Arden v. United States

13 Ct. Cust. 42, 1925 WL 29535, 1925 CCPA LEXIS 55
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedApril 29, 1925
DocketNo. 2408
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 13 Ct. Cust. 42 (Arden 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
Arden v. United States, 13 Ct. Cust. 42, 1925 WL 29535, 1925 CCPA LEXIS 55 (ccpa 1925).

Opinions

Graham, Presiding Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

Tbe appellant imported alcoholic perfumery in 1923. This was. assessed for duty by the collector at 40 cents per pound and 75 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 62 of the Tariff Act of 1922 and with an additional tax of $1.10 per wine gallon under section 600’ (c) of the revenue act of February 24,1919. On appeal, the Board of General Appraisers sustained the assessment made by the collector.

[43]*43The importer contends the Tariff Act of 1922 has repealed, by implication,-section 600 (c) of the revenue act of February 24, 1919, and this is the single question involved here. It is conceded there is no special repeal by said tariff act of section 600 (c) of the said revenue act of 1919.

The two provisions of law involved are as follows:

Paragraph 62, Tariff Act of 1922—

Perfumery, including cologne and other toilet waters, articles of perfumery, whether in sachets or otherwise, and all preparations used as applications to the hair, mouth, teeth, or skin, such' as cosmetics, dentifrices, tooth soaps, pastes, theatrical grease paints, pomades, powders, and other toilet preparations, all the foregoing, if containing alcohol, 40 cents per pound and 75 per centum ad valorem; if not containing alcohol, 75 per centum ad valorem.

Section 600 (c), revenue act of 1919 — ■

In lieu of the internal-revenue tax now imposed thereon by law there shall be levied and collected upon all perfumes hereafter imported into the United States containing distilled spirits, a tax of $1.10 per wine gallon,’ and a proportionate tax at a like rate on all fractional parts of such wine gallon. Such tax shall be collected by the collector of customs and deposited as internal-revenue collections, under such rules and regulations as the Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary, may prescribe.

The rule is that where a revising statute covers the whole subject matter of antecedent statutes, the revising statute repeals the antecedent enactment, unless there is something in the nature of the subject matter or the revising statute to indicate a contrary intention. This has been the uniform holding of the courts of last resort in the United States. United States v. Tynen, 11 Wall. 88; Murdock v. City of Memphis, 20 Wall. 590 [617]; Kohlsaat v. Murphy, 96 U. S. 153; Tracy v. Tuffly, 134 U. S. 206; Eckloff v. District of Columbia, 135 U. S. 240; Fisk v. Henarie, 142 U. S. 459; District of Columbia v. Hutton, 143 U. S. 18; United States v. Murphy, 72 Fed. 1008; Kent v. United States, 73 Fed. 680; United States v. Ranlett & Stone, 172 U. S. 133. That doctrine has been approved and followed by this court in Dow Co. v. United States, 7 Ct. Cust. Appls. 343, T. D. 36902.

But inK conjunction with this line of authority it must be borne in mind that repeals by implication are not to be favored. It is absolutely essential to the implication of a repeal that the objects of the two statutes are the same, in the absence of any repealing clause. If they are not, both statutes will stand, even though they may refer to the same subject. United States v. Claflin, 97 U. S. 546; Red Rock v. Henry, 106 U. S. 596. This is particularly true in cases involving revenue laws. In United States v. Sixty Seven Packages of Dry Goods, 58 U. S. 85 [93], the court said:

In the interpretation of our system of revenue laws, which is very complicated, and contains numerous provisions to guard against frauds by the importers, [44]*44this court has not been disposed to apply with strictness the rule which repeals a prior statute by implication, where a subsequent one has made provision upon the same subject, and differing in some respect from the former, but have been inclined to uphold both, unless the repugnancy is clear and positive, so as to leave no doubt as to the intent of Congress; * * *.

To the same effect are Fabbri v. Murphy, 95 U. S. 191; Russell v. Worthington, 23 Fed. 248; and United States v. Gabriel, 36 Fed. 888. It is also a well-established canon of statutory construction that a later statute, general in its terms and not expressly repealing a prior special statute, will ordinarily not affect the special provisions of such earlier statute. Washington Trust Co. v. Dunaway, 169 Fed. 37 [46]; Christie-Street Com. Co. v. United States, 136 Fed. 326 [333]. The rule is clearly stated in City Realty Co. v. Robinson, 183 Fed. 176 [181]:

Or the rule m'ay be stated as follows: Where two statutes cover, in whole or in part, the same matter and are not wholly irreconcilable, no purpose to repeal being clearly expressed or indicated, effect is to be given to both, and the former statute will not be considered as being repealed.

And again in United States v. Barnes, 222 U. S. 513 [520]:

The more natural-, if not the necessary inference in all such cases is, that the legislature intends the new laws to be auxiliary to, and in aid of the purposes of the old law, even when some of the cases provided for may equally be within the reach of each. There certainly, under such circumstances, ought to be a manifest and total repugnancy in the provisions, to lead to the conclusion that the latter laws abrogated and were designed to abrogate the former.

There is another element involved in all such cases of repeal by implication, namely, it must appear from a consideration of the new legislation that it was the intent of the legislative authority to substitute the now provisions of law for those clainled to be so repealed.

On this point the following authorities are leading:

It is a general rule that when a later statute' is a complete revision of the particular subject to which the earlier statute related, and the new legislation was manifestly intended as a substitute for the former legislation, the prior act must be held to have been repealed. Kent v. United States, 73 Fed. 680 [682].

The above language is quoted with approval in United States v. Ranlett & Stone, 172 U. S. 140.

In District of Columbia v. Hutton, 143 U. S. 18 [27], it was said:

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13 Ct. Cust. 42, 1925 WL 29535, 1925 CCPA LEXIS 55, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arden-v-united-states-ccpa-1925.