E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States

56 Cust. Ct. 222, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2007
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMarch 17, 1966
DocketC.D. 2629
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 56 Cust. Ct. 222 (E. Dillingham, 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
E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States, 56 Cust. Ct. 222, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2007 (cusc 1966).

Opinions

WilsoN, Judge:

The merchandise involved in this protest consists of 61 bales of woven tailor’s cuttings which was classified by the collector under paragraph 1105 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, T.D. 49753, at the rate of 9 cents per pound as wool waste. This classification was expressly disavowed by the defendant which now contends that the merchandise in question should be classified under the eo nomine provision in said paragraph 1105(a), as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739, at the rate of 9 cents per pound, as wool rags, not specially provided for. Plaintiff herein claims that the merchandise is properly classifiable under the provisions of paragraph 1555 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739, at the rate of 4 per centum ad valorem, as waste, not specially provided for.

The relevant portions of the tariff act here under consideration are as follows:

Paragraph 1105(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, T.D. 49753:

Wool and hair wastes:

Wool rags-90 per lb.

[224]*224Paragraph 1105 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by Presidential proclamation, T.D. 52739:

Wool wastes not specially provided for-90 per lb.

Paragraph 1555 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by Presidential proclamation, T.D. 52739:

Waste, not specially provided for-4°/o ad val.

Section 508 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1953, T.D. 53318:

Sec. 508. CommiNGliNG oe Goods.
(a) Whenever dutiable merchandise and merchandise which is free of duty or merchandise subject to different rates of duty are so packed together or mingled that the quantity or value of each class of such merchandise cannot be readily ascertained by the customs officers (without physical segregation of the shipment or the contents of any entire package thereof), by one or more of the following means: (1) Examination of a representative sample, (2) occasional verification of packing lists or other documents filed at the time of entry, or (3) evidence showing performance of commercial settlement tests generally accepted in the trade and filed in such time and manner as may be prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, and if the consignee or his agent shall not segregate the merchandise pursuant to subsection (b), then the whole of such merchandise shall be subject to the highest rate of duty applicable to any part thereof.
(b) Every segregation of merchandise made pursuant to this section shall be accomplished by the consignee or his agent at the risk and expense of the consignee within thirty days after the date of personal delivery or mailing, by such employee as the Secretary of the Treasury shall designate, of written notice to the consignee that the merchandise is commingled, unless the Secretary authorizes in writing a longer time. Every such segregation shall be accomplished under customs supervision, and the compensation and expenses of the supervising customs officers shall be reimbursed to the Government by the consignee under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe.

At the trial, plaintiff produced the testimony of one witness and introduced two exhibits in evidence (plaintiff’s exhibits 1 and 2), while the defendant produced four witnesses who testified on its behalf and also introduced 15 exhibits in evidence (defendant’s exhibits A through G and defendant’s exhibits A-l through H-l, inclusive). The exhibits will be hereinafter referred to as is deemed pertinent in our determination of the claims herein presented.

Plaintiff’s witness, Leon Aronoff, whom the record discloses was the president of the exporting company herein, testified as follows: [225]*225That the merchandise in question consists of cuttings, “bits that come off when a garment is produced,” which cuttings are purchased from manufacturers of men’s garments and boys’ clothing (E. 6). There was received in evidence a sample of cuttings which the witness stated was “representative” of some 31 bales weighing 2i2,T65 pounds (plaintiff’s exhibit 1, E. 8-9). Another sample also identified as representative of the merchandise in the balance of the importation was received in evidence as plaintiff’s exhibit 2 (E. 10). It appears from the record that the cuttings represented by plaintiff’s exhibits 1 and 2 were not a part of the shipment at bar and were merely illustrative of the type of merchandise contained in such shipment. Mr. Aronoff stated that exhibit 1 is “practically all cotton” and that “there may be a percentage of wool in exhibit 2.” The witness further testified that the merchandise as exported contained a small percentage of wool which it “would not be commercially feasible to extract” (E. 14-15); that he had seen merchandise such as is here involved used in the United States in the manufacture of fiber board, which is used in shoe findings or building board, and in the making of wadding or batting that may be used as mattress stuffing (E. 16-17); that, as far as his experience goes, the involved merchandise cannot be used in the manufacture of cotton, wool, or rayon cloth (E. 17).

On cross-examination, Mr. Aronoff testified that his firm deals in predominantly new cotton and wool cuttings which it supplies to paper mills and woolen mills, and that the merchandise in question was sold to Lowenthal Co., a shredding house and dealer in wool rags and cotton rags (E. 19-21). Plaintiff’s witness further testified that wool, after shredding, is referred to as shoddy, which is subsequently manufactured into woolen cloth (E. 21).

Howard Christopher Fay, customs appraiser at Ogdensburg, New York, at the time the entry of the involved merchandise was made, testified for the defendant that he extracted samples from 7 of the 61 bales involved herein; that the bales were uniformly packed and the contents appeared to be fairly uniform; that he took a handful or two of samples from each of the seven bales; that he selected such bales at random, which was the usual method used to take samples of the type of merchandise (E. 36); that the samples were taken from the top, side, and bottom of the bale selected, whichever part was most readily available. The samples in question were received in evidence as defendant’s exhibits A through G, inclusive. Mr. Fay further testified that he found the contents of all the opened bales similar in composition and consisting of mixed-up materials as indicated by the extracted samples (E. 44 — 45).

[226]*226Mr. William B. Cavanagh, acting customs examiner at the time of the involved importation, testified that he participated in the selection of the samples taken; that a considerable amount of material extracted, specifically such as is represented by defendant’s exhibit A, was included in the entered merchandise (E. 47-48). He further testified that the material contained in plaintiff’s exhibit 1 does not seem to be similar to the samples extracted from the shipment here involved and that the greater portion of the material contained in plaintiff’s exhibit 2 does not seem to be representative of the imported material (E. 50).

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Bluebook (online)
56 Cust. Ct. 222, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2007, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/e-dillingham-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1966.