Du Pouey v. United States

9 Cust. Ct. 86, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 760
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJuly 15, 1942
DocketC. D. 667
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 9 Cust. Ct. 86 (Du Pouey 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
Du Pouey v. United States, 9 Cust. Ct. 86, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 760 (cusc 1942).

Opinion

CliNe, Judge:

This case is now before the court on rehearing. It was decided in M. M. Du Pouey v. United States, C. D. 573, favorably to the plaintiff’s contention, the court holding on the record presented that the reliquidation by the collector on November 29, 1938, was void because it occurred more than 60 days after the original liquidation of the entry on July 19, 1938.

Counsel for the defendant filed an application for rehearing which was granted. One of the contentions made by defendant in his brief accompanying-his application for rehearing was that the so-called liquidation of July 19, 1938, was incomplete and therefore ineffective and that the only legal settlement of duties occurred on November 29, 1938, which was considered in the decision of the court as a reliquidation. The protest was filed within the statutory time after the so-called reliquidation.

The merchandise covered by the entry in this case consists of red clover seed which is dutiable at 5 cents per pound under paragraph 763 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as .amended by trade agreement with France (T. D. 48316). The importer entered a quantity of 32,700 pounds of seed, the total amount of duty computed on the entry at 5 cents per pound being $1,635. The United States weigher found that the shipment contained 32,833 pounds of seed and the liquidator computed the duty on the entry as $1,641.55, making a difference in duty of $6.65. In addition to the above computation of duties on the entry, there is a stamp reading “Liquidated as entered” with the date “July 19, 1938” underneath. The latter statement and date are crossed out by lines in red ink on the entry and the following note appears in handwriting next to the statement: “Liquidated as entered stamp cancelled by G. P. L. on 10/22/38.”

On the rehearing, the defendant offered proof tending to show exactly what was done by the various customs officials. The first witness [88]*88was Mr. William E. Geltborpe who is a liquidator for the comptroller of customs at New Orleans. He testified tbat on July 16, 1938, he verified the tentative liquidation of the collector showing an increased duty of $6.65 and that he placed his initials and the official verification stamp on the entry. That verification stamp, bearing the date of June 16,1938, together with the initials of the comptroller’s liquidator, appears next to the following ebmputation of duties on the entry:

Estimated duties paid_ $1,635.00
Liquidated duties_• 1,641.65
Increase_ 6.65
Liquidated_Jul. 19, 1938

Under this notation appears the following in handwriting in red ink.

Date liquidated (7/19/38) stamped by G. P. L. 10/22/38.

On a slip of white paper attached to the entry, under the heading ■“Reliquidation” appear the same computations above copied from the entry, the only difference being that the last line reads “Re-liquidated Nov. 29, 1938.”

The next witness called by the defendant was Mr. Thomas E. Collins who is a clerk in the liquidating division of the customhouse, having charge of posting notices of liquidations on the bulletin board. He testified that the entry was posted on the bulletin board on July 19, 1938, “as entered” but he produced a copy of the bulletin notice and discovered that the word “Increase” had been inserted in typewriting, in the same line with the involved entry, in the space headed by the words “Remarks (increase, refund, no change).” This notice was introduced in evidence and marked exhibit 2. An examination of the exhibit shows that the words “As entered” are opposite the third from the last item on the page and that two ditto marks were formerly placed opposite the last two items under the words “As entered.” The last item on the page covers the entry herein involved. However, the exhibit shows that the ditto marks opposite that item have been crossed out by a line running to the following words in handwriting at the bottom of the page: “Originally reported ‘as entered.’ ”

The next witness called by the defendant was Mr. Henry A. Blancq who is the deputy in charge of the liquidation division at the customhouse. He testified that he made the change on exhibit 2 by crossing out the ditto marks in the line containing the entry number herein involved and inserting the words “Originally reported ‘as entered’ ” when the error was called to his attention but he did not remember exactly the date when the correction was made, although he remembered that it was some time prior to the so-called reliquidation of November 29, 1938; that he was sure the word “Increase” was not on the bulletin notice when it was posted. The witness testified [89]*89-further that there was another posting of the entry on November 29, 1938, and the bulletin notice for that date was admitted in evidence and marked exhibit 3. That exhibit contains the specifications with respect to the entry herein involved under the heading “Consumption reliquidation,” and, under the heading “Remarks” appears the word ■“Increase.”

This evidence indicates that, before the first posting, the comptroller verified the collector’s tentative liquidation on the entry showing an increase in duty of $6.65. Whether the rubber stamp containing the words “Liquidated as entered” was on the entry at the time of verification by the comptroller is not shown. At any rate, the comptroller did not consider that rubber-stamp notation or verify it.

Section 523 of the Tariff Act of 1930 describes the duties of the comptrollers of customs. The third paragraph of that section relates to the verification of the collector’s computations. It reads as follows:

Comptrollers of Customs shall verify all assessments of duties and allowances of drawbacks made by collectors in connection with the liquidation thereof. In cases of disagreement between a collector and a Comptroller of Customs, the latter shall report the facts to the Secretary of the Treasury for instructions.

Section 505, which relates to the procedure regarding the payment of duties, reads as follows:

The consignee shall deposit with the collector, at the time of making entry, unless the merchandise is entered for warehouse or transportation, or under bond, the amount of duty estimated to be payable thereon. Upon receipt of the appraiser’s report and of the various reports of landing, weight, gauge, or measurement the collector shall ascertain, fix, and liquidate the rate and amount of duties to be paid on such merchandise as provided by law and shall give notice of such liquidation in the form and manner prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and collect any increased or additional duties due or refund any excess of duties deposited as determined on such liquidation.

Articles 818 (g), (h),. and (i) of the Customs Regulations of 1937, which were in force at the time of the instant importation, provide that after a tentative liquidation of the collector he shall transmit to the comptroller of customs the entries together with the invoices, returns of officers including returns of the weighers, gaugers, and measures, and the comptrollers shall ascertain by original computation the amount of duties and internal revenue taxes due.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
9 Cust. Ct. 86, 1942 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 760, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/du-pouey-v-united-states-cusc-1942.