De Fremery v. United States

8 Cust. Ct. 113, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 12
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJanuary 23, 1942
DocketC. D. 587
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 8 Cust. Ct. 113 (De Fremery 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
De Fremery v. United States, 8 Cust. Ct. 113, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 12 (cusc 1942).

Opinion

Cline, Judge:

This case is before us on rehearing having been originally decided and reported in C. D. 455. The merchandise consists of various commodities invoiced as cassis, cazanove creme de cassis, green menthe, and cherry cordial. Duty was assessed oh all of the commodities under the provision for cordials at the rate of $2.50 per gallon under paragraph 802 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the trade agreement between the United States and France, published in T. D. 48316. Plaintiff concedes the correctness of this classification except as to the cassis and cazanove creme de cassis. As to that merchandise it is claimed that duty should be assessed under paragraph 804 of the Tariff Act of 1930, because, it is alleged, it is similar to vermouth. The alternative claim is made that cassis and creme de cassis are dutiable as a fruit juice or fruit sirup, not specially provided for, containing one-half of 1 per centum or more of alcohol, at the rate of 70 cents per gallon and $5 per proof gallon on the alcohol contained therein, under paragraph 806 of the same law.

The provisions of the statute are as follows:

Par. 802. Brandy and other spirits manufactured or distilled from grain or other materials, cordials, liqueurs, arrack, absinthe, kirschwasser, ratafia, and bitters of all kinds containing spirits, and compounds and preparations of which distilled spirits are the component material of chief value and not specially provided for, $5 per proof gallon.
Par. 802 [Amended by Trade Agreement with France, T. D. 48316]
Brandy_$2.50 per proof gal.
Cordials, liqueurs, kirschwasser, and ratafia_$2.50 per proof gal.
Par. 806 (a) Cherry juice, prune juice, or prune wine, and all other fruit juices and fruit sirups, not specially provided for, containing * * * one-half of 1 per centum or more of alcohol, 70 cents per gallon and in addition thereto $5 per proof gallon on the alcohol contained therein * * *.
[115]*115Pah. 804. Still wines, including ginger wine or ginger cordial, vermuth, and rice wine or sake, and similar beverages not specially provided for, $1.25 per gallon: Provided, That any of the foregoing articles specified in this paragraph when imported containing more than 24 per centum of alcohol shall be classed as spirits and pay duty accordingly.

In addition to the assessment under the Tariff Act of 1930, there was levied a tax of $2 per gallon under section 600 (a) of the Revenue Act of 1918, as amended by section 2 of the Liquor Taxing Act of 1934.

In the original decision this court held that all of the commodities ■involved were subject to the internal revenue tax on the ground that they are distilled spirits. It was also held that the classification and assessment of the collector of customs upon the cassis and creme de ■cassis as cordials under paragraph 802, supra, was correct.

As set forth in the memorandum in support of plaintiff’s motion for rehearing, the grounds in support of the motion are in substance that the court is asked to reconsider:

(1) Whether or not the provision in paragraph 804, supra, for ■“vermuth * * * and similar” beverages is not intended to imply that the term “beverages,” for purposes of that paragraph, relates to articles used in like manner to vermouth, such as the cassis at bar.

(2) Even conceding that cassis may not bo a beverage and therefore not a “similar beverage” within the meaning of said paragraph 804, is the similitude clause in paragraph 1559 of the Tariff Act of 1930 applicable? .

(3) "Whether the definition of “distilled spirits” in section 10 of the liquor taxing act, supra, quoted and apparently relied upon by the court, is not limited to such “distilled spirits” as used in said section and in title II.

We have carefully reviewed our original decision and find no reason to alter our holding that the commodities invoiced as cassis and cazanovo creme de cassis are properly dutiable under paragraph 804 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as assessed. Plaintiff contends that as the court held that cassis is used in the same manner as vermouth, that is, as an ingredient in alcoholic drinks, it is therefore dutiable as a bev-age similar to vermouth under the wording of said paragraph 804. It is further contended that whatever may be the meaning of the term “beverage” as used in other paragraphs, as found in paragraph 804 it is used to denote articles which are similar to vermouth. In other words, plaintiff contends that by the use of the expression “similar beverages” in said paragraph the legislature in effect defined “beverages” for the purpose of that paragraph, and therefore the use of the word “similar” indicates that the beverages there contemplated were those possessing the qualities of the articles enumerated in that paragraph; that vermouth is to be deemed a beverage and that articles having a similar use to vermouth are likewise to be deemed beverages. [116]*116In answering this contention the Government in its brief construes the term “including” used in the paragraph to be a term of addition, that is, it adds to the .paragraph commodities, i. e., “ginger wine” and “ginger cordial” which would not otherwise be embraced in the term “still wines.” It is further claimed by the Government in its brief that the inclusion of vermouth in the paragraph points to the same construction, that is, that vermouth is not generally recognized as a still wine, because if it were, it would have been unnecessary to enumerate it after the generic term. This argument, it seems to the court, finds support in the publication “Grapes, Raisins & Wines,” being Report No. 134 — Second Series of the United States Tariff Commission, where we find the following in a footnote on page 16:

Vermouth is technically a fortified wine made from basic natural wines and brandy. However, the peculiar flavor imparted by the extracts which-are added, as well as the use of vermouth in mixed drinks, marks it as distinct from other fortified wines.

Again on page 406 of the same publication, under the title “Official Definitions of Wines and Brandies” the following appears:

Vermouth. — (a) “Vermouth” is a compound having an alcoholic content of not less than 15 percent by volume, made by the mixture of extracts from macerated aromatic flavoring materials with grape wine containing fortifying grape spirits or added alcohol, and manufactured in such a manner that the product possesses the taste, aroma, and characteristics generally attributed to vermouth.

While conceding that the classification of vermouth as a beverage is dependent upon its use, the Government contends that under the authorities the term “beverage,” as used in tariff statutes, should be construed according to its common meaning as a drink, rather than as an ingredient of a drink. In this connection the following cases are cited: Strohmeyer & Arpe Co. v. United States, 28 C. C. P. A. 34, C. D. 121; Crosse & Blackwell v. United States, 70 Treas. Dec. 380, T. D. 48566, and United States v. Ritchie & Co., 28 C. C. P. A. 51, C. A. D. 124.

In our original decision we held that the use of these articles, cassis and creme de cassis, is substantially the same as is the use of grenadine involved in the Strohmeyer & Arpe case,

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Bluebook (online)
8 Cust. Ct. 113, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 12, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-fremery-v-united-states-cusc-1942.