E. Green & Son (New York.), Inc. v. United States

64 Cust. Ct. 241, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3180
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 1, 1970
DocketC.D. 3985
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 64 Cust. Ct. 241 (E. Green & Son (New York.), 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. Green & Son (New York.), Inc. v. United States, 64 Cust. Ct. 241, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3180 (cusc 1970).

Opinion

Kewman, Judge:

This protest challenges the collector’s classification of certain imported articles invoiced as “Type 25 Economiser Pipes 12 Ft. long.” The merchandise was assessed with duty at the rate of 19 per centum ad valorem under the provision in paragraph 397 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 54108, for “Other” articles in chief value of iron, not specially provided for.

Plaintiff claims that the Government’s classification is erroneous and interposes the following alternative claims:1

(1) paragraph 327, as modified by T.D. 51802 - cast-iron pipe, dutiable at the rate of 10 per centum ad valorem;

(2) paragraph 327, as modified by T.D. 52739 - advanced castings of iron, dutiable at the rate of 4 per centum ad valorem;2

(3) paragraph 328, as modified by T.D. 54108 - iron tubes, dutiable at the rate of 10y2 per centum ad valorem.

We shall overrule the protest, for the reasons discussed.

The Statutes Envolved
Classified under:
Paragraph 397, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 54108:
Articles or wares not specially provided for, whether partly or wholly manufactured:
% íJí %
Composed wholly or in chief value of iron * * *, 'but not plated with platinum, gold, or silver, or colored with gold lacquer:
* * % A: * A: *
Not wholly or in chief value of tin or tin plate:
:Jí A: A: i¡: * * *
Other, composed wholly or in chief value of iron, * * * (except * * *)_ 19% ad val.
[243]*243Claimed tinder:
Paragraph 327, Tariff Aot of 1930, as modified by T.D. 51802:
Cast-iron pipe of every description * * *- 10% ad val.
Paragraph 327, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 52739:
* * * castings * * *, including all castings of iron or cast-iron plates which have been chiseled, drilled, machined, or otherwise advanced in condition by processes or operations subsequent to the casting process but not made up into articles, or parts thereof, or finished machine parts_ 5% ad val.
Paragraph 328, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 54108:
Finished or unfinished iron or steel tubes not specially provided for:
‡ ‡ ‡ $
Other_ 10%% ad val.

The Eecoed

At the trial, the record in The Green Fuel Economizer Co., Inc. v. United States, 57 Cust. Ct. 402, C.D. 2829 (1966),3 was incorporated on plaintiff’s motion. Additionally, plaintiff’s case was augmented by the testimony of one witness and two exhibits. Defendant offered no evidence.

The sole witness in this case was Eric Gunther, part owner of Johnson & Gunther, Inc., a manufacturers’ representative and the sole distributor for E. Green & Son, Ltd., Wakefield, England, the manufacturer of the merchandise in issue.

Plaintiff’s exhibit 1 is a small piece of the imported “type 25 econo-miser pipe”; plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 2 is a sales brochure depicting the use of the imported merchandise in a feed water economizer.

The facts are not in dispute, and may be briefly summarized:

The merchandise is composed of cast iron, and consists basically of a tube with fins cast in one piece. Internally, the tube portion is circular, while externally it is approximately diamond shaped with projecting rectangular fins spaced about every inch. On the extreme ends of the articles there are flanges with six drilled holes. Additionally, there are supporting flanges on the tops and bottoms approximately five inches from the extreme ends of the articles.

[244]*244The end flanges are machined flat, so that a pressure tight seal can be made between the end of the article and whatever is connected to it. The support flanges are also machined. Plaintiff imported the merchandise as replacement parts for low-level and feed-water economizers.

It appears from the incorporated record that a low-level economizer is a heat exchanging device designed for use in connection with the boilers in electric power plants. Such economizer functions to recover low-grade thermoenergy from the products of combustion, and transfer this energy to the airstream that is being fed into the boilers. The low-level economizer is installed in addition to a conventional (feed-water) economizer and is independent of the latter.

The feed-water economizer serves to raise the temperature of feed water being fed to the steam generating unit. Unlike a low-level economizer, the feed-water economizer contains no valves, pumps, or other moving parts.

The function of the imported articles is to convey water through the flue gas stream, which is transmitted to the chimney from a power boiler. The articles pick up the heat, conduct it to the water which is flowing through it, and thereupon the heated water “goes into the boiler to produce steam” (B,. 13). The fins serve to extend the heating surface of the articles, thereby collecting and transferring more heat to the tube portion and the water flowing through it (R. 19).

Pipes ok Tubes

Plaintiff contends that the merchandise falls within the common meaning of the terms “pipe” and “tubes,” as used in paragraphs 327 and 328 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Defendant argues, on the other hand, that the merchandise is a “tube with fins,” and as such is something more than either a pipe or a tube.

The issue, then, is whether the instant articles fall within the common meaning of “pipe” or “tube,” or whether such articles are “more than” either of them.4

The common meaning of a tariff term is, of course, a question of law, and ordinarily, the court will “chiefly rely upon decisions of the courts and upon the definitions found in dictionaries and other lexicographical authorities.” United States v. Mercantil Distribuidora, S.A., Joseph H. Brown, 43 CCPA 111, 117, C.A.D. 617 (1956).

Plaintiff’s brief has called to our attention the following definitions of “pipe” and “tube”:

[245]*245Webster’s New International Dictionary, second edition, 1955:
'pipe * * * 3. Any long tube or hollow body of wood, metal, earthenware, or the like, as to conduct water, steam, etc.
tube 1. a A hollow cylinder, of any material, to convey liquids or gases or for some other purpose; * * *.

Additionally, the scope and application of paragraphs 327 and 328 may be gleaned from the Summary of Tariff Information, 1929. That Summary was compiled by the United States Tariff Commission and printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, in enacting what subsequently became the Tariff Act of 1930.

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

Related

E. Green & Son (New York), Inc. v. United States
450 F.2d 1396 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1971)
E. Green & Son (New York), Inc. v. United States
64 Cust. Ct. 573 (U.S. Customs Court, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
64 Cust. Ct. 241, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3180, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/e-green-son-new-york-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1970.