Benrus Watch Co. v. United States

9 Cust. Ct. 131, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 768
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedAugust 13, 1942
DocketC. D. 675
StatusPublished

This text of 9 Cust. Ct. 131 (Benrus Watch 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
Benrus Watch Co. v. United States, 9 Cust. Ct. 131, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 768 (cusc 1942).

Opinion

Dallinger, Judge:

This is a suit against the United States, arising at the port of New York, brought to recover certain customs duties alleged to have been improperly exacted on a particular importation invoiced as — 57,600 dial screws, 28,800 plate endstone screws, 28,800 shock top screws, and 28,800 stud screws.

Duty was levied thereon at the rate of 45 per centum ad valorem under the following provision in paragraph 367 (c) (1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 for—

(a) Watch movements, and time-keeping, time-measuring, or time-indicating mechanisms, devices, and instruments * * *.
(c) Parts for any of the foregoing shall be dutiable as follows:
(1) Parts (except pillar or bottom plates, or their equivalent, bridges or their equivalent, and jewels) imported in the same shipment with complete movements, mechanisms, devices, or instruments, provided for in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph (whether or not suitable for use in such movements, mechanisms, devices, or instruments), 45 per centum ad valorem; but this clause of this subparagraph shall not be applicable to that portion of all the parts in the shipment which exceeds in value 4 per centum of the value of such complete movements, mechanisms, devices, or instruments;

It is claimed that said merchandise is properly dutiable at the rate of 30 per centum ad valorem under the following provision for — -

Screws, except those commonly called wood screws, having shanks or threads not exceeding twenty-four-one-hundreths of one inch in diameter, composed wholly or in chief value of iron, steel, or other base metal, but not plated with [132]*132platinum, gold, or silver, or colored with, gold lacquer, and not specially provided for.

which provision was incorporated in paragraph 397 of said Tariff Act of 1930 by virtue of the trade agreement made and entered into between the United States and Switzerland and promulgated in T. D. 48093, 69 Treas. Dec. 74.

The case was submitted on the following stipulation:

It is stipulated and agreed between counsel, in the matter of the above protest, that the items invoiced as “57,600 dial screws,” “28,800 plate endstone screws,” “28,800 shock top screws,” and “28,800 stud screws,” which were assessed with duty at 45% under paragraph 367 (c) (1), Tariff Act of 1930, consist of screws, not commonly called wood screws, having shanks or threads less than twenty-four one-hundredths of 1 inch in diameter, composed wholly of base metal, not plated with platinum, gold, or silver, or colored with gold lacquer, chiefly used as parts of watches.
It is further stipulated and agreed that the above protest may be deemed to be submitted for decision upon this stipulation, and that subject to the approval of the court counsel for plaintiff may have 30 days after the date of notice of filing of this stipulation in which to file a brief, and that counsel for defendant may have 30 days thereafter in which to file a brief.
The above protest is abandoned as to all items except those above described.

The sole issue involved herein is a question of relative specificity, to wit, are the imported screws more specifically provided for in the above-quoted provision in paragraph 367 (c) (1) than in the one incorporated in said paragraph 397 by virtue of said trade agreement with Switzerland?

It is admitted by counsel for the plaintiff in their brief filed herein that the provision in said paragraph 367 is one predicated on use. But in our opinion it is something more than that. Its scope is limited to the particular parts of watch movements which must be imported in the same shipment with complete movements, and the value of which parts must be less than 4 per centum of the value of such movements.

When all of these provisions are considered, as they must be in determining the scope of the paragraph, it is obvious that in said paragraph 367 is more specific than is the one in said paragraph 397 for screws. Moreover, the latter is the general residuary paragraph of the metal schedule, whereas the former is devoted specifically to watch movements.

But counsel for the plaintiff contend that because the modification of said paragraph 397 by said trade agreement was enacted subsequent to the enactment of the Tariff Act of 1930, therefore the eo nomine provision for screws contained in said trade agreement and paragraph 397 should prevail over the use provision contained in paragraph 367. We do not agree with such contention.

In United States v. Elgin National Watch Co., 5 Ct. Cust. Appls. 336, T. D. 34532, the United States Court of Customs Appeals had before [133]*133it the question, of the tariff, classification of certain reconstructed rubies used in the manufacture of watches. Duty was levied thereon at the rate of 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 449' of the Tariff Act of 1909 as reconstructed rubies. It was claimed that the articles were properly dutiable at but 10 per centum ad valorem under the provision in paragraph 192 of said act for “all jewels for use in the manufacture of watches.” This court (then the Board of General Appraisers) sustained the protest (Abstract 35123, T. D. 34307; 26 Treas. Dec. 509) and its ruling was affirmed by the appellate court. In support of the collector’s classification, counsel for the Government there argued that since the provision for “all jewels for use in the manufacture of watches” appeared in prior tariff laws, and the one covering reconstructed rubies occurred for the first time in the 1909 act, it should be presumed that it was the intention of Congress to withdraw from the provision for “all jewels for use in the manufacture of watches” such jewels as were -reconstructed rubies. In overruling this contention the appellate court said:

It may be assumed that Congress in the act of 1909 undertook to settle the classification of these synthetic or reconstructed stones of the character named in paragraph 449, the classification of which in a measure was unsettled and had been somewhat in litigation. But the legislative history we have referred to indicates that jewels'for watches, not only in prior tariff laws but in the act of 1909 also, were considered as entitled to preferential treatment, as compared with other articles of the same material not designed for use as watch jewels. The specific mention of synthetic or reconstructed rubies in the act of 1909 does not, therefore, in our opinion, signify any intention on the part of Congress to depart from its long-continued favorable treatment of watch jewels. It is safe to assume that not all synthetic or reconstructed rubies are used for watch jewels, and hence the provision for such articles finds scope for application if watch jewels of reconstructed rubies are excluded therefrom.
The two paragraphs of the act of 1909, for the purposes of this case, should, we think, be construed together and as if reading substantially as follows: “Reconstructed rubies shall be dutiable at twenty per centum ad valorem, proyided that all jewels composed of reconstructed rubies for use in the manufacture of watches shall nevertheless be dutiable at ten per centum ad valorem.
The merchandise here is watch jewels made of reconstructed rubies.

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9 Cust. Ct. 131, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 768, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benrus-watch-co-v-united-states-cusc-1942.