American Shipping Co. v. United States

22 C.C.P.A. 72, 1934 CCPA LEXIS 137
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedApril 30, 1934
DocketNo. 3752
StatusPublished

This text of 22 C.C.P.A. 72 (American Shipping Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Shipping Co. v. United States, 22 C.C.P.A. 72, 1934 CCPA LEXIS 137 (ccpa 1934).

Opinion

Lenroot, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This appeal involves the classification of certain cushion covers made by cutting an unfigured pile fabric to size, painting or stenciling it with a picture of a landscape, and sewing on the back a plain woven fabric, with one end open for the insertion of a cushion. The merchandise was imported at the port of New York and was classified and assessed with duty by the collector at the rate of 50 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 910 of the Tariff Act of 1922. Appellants protested said classification and assessment with duty, making various claims; the sole claim insisted upon here is that the merchandise is dutiable at 40 per centum ad valorem under the provisions of paragraph 921 of said act.

The competing paragraphs are as follows:

Par. 910. Pile fabrics, composed wholly or in chief value of cotton, including plush and velvet ribbons, cut or uncut, whether or not the pile covers the whole surface, and manufactures, in any form, made or cut from cotton pile fabrics, 50 per centum ad valorem * * *.
Par. 921. All articles made from cotton cloth, whether finished or unfinished, and all manufactures of cotton or of which cotton is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for, 40 per centum ad valorem.

No testimony was introduced before the trial court, but the case was submitted upon the following stipulation:

It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between the parties hereto that the merchandise represented by the exhibit in evidence consists of cushion covers. They are made by cutting an unfigured pile fabric to size and painting or stenciling it and sewing on a plain woven back. The cost of the painting or stenciling is about one half the value of the pile fabric and the cost of the plain woven back is about one third of the value of the pile fabric. The protest may be submitted, thirty days after submission being allowed to the plaintiff for brief and thirty days thereafter to the defendant.

Tfie trial court field tfiat tfie articles involved were properly classified and assessed with, duty by tfie collector, and from its judgment appellants have taken this appeal.

[74]*74The position of appellants is thus stated in their brief:

The importers claim that these cushion covers are articles manufactured only in part of pile fabrics and because of the additional nonpile processes and components they are not “made or cut from cotton pile fabrics” within the meaning of the statute as that expression has been previously construed. The cushion covers, therefore, are dutiable at only forty per centum ad valorem under the residuary provision for manufactures of cotton in paragraph 921.

It will be observed from the stipulation that pile fabric is the component material of chief value of the involved merchandise. It is the general rule that when the terms “composed of”, “made of”, “manufactured of”, etc., are used in tariff statutes with reference to the component material of an article, it is sufficient, to warrant classification under such statutes, that the designated article be in chief value of such material. Louisville Bedding Co. v. United States, 14 Ct. Cust. Appls. 328, T.D. 41958; United States v. Linen Thread Co., 13 Ct. Cust. Appls. 359, T.D. 41257. These cases, however, further hold that the rule should not apply where it appears from the context of the statute that Congress intended that said expressions should include only manufactures made substantially wholly out of the component material named.

We think there is another exception to the rule, viz, where there has been presumed legislative adoption of judicial interpretation of statutory language, even though it might now appear that such judicial interpretation was erroneous.

The language of paragraph 910 is: “* * * manufactures, in any form, made or cut from cotton pile fabrics, * * *.” We do not think there is any distinction, in a tariff sense, between the terms “made of” and “made from,” and the cases hereinbefore cited control the issue here if the aforesaid general rule is applicable.

Appellants rely upon the case of Horstmann, Von Hein & Co., T.D. 24496, and legislative adoption of the construction there given to substantially the same language as is found in paragraph 910 here under consideration. The statute there involved was paragraph 315 of the Tariff Act of 1897, which reads as follows:

315. Plushes, velvets, velveteens, corduroys, and all pile fabrics, cut or uncut; any of the foregoing composed of cotton or other vegetable fiber, * * * if bleached, dyed, colored, stained, painted, or printed, twelve cents per square yard and twenty-five per centum ad valorem: * * * Provided further, That manufactures or articles in any form, including such as are commonly known as bias dress facings or skirt bindings, made or cut from plushes, velvets, velveteens, corduroys, or other pile fabrics composed of cotton or other vegetable fiber, shall be subject to the foregoing rates of duty and in addition thereto ten per centum ad valorem: Provided further, That none of the articles or fabrics provided for in this paragraph shall pay a less rate of duty than forty-seven and one half per centum ad valorem.

The merchandise involved in that case consisted of trimmings in ornamental and scroll work designs in colors, stamped or cut by [75]*75machine out of cotton velveteen fabric, and certain other trimmings which had undergone a further finishing process by having a heavy silk cord sewed around the edges of the trimmings, and a lace design sewed on the back of the same, showing through the open spaces of the trimming, giving an embroidered or appliqued effect. The Board of United States General Appraisers, now the United States Customs Court, held that the first class of trimmings above described was dutiable under said paragraph 315 as “manufactures or articles in any form, * * * made or cut from * * * velveteens * * Therefore, under the decision in said case, the process of painting or stenciling the design upon the fabric does not affect the classification of the merchandise here involved as a manufacture of pile fabric.

' As to the second class of trimmings above described, the board held, that they had become so changed in character, appearance, and value from the merchandise covered by said paragraph 315 as to bring them within the classification of paragraph 339 of said Tariff Act of 1897, presumably as cotton trimmings.

Appellants contend that, so far as the issue here is concerned, paragraph 910 of the Tariff Act of 1922 is substantially the same as paragraph 315 of the Tariff Act of 1897, and that Congress, in the enactment of said paragraph 910 of the Tariff Act of 1922, is presumed to have adopted the construction given by the Board of General Appraisers to said paragraph 315 of the Tariff Act of 1897.

We agree with this contention made by appellants, but the question remains whether the merchandise here involved is of such a character that, under said decision in the Horstmann, Von Hein & Co. case, supra, and under the rule there applied, this merchandise should be excluded from classification under said paragraph 910.

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Related

United States v. Linen Thread Co.
13 Ct. Cust. 359 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1925)
Louisville Bedding Co. v. United States
14 Ct. Cust. 328 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1927)

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Bluebook (online)
22 C.C.P.A. 72, 1934 CCPA LEXIS 137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-shipping-co-v-united-states-ccpa-1934.