C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc. v. United States

62 Cust. Ct. 822, 295 F. Supp. 1104, 1969 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3624
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 19, 1969
DocketR.D. 11630; Entry Nos. 32561; 32754; 15035
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 62 Cust. Ct. 822 (C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, 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
C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc. v. United States, 62 Cust. Ct. 822, 295 F. Supp. 1104, 1969 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3624 (cusc 1969).

Opinion

Kici-iaedsoN, Judge:

The merchandise of this reappraisement appeal consists of 42, 1964 model Studebaker automobiles and 6, 1965 model Studebaker automobiles which were manufactured in and exported from Canada in June and November of 1964, respectively, by Studebaker of Canada, Ltd., and entered at Buffalo, N.Y., by the plaintiff-importer on behalf of the consignee Studebaker Automotive Sales Corp., of South Bend, Indiana. Both the exporter and the consignee are wholly owned subsidiaries of Studebaker Corp. of South Bend, Indiana. The imported cars, said to be identical in name, model number and construction to, and interchangeable with, Studebaker cars manufactured for home consumption in Canada, were appraised on the basis of cost of production as defined in 19 U.S.C.A., section 1402(f) (section 402a (f), Tariff Act of 1930, as renumbered by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956).

No question arises here as to the basis of valuation or as to the accuracy of facts and figures entering into the appraisement of the . involved automobiles. The importer attacks the sources of the figures used by the appraiser to ascertain cost of production of the basic cars as well as of optional equipment installed at the factory.

As to the basic cars, the record before the court shows that the appraiser arrived at cost of production by calculating pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 1402(f) labor, material, manufacturing overhead, tooling, and engineering covering the manufacturer’s U.S. export operations, by calculating pursuant to paragraph (2) of section 1402 (f) general expenses, inclusive of warranty, selling, advertising, and administration expenses covering the manufacturer’s home market operations, and by calculating pursuant to paragraph (4) of section 1402(f) the actual profit covering the manufacturer’s home market [824]*824operations except where such profit was less than the statutory minimum, in which event the statutory minimum profit was used. Nothing was added in accordance with paragraph (3) of the statute as there was said to have been no packing. And as for the 1965 cars calculations made pursuant to paragraph (1) were based on labor and material figures covering the manufacturer’s U.S. export operations for the period from October 1,1964, through December 31,1964.

As to optional equipment, the record shows that cost of production was arrived at on the basis of the manufacturer’s selling prices to Canadian franchise dealers if such prices reflected all costs including the statutory minimum profit. Where such prices did not reflect such profit, then the statutory minimum profit was used.

The record herein also shows that the calculations of the appraiser as to both the basic cars and optional equipment were based upon an allowance for production lead time.

With respect to the basic cars, the importer contends that cost of production should be ascertained on the basis of the manufacturer’s U.S. export costs and selling prices, and not on the basis of its home market costs and selling prices. And with respect to optional equipment, the importer contends that cost of production is represented by the material costs, as all other costs were absorbed in the manufacturer’s cost accounting for the basic cars here involved.

Upon the trial the Government presented evidence in the form of documentation disclosing details of the appraisements outlined herein-before (defendant’s exhibits A and B). And the importer adduced testimonial and documentary evidence, including the official papers, with a view toward showing (a) that the warranty, selling expenses and advertising expenses relating to the involved cars were absorbed entirely by the consignee and constituted no part of the exporter’s general expenses, (b) that labor costs, general expenses and profit markup in the selling prices of the subject cars are inclusive of factory installed optional equipment on such cars, (c) what the material costs of the optional equipment installed on the involved cars were, and (d) that the profit markup of other Canadian automobile manufacturers was unavailable to the exporter or to the consignee.

As the court views the instant case the primary issue here is one of law as to whether home or U.S. export market costs should have been utilized in ascertaining the cost of production value of the involved automobiles where such automobiles are the same in either market. In this connection it appears that the contentions of the importer as well as the bases for the appraisements here involved proceeded upon each party’s interpretation of the meaning and scope of the words “such . . . merchandise” appearing in section 1402(f). The text of section 1402(f) reads:

[825]*825Cost of Production

(f) For the purpose of this subtitle the cost of production of imported merchandise shall he the sum of- — ■

(1) The cost of materials of, and of fabrication, manipulation, or other process employed in manufacturing or producing such or similar merchandise, at a time preceding the date of exportation of the particular merchandise under consideration which would ordinarily permit the manufacture or production of the particular merchandise under consideration in the usual course of business;
(2) The usual general expenses (not less than 10 per centum of such cost) in the case of such or similar merchandise;
(3) The cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature, and all other costs, charges, and expenses incident to placing the particular merchandise under consideration in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States; and
(4) An addition for profit (not less than 8 per centum of the sum of the amounts found under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision) equal to the profit which ordinarily is added, in the case of merchandise of the same general character as the particular merchandise under consideration, 'by manufacturers or producers in the country of manufacture or production who are engaged in the production or manufacture- of merchandise of the same class or kind. [Emphasis added.]

The words “such . . . merchandise” appears only in the first and second paragraphs of section 1402(f). The appraiser seems to have interpreted these words to relate to merchandise identical to and other than the involved imported merchandise, as he allowed sufficient production lead time in calculating cost of production so that the sources of his calculations are cars and optional equipment manufactured anywhere from one to three months prior to the production of the involved merchandise. On the other hand the importer appears to have interpreted the same words to relate to the involved merchandise, as all of its evidence on cost of production is related only to cars and optional equipment covered by the subject appeals.

In Gehrig Hoban & Co., Inc. v. United States, 57 Cust. Ct. 727, A.R.D. 210, cited to -the court by plaintiff, among other cases, the Second Division Appellate Term of this court was confronted with the necessity of finding cost of production of imported cologne which was identical to that manufactured for the home market. The court in that case said (page 731) :

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Related

Jepson v. Department of Labor & Industries
573 P.2d 10 (Washington Supreme Court, 1977)
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557 P.2d 526 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1976)
United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc.
470 F.2d 1393 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1972)
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Bluebook (online)
62 Cust. Ct. 822, 295 F. Supp. 1104, 1969 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3624, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/c-j-tower-sons-of-buffalo-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1969.