Clayton Chemical & Packaging Co. v. United States

39 Cust. Ct. 428
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Clayton Chemical & Packaging Co. v. United States. Read the opinion of the Court — 38 Cust. Ct. 617
United States Customs Court·Decided September 18, 1957·No. No. 61199; protests 231869-K/5459, 231870-K/5460, and 231874-K/5605 (Chicago)·Published

Opinion

Wilson, Judge:

The merchandise involved, which is known by the trade name “Phenidone,” was classified by the collector at the rate of 45 per centum ad valorem, plus 7 cents per pound, under paragraph 28 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 as “photographic chemicals” of coal-tar origin. Plaintiff, in its protests, claims that the material in question is properly classifiable under paragraph 5 of the act at the rate of 25 per centum ad valorem as a chemical compound, not specially provided for, and, alternatively, that the importation, if not properly classifiable under paragraph 5, should be assessed under the provisions of paragraph 27 of the act at the rate of 40 per centum ad valorem and 7 cents per pound as a coal-tar product, although the alternative claim is not included in the protests, and plaintiff’s counsel argues against this alternative classification in his brief. The provisions of the statutes involved, insofar as applicable to this case, read as follows:

Paragraph 28 (a), Tariff Act of 1930:

Par. 28. Coal-tar products:
(a) * * * photographic chemicals; * * * all the foregoing products provided for in this paragraph, when obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from any of the products provided for in paragraph 27 or 1651; * * * 45 per centum ad valorem and 7 cents per pound.

Paragraph 5, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T. D. 52739:

All chemical elements, all chemical salts and compounds * * * all the foregoing obtained naturally or artificially and not specially provided for_ 12J^% ad val.

Paragraph 27, Tariff Act of 1930:

Par. 27. Coal-tar products:
(a) (1) * * * phenylhydrazine * * * all the foregoing products in this paragraph whether obtained, derived, or manufactured from coal tar or other source; * * * * * * *
(3) all products * * * which are similar to any of the products provided for in this paragraph or in paragraph 1651, and which are obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from any of the products provided for in this paragraph or in paragraph 1651;
*******
(5) all the foregoing products provided for in this paragraph, not * * * photographic chemicals * * * and not specially provided for in paragraph 28 or 1651, 40 per centum ad valorem and 7 cents per pound.

The deposition of Dr. J. D. Kendall of Ilford, Essex, England, was read into the record. From the deposition, it appears that Dr. Kendall holds a Ph. D. degree from the University of London. At the time he gave his testimony, he was employed by Ilford, Ltd., Ilford, England, the exporter of the merchandise under consideration. The essential portions of Dr. Kendall’s testimony may be [429]*429summarized as follows: Ilford, Ltd., the witness’ employer, was, at the time in question, engaged in the business of manufacturing sensitized photographic materials and was the producer of the imported merchandise, of which Dr. Kendall is the inventor and upon which he holds a patent; this product is known commercially as “Phenidone” and is used as a “photographic developer”; this substance is a distinct chemical compound. He stated as his opinion that the substance is not a coal-tar product; that it was manufactured by reacting phenyl-hydrazine with acrylonitrile “by heating with a solution of sodium in anhydrous ethyl alcohol,” resulting in a compound known as l-phenyl-3-aminopyrazoline; that this latter product was heated with “a dilute aqueous sulphuric acid solution” which gave the end product, “Phenidone,” or l-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone. The substance thus produced, “Phenidone,” is characterized by Dr. Kendall as “a new photographic developer which is very effective in combination with other compounds in the preparation of the photographic developing solutions.”

Dr. George Steans, called to testify on behalf of the importer, holds a Ph. D. in chemistry from the University of Berlin, Germany. He has had extensive experience in the field of teaching and in applied chemistry. He became the chief chemist of the F. R. Corp. in New York in 1943. This company “manufactures photographic solutions, developing and fixing solutions, in solid as well as liquid form.” From 1950 to 1954, he was in charge of the chemical activities of this company. In the latter year, he entered the employ of the plaintiff corporation, where, at the time he testified, he was engaged in work similar to that which he performed for the F. R. Corp. After testifying concerning his qualifications and the nature of his employment, Dr. Steans testified in substance (R. 30-37) as follows: That, for some time, he has been familiar with chemistry as it relates to photography, particularly in the field which deals with developing agents; that he has been familiar with the substance, known as “Phenidone,” since about 1952. He gave the chemical name of the material as l-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone which, he stated, is not a chemical solution or a chemical mixture but a chemical compound. He further stated that phenylhydrazine is one of the materials used in the manufacture of “Phenidone” and that phenylhydrazine could be connected with coal tar, but does not have to be. The witness, under cross-examination, however, admitted that both phenylhydrazine and “Pheni-done” contain the benzene ring. Dr. Steans was not asked whether “Phenidone” is or is not a photographic chemical, as classified. His testimony evidently was intended to show that the imported' merchandise is not a coal-tar product.

Clayton Rautbord, president of the plaintiff corporation, testified that his company purchased the imported “Phenidone” from Ilford, Ltd., in England; that his company has imported that material for a number of years and was originally the exclusive importer of the substance from England into this country; that the material is used mostly in “photostatie developing solutions” and “We used it in the manufacture of developing solutions for photostatie processes, and that is what it is used for today, about 90 per cent of the material which is used”; and that the “Phenidone” imported by his company was not sold in the form in which imported but “was put into a solution with several other compounds, both organic and inorganic.” The witness, while claiming that the great bulk of the imported “Phenidone” is used in photostatie solutions, stated that it is also used “in other photographic developing solutions, such as for pictures, and for X-rays, and to some extent for film negatives” (R. 52). The witness further stated that, of the “Phenidone” manufactured in the United States, the plaintiff corporation uses about 80 per centum, and, of that 80 per centum, about 90 per centum is used by photostating equipment companies, leaving approximately “30 per cent or so of the total amount of Phenidone to be used for other purposes.” He further testified that about 90 per centum of all “Phenidone” used in the United States [430]*430“is used in machines and made for photostating equipment.” The witness identified defendant’s exhibit C as a form letter, sent out by the plaintiff corporation to advertise “Phenidone.” Among other things, defendant’s exhibit C states:

Imagine, developers now being produced with Phenidone give the user up to 75% increase in paper or film area developed. * * * All this can be accomplished without the possibility of rash or stain to the photographers skins.

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

Clayton Chemical & Packaging Co. v. United States, 39 Cust. Ct. 428 (cusc 1957).

39 Cust. Ct. 428 (Clayton Chemical & Packaging Co. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Magone v. Heller
150 U.S. 70 (Supreme Court, 1893)
Magone v. Wiederer
159 U.S. 555 (Supreme Court, 1895)
United States v. Horrax
1 Ct. Cust. 142 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1911)
Vandiver v. United States
1 Ct. Cust. 194 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1911)
Sheldon & Co. v. United States
2 Ct. Cust. 439 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1912)
United States v. Hempstead
3 Ct. Cust. 436 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1912)
Taylor v. United States
3 Ct. Cust. 498 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1913)
Merck & Co. v. United States
6 Ct. Cust. 32 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1915)
Richardson Co. v. United States
8 Ct. Cust. 179 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1917)
Keller Co. v. United States
13 Ct. Cust. 428 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1926)