C. T. Takahashi & Co. v. United States

74 Cust. Ct. 38, 1975 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2245
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 6, 1975
DocketCourt Nos. 70/35006
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 74 Cust. Ct. 38 (C. T. Takahashi & 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
C. T. Takahashi & Co. v. United States, 74 Cust. Ct. 38, 1975 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2245 (cusc 1975).

Opinion

Be, Judge:

In these sixteen protests, consolidated for purposes of trial, plaintiff contests the customs classification, and therefore the [40]*40duty assessed on certain merchandise imported from Japan. The merchandise, consisting of plywood panels, is described on the invoices as sizes of }{" by 4' by 7', or by 4' by 8' plywood which has been Y-grooved unfinished, Y-grooved prefinished, V-grooved mismatched prefinished, or Y-grooved book-matched prefinished.

The merchandise was classified by the customs officials as plywood, under paragraph 405 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 52739, with assessment of duty at the rate of 20 per centum ad valorem. Plaintiff claims that it should have been properly classified as “[manufactures of wood * * * not specially provided for” under paragraph 412 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 52373, supplemented by T.D. 52476, and hence dutiable at a rate of 16% per centum ad valorem.

The competing tariff provisions may conveniently be set forth as follows:

Classified under:
Paragraph 405, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 52739:
“Plywood (except * * *):
ft*******
Other_ 20% ad val.”
Claimed under:
Paragraph 412, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 52373, supplemented by T.D. 52476:
“Manufacturers of wood or bark, or of which wood or bark is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for:
* * * £ * * *
Other (except * * *)_ 16%% ad val.”

Simply stated, the question presented is whether plaintiff has borne its burden of proof in establishing that the plywood panels were eiToneously classified under the eo nomine designation for plywood, and that they should have been properly classified under the tariff provision for manufactures of wood not specially provided for.

It is plaintiff’s contention that by the V-grooving “the plywood is advanced to a further state of manufacture and becomes a new product with a use much limited from that of the material [it is] made from.” Hence, plaintiff states the question presented to be “[w]hether cutting V-grooves in plywood panels represents a further manufacture of plywood, dedicating the finished product for use only as wall paneling and thus becoming something more than just plywood.” It answers this question by asserting that “[cjutting Y-grooves advances plywood and creates a new manufactured product, namely wall paneling.” [41]*41Notwithstanding references to “prefinishing,” it is clear that plaintiff relies upon the “V-grooving process” as the process of manufacture which it alleges removes the plywood paneling athar from the eo nomine tariff provision which covers “plywood.”

It is to be noted that Congress has established no tariff item that covers “wall panels,” “wall paneling” or “plywood wall panels.” Hence, the defendant cites the principle of customs law that “where an article is designated eo nomine * * * such designation must prevail over words of a general description, which might otherwise include the article specially designated.” United States v. Hatters’ Fur Exchange, 1 Ct. Cust. Appls. 198, 202, T.D. 31237 (1911).

In determining the applicability of an eo nomine designation it is well to recall that “Congress legislated for the future and is presumed to have intended to cover all forms of the article, including improved models not known in 1930.” Kaysons Import Corp. v. United States, 56 Cust. Ct. 146, 150, C.D. 2622 (1966). See Trans-Atlantic Company v. United States, 471 F. 2d 1397, 60 CCPA 100, C.A.D. 1088 (1973). Also, once a court had judicially determined the common meaning of a statutory term it is the judicial policy “to adhere to such common meaning until a legislative change in the statutory enactment in question necessitated a changed determination of such meaning.” United States v. North American Mercantile Co., 17 CCPA 378, 381, T.D. 43820 (1930).

At the trial, the plaintiff and defendant each called five witnesses. Plaintiff introduced thirteen exhibits and the defendant introduced nine. From the voluminous record and the testimony of all of the witnesses, there can be no question about the nature of the merchandise. The witnesses all described the merchandise without difficulty, and no disagreement existed among them except when they stated their opinion as to its classification. For example, plaintiff’s first witness testified that V-grooved wall paneling comes in sizes 4 feet by 7 feet to 4 feet by 12 feet. It contains one-half of a V-groove on the edge so that when laid against another panel the edges cannot be easily detected. The grooves are spaced 16 inches apart in conformity with American building codes, i.e., the American standard 16 inch stud. Also nails may be driven through the panels without leaving unsightly nailheads.

An expert who testified for the defendant indicated that the spacing of the grooves at 16-inch intervals was “a convenient arrangement,” but that “this product is not limited to an application of 16 inch stud centers any more than a panel that had no grooves at all in it would be limited to a particular stud spacing.” The witness explained any “grooves could be used as well as those that are on 16 inch centers for the attachment by means of nails.” Not only may panels be [42]*42attached by means other than by nailing, but “furthermore, nails can be countersunk and obscured by putty * *

The manufacture of V-grooved wall paneling is the same as the manufacture of plywood with the addition that the panels are inserted in a machine which cuts grooves in the wood and eases the long edges off the panels.

The V-grooving is performed after the plywood panels have been cut to size. The grooves are cut at intervals of 16 inches parallel to the long sides of the panel, and are then painted or otherwise colored.

In the opinion of plaintiff's witnesses V-grooved wall paneling would not be plywood because it has been further manufactured into wall paneling. Notwithstanding an occasional variation, in the opinion of plaintiff’s witnesses, it was the V-grooving, rather than the sanding and prefinishing, which brought about a change in the product. All of the testimony, however, indicates that the sanding, prefinishing (a staining, lacquering and drying process), and V-grooving are comparable operations from the standpoint of time, complexity or sophistication.

Much of the opinion evidence of plaintiff’s witnesses is founded upon the assertion that plywood that has been V-grooved is limited basically to one purpose or usage, namely, wall paneling. Since V-grooving is not necessary for plywood, they claim that V-grooving is a manufacturing process that advances or converts plywood to something else, i.e., wall paneling. Hence, plaintiff urges the conclusion that “[t]he merchandise at bar has been further manufactured after it became plywood, which further processing has given that merchandise a new name, character and use different from plywood generally.” (Plaintiff’s brief, page 39.)

Even from the testimony of plaintiff’s witnesses, however, the following facts are also clear:

1.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Rollerblade, Inc. v. United States
20 Ct. Int'l Trade 117 (Court of International Trade, 1996)
Arthur J. Humphreys, Inc. v. United States
15 Ct. Int'l Trade 191 (Court of International Trade, 1991)
A. J. Arango, Inc. v. United States
1 Ct. Int'l Trade 271 (Court of International Trade, 1981)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 Cust. Ct. 38, 1975 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/c-t-takahashi-co-v-united-states-cusc-1975.