Braniff Airways, Inc. v. United States

2 Ct. Int'l Trade 26
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedJuly 14, 1981
DocketCourt No. 75-3-00646
StatusPublished

This text of 2 Ct. Int'l Trade 26 (Braniff Airways, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braniff Airways, Inc. v. United States, 2 Ct. Int'l Trade 26 (cit 1981).

Opinion

Boe, Judge:

Subsequent to the entry of a prior order of this court in the above-entitled action denying a motion to grant judgment on the pleadings and on an accompanying stipulation of facts, the parties again have submitted the within action for determination and judgment predicated upon the prior proceedings before this court, Plain[27]*27tiff’s Exhibit 1, and a further stipulation executed by the parties hereto under date of March 26,1981, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2.1

From the pleadings, the stipulations between the parties and the affidavits submitted by the plaintiff, Exhibits 3 and 4, the following facts are deemed germane to a determination of the issue presented and sufficient to permit an adjudication thereof.

The subject merchandise consists of 13 BAC One-Eleven Jet Passenger Aircraft manufactured by the British Air Corporation (hereinafter referred to as BAC) in the United Kingdom, imported therefrom by the plaintiff and entered at the port of Newark, New Jersey between March 1965 and January 1966. In the purchase agreement entered into between the plaintiff and BAC, it was agreed that 10 percent of the total purchase price for each aircraft represented the cost of the “services,” “warranties,” “taxes,” “liabilities” and “indemnities” furnished by the seller to the buyer as well as the amount of the agency commissions payable by BAC in connection with the sale of the aircraft to the plaintiff. Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 (Exhibit A, Article III). Included in the appraised value of each aircraft, set forth with particularity in plaintiff’s complaint, is thé sum of $57,115 attributable to the cost of warranties relating to the correction and rectification of defects in the aircraft by BAC pursuant to the specific provisions of the purchase agreement. The correction of the defects to be performed by BAC within a defined period of time might be made in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States depending upon circumstances and the options specified in the purchase agreement.2 The warranty provisions contained in the purchase agreement relating to the imported aircraft were negotiated at arms length between the parties possessing relatively equal bargaining power and economic strength.

From the further stipulation submitted by the parties in connection with the present proceeding, Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2, it is established that:

1. At all relevant times, there were in the country of exportation no other producers of merchandise of the same general class or kind as that at issue in this case; * * *

The parties are in agreement that the appraisement of the subject aircraft properly was made on the basis of constructed value pursuant to section 402(d), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956 (19 U.S.C. 1401a(d)) providing:

(d) Constructed value.
[28]*28For the purposes of this section, the constructed value of imported merchandise shall be the sum of—
(1) the cost of materials (exclusive of any internal tax applicable in the country of exportation directly to such materials or their disposition, but remitted or refunded upon the exportation of the article in the production of which such materials are used) and of fabrication or other processing of any kind employed in producing such or similar merchandise, at a time preceding the date of exportation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement which would ordinarily permit the production of that particular merchandise in the ordinary course of business;
(2) an amount for general expenses and profit equal to that usually reflected in sales of merchandise of the same general class or kind as the merchandise undergoing appraisement which are made by producers in the country of exportation, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, for shipment to the United States; and
(3) the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature, and all other expenses incidential to placing the merchandise undergoing appraisement in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.

It is undisputed that the sum of $57,115 is the amount attributable to the cost of the warranties included in the appraised valuation of the subject aircraft by the Customs Service. Thus, the sole question to be determined herein is whether the said sum has properly been included in the appraised constructed value.

Counsel for the plaintiff, placing great reliance on the fact that the correction of any defects in the subject aircraft by BAC is (1) contingent in character and (2) may be physically performed in the United States after importation, contends that the warranty in essence is similar to a service contract and/or an insurance policy guaranteeing repair of the aircraft after importation into the United States. It, accordingly, follows, the plaintiff urges, that the warranty is not a “general expense” in connection with the manufacture of the subject aircraft within the contemplation of the statute.

Although, for the reasons hereinafter stated, a determination as to whether a warranty of the character in issue is a “general expense” is unnecessary to the adjudication of the instant action, the court is reluctant to accept without comment the foregoing arguments urged by the plaintiff. The obligation of BAC as the manufacturer of the subject aircraft to correct and rectify the defects in the design and construction of each respective aircraft, as well as to replace the defective materials found to exist therein, became a binding obligation at the time the purchase agreement was executed with the plaintiff. It was an obligation in praesenti to rectify the defects which might be found to exist in the aircraft manufactured by BAC when such defects in design, materials or workmanship became evident within the periods [29]*29of time specified in the purchase agreement. The warranty and the obligation created thereby became an integral part of each aircraft manufactured by BAC. It is difficult for the court not to view the warranty provisions as an inducement to effect the sale of the subject aircraft to the plaintiff. The respective warranty provisions, initially proposed by BAC and the plaintiff during the negotiations relating to the purchase agreement, would appear to evidence the significant part a warranty may play in consummating the transaction at a purchase price which the plaintiff as a buyer was willing to pay.

“General expenses and profit,” as provided for in the statutory provision are neither related nor restricted solely to the manufacture of the merchandise in question. As the statute specifically mandates, the component which is a part of constructed value includes the “general expenses and profit” which have been incurred in the sale of the merchandise for shipment to the United States. New York Credit Men’s Adjustment Bureau, Inc. v. United States, 64 Cust. Ct. 770, 314 F. Supp. 1246 (1970); United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc., 60 CCPA 46, 470 F. 2d 1393 (1972).3

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Related

United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc.
470 F.2d 1393 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1972)
New York Credit Men's Adjustment Bureau, Inc. v. United States
64 Cust. Ct. 770 (U.S. Customs Court, 1970)

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Bluebook (online)
2 Ct. Int'l Trade 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braniff-airways-inc-v-united-states-cit-1981.