swiss Greiner to American Greiner were arrived at, Mr. Greiner testified that he was present and participated at most of the negotiations between Mr. Dupont, manager of American Greiner, and Mr. Lenzin, sales manager for Swiss Greiner. When questioned about the negotiations, Mr. Greiner responded as follows (R. 20-23):

Q. Was there a basis used in determining the selling price — withdrawn. I show you the Court file in R61/20887. Will you please look at the invoice in this case — take it out of the envelope, please. What dobs that case cover? — A. That covers two instruments, Super-Spiromatic with four plates which are accessories to that instrument.
Q. What is the date of that invoice? — A. September 30, 1959.
Q. And what, is the invoice price of that merchandise?— A. 13,450 Swiss Francs.
Q. What is the unit price? — A. 6,225 Francs, for the machine.
Q. Do you know how that price was determined? — A. Yes.
Q. Tell us how it was determined — excuse me, I will ask another [95]*95question. Is that the result of your participation in these various negotiations? — A. Yes, it was.
Q. That you have been talking about? — A. Yes.
Q. How was that price determined? — A. This price was determined in a negotiation between Greiner Limited and American Greiner, a negotiation that was to assure a fair profit to Swiss Greiner and to American Greiner.
Q. Do you know whether that was the basis of the negotiations for the remaining shipments that were exported? — A. That was the basis for all these exports that we are talking about.
Q. What do you say the objective was in these negotiations? — 1 A. To come to a price that allows Swiss Greiner and American Greiner both to make a fair profit.
Q. And would you tell us whether that objective was realized?— A. For American Greiner we did not make the money that we expected to make.
Can you tell us the reason or reasons for that?
*******
The WitNess: The expenses, the selling expenses and servicing expenses of American Greiner were higher than planned and the market was not as big as budgeted and because the competition was stiffer than expected.

Additionally, Mr. Greiner testified that there were other companies, competitors in Switzerland, in the same business as Swiss Greiner. (R. 26.)

On the cross-examination relevant to the negotiations between Swiss Greiner and American Greiner, Mr. Greiner restated that he did not participate in each and every negotiation involving prices, but did participate in most of them; that his father participated in some of the negotiations and while theoretically, his father had the final say, as a practical matter his father delegated the power to negotiate; that Mr. Lenzin was under obligation to make money for Swiss Greiner and Mr. Dupont had to make money for American Greiner; that in 1960 and 1961 he and Mr. Dupont worked together; that sometimes Mr. Dupont went to Switzerland and sometimes Mr. Lenzin and his father came to the United States and they would all get together and negotiate.

The record, in my opinion, establishes that in the period 1958 through 1962, Swiss Greiner did not sell or offer to sell the exported merchandise to anyone but American Greiner. Defendant’s position to the contrary,7 at the times of exportation, I find, therefore, that American Greiner was a “selected purchaser” within the meaning of section 402(f)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, supra, footnote 5. Assessing and weighing the testimony of Rudolph Greiner, Jr., I conclude that it does not probatively establish that the invoice [96]*96prices at which. Swiss Greiner sold the watch timers and parts to American Greiner fairly reflect the market value of that merchandise.

The new starting point of judicial evaluation of issues involving sales to selected purchasers is J. L. Wood v. United States, 62 CCPA 25, C.A.D, 1139, 505 F 2d 1400 (1974).

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Bluebook (online)
79 Cust. Ct. 92, 441 F. Supp. 915, 79 Ct. Cust. 92, 1977 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-greiner-electronic-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1977.