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

57 Cust. Ct. 601, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1830
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedAugust 3, 1966
DocketR.D. 11212; Entry No. 8141
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 57 Cust. Ct. 601 (C. J. Tower & Sons of Niagara, 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 Niagara, Inc. v. United States, 57 Cust. Ct. 601, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1830 (cusc 1966).

Opinion

Ford, Judge:

The merchandise, the dutiable value of which is here involved, consists of a quantity of aluminum masters upon which material to be reproduced is typed or written. The parties agree that the merchandise does not appear on the list of articles designated by the Secretary of the Treasury in 93 Treas. Dec. 14, T.D. 54521, as provided for in section 6(a) of the Customs Simplification Act of 1956,91 Treas. Dec. 295, T.D. 54165. Accordingly, the imported merchandise is dutiable under section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, supra.

Appraisement was made on the basis of constructed value, as defined [602]*602in section 402(d) of said act, as amended, at 20y2 cents each, Canadian currency. Plaintiff herein contends the proper basis is export value under section 402 (b) of said act, as amended, and the proper dutiable value is 14 cents each, Canadian currency. Alternatively, it is contended that, if the court finds that export value is not the proper basis, then constructed value is the proper basis and said value is also 14 cents Canadian currency.

This case proceeded to trial at the request of plaintiff’s attorney who objected to suspension under Acme Steel Company v. United States, 48 Cust. Ct. 497, Reap. Dec. 10135. After plaintiff filed its brief, a stipulation was entered into at the request of Government counsel “that the time within which the defendant may serve and file its brief herein be extended to and including thirty days after a decision becomes final in the case of Acme Steel Co. v. United States.” The Acme Steel Company case was then pending before the second division, appellate term. The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals decided said Acme case which is reported in 51 CCPA 81, C.A.D. 841. The case at bar was submitted on April 10,1962, and resubmitted on June 22,1965.

Received in evidence was a recapitulation of 'the exporter’s shipments, in Canada and to the United States, of merchandise similar to that involved on this appeal. The recapitulation pertained to the 6-mon-th period ending February 28,1961. The remainder of the record consists of the testimony of one witness called by plaintiff.

The merchandise which is the subject of this appeal was exported by Addressograph-Multigraph of Canada, Ltd., to Addressograph-Multigraph Corp. in the United States. The exporter is a wholly owned subsidiary of the importer. The shipment in question was comprised of a quantity of aluminum masters, each master consisting of a sheet of aluminum approximately four one-thousandths of an inch in thickness, 10 inches in width, and 15 inches in length. The master, which is perforated along two of its opposite ends, is used in conjunction with Multigraph machines, items which the exporter also produces. The master, which is capable of being written on or typed on, is used as a medium for transferring images in the offset printing process carried on by the Multigraph machine. The exporter in this case manufactures the Addressograph and Multigraph machines, parts and supplies, in addition to providing mechanical service. The merchandise was invoiced at 14 cents per master in Canadian funds.

The sole witness, called by plaintiff, was Mr. Robert A. Davies, the secretary and assistant treasurer of the Canadian exporter. Mr. Davies has held his present position since November 1956, but has been connected with the accounting and treasury aspects of the same [603]*603firm since March 1942. Mr. Davies is responsible for the operation of all the exporter’s accounting divisions, including the cost department which establishes costs on all products manufactured in the Canadian plant. The exporter’s cost records were maintained under the witness’ supervision. Pursuant to his duties, the witness regularly visited the head office of the importer, located in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Davies’ duties also included membership on the operating committee of the Canadian exporter which establishes production policies, and his chairmanship of the firm’s pricing committee which establishes selling prices for all products distributed by the Canadian plant.

The witness testified that to the best of his knowledge his firm is the sole Canadian manufacturer of merchandise comparable to that involved on this appeal and that his own company does not export these aluminum masters to anyone but the importer involved in this case. In Canada, the identical item is sold only by the distributing agencies of Mr. Davies’ firm to product consumers rather than product distributors.

In all major Canadian cities the firm has branch sales, service, and supply operations which are controlled by corresponding head office departments. All pecuniary amounts as to which testimony was offered were expressed in Canadian funds. The witness stated that 20 cents per unit was the lowest price at which masters identical to those involved on this appeal were sold in Canada. The appraised value of 20% cents per master is the equivalent of only one price in a range of prices at which the exporter’s Canadian branches sell the masters in the Canadian domestic market. The exporter’s domestic price varies with the quantity purchased, i.e., one thousand or more sold the price is 20 cents per master, if the quantity varies from one hundred to nine hundred the price is 20% cents per master, and if anywhere from one to ninety-nine masters are sold the price is 21 cents per unit. The witness testified that the exporter’s domestic prices include, among other things, amounts attributable to: Sales commissions on Canadian distribution, general and administrative expenses such as advertising, head office sales department operation, head office service department operation, branch accounting department operation, and credit accounting operation. Mr. Davies stated that the aforementioned expenses were in his company’s opinion not applicable to export shipments. The witness testified that the selling price for export to the United States amounted to $140 per one thousand aluminum masters. He then proceeded to break this figure into its component costs. The costs given correspond to those incurred by the exporter approximately one day prior to the exportation involved on this appeal; it takes slightly less than one day to manufacture one [604]*604thousand masters. The costs incurred in producing one thousand masters were as follows:

Raw materials_ $39.15
Fabricating:
Productive labor_ 21.47
Factory overhead_ 42. 56
General expenses, overhead, and profit- 32. 32
All containers and coverings and other expenses necessary to placing merchandise in condition packed ready for shipment to United States_,- 4. 50
TOTAL_$140.00 (Canadian dollars)

Mr. Davies indicated that the amount of general expense and administrative expense included in the export selling price was deemed to be the normal expense and a fair approximation of the elements in general expense and administrative expense which would be applicable to exportations to the United States. The witness also indicated that the sum of $32.32 reflected general expense, overhead, and profit applicable to production and sale by the company of the same general class or kind of merchandise in the ordinary course of trade for shipment to the United States for 6 months prior to the date of exportation.

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Bluebook (online)
57 Cust. Ct. 601, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/c-j-tower-sons-of-niagara-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1966.