Eastern Distilled Spirits Co. v. United States

28 Cust. Ct. 335, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 49
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 17, 1952
DocketC. D. 1433
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 28 Cust. Ct. 335 (Eastern Distilled Spirits Co. 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
Eastern Distilled Spirits Co. v. United States, 28 Cust. Ct. 335, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 49 (cusc 1952).

Opinion

Johnson, Judge:

This action involves certain alcoholic beverages covered by Boston warehouse entry 4756 which was liquidated by the collector at the port of Boston on December 17, 1946, but it pertains to the refusal of the collector at the port of Boston to reli-quidate such entry in conformity with this court’s decision and mandate rendered on November 22, 1949. The decision was entitled General Distilleries Corp. et al. v. United States, 23 Cust. Ct. 212, Abstract 53740. Among the suits included therein were suit 131986-K, collector’s protest number 6285, filed by Eastern Distilled Spirits Co., the plaintiff herein, involving 196 barrels of neutral cane spirits imported from Cuba, warehouse entry 4756, and also suit 131985-K, collector’s protest number 6286, filed by Wm. Zalcon & Sons, Transferees. The latter protest involved 31 barrels out of the 196 barrels of neutral cane spirits covered by said warehouse entry 4756, which had been transferred by the plaintiff, the transfer entry being entitled “entry 4756-Tr. No. 1.” The entry papers disclose that these 31 barrels were released from warehouse and withdrawn by the transferee on June 5, 1946. The protest filed by the transferee involving the 31 barrels and the protest filed by the plaintiff herein involving the 196 barrels were concurrently [337]*337filed on February 14, 1947. As 31 of the barrels were the subject of protest, only 165 barrels were involved in suit 131986-K.

According to the protest papers these 165 barrels of spirits were disposed of as follows: The plaintiff withdrew on June 12, 1945, for consumption, 12 barrels; on July 16, 1945, 15 barrels; and on July 30, 1945, 48 barrels; a total of 75 barrels. On May 28, 1946, an application to “recooper * * * and remark” was granted for 89 barrels which was completed on June 3, 1946. Under date of May 28, 1946, an immediate transportation entry, I. T. 673 was filed for transshipment of these 89 barrels to the port of Pittsburgh. The consignee was noted as Joseph S. Finch & Co., Inc., Schenley, Pa. The customs inspector at Pittsburgh, on June 10, 1946, reported that the 89 barrels had been delivered to that port. It was also noted that on June 14, 1946, said 89 barrels were covered by reware-house entry No. 1136 and received in warehouse. Although a protest had been on file since February 14, 1947, the collector at the port of Pittsburgh reliquidated the entry only as to the internal revenue tax on November 7, 1947. The liquidation of duty by the collector at the port of Boston was not disturbed. The law, paragraph 813, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, at that time provided specifically that there shall be no constructive or other allowance for breakage, leakage, or damage, except under certain specified conditions not applicable at any other port except the port of entry.

Suits 131985-K and 131986-K were decided by this court on November 22, 1949, in favor of the plaintiff. These decisions were promulgated after the effective date of Public Law 612, which, on June 8, 1948, amended paragraph 813, so as to read:

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the duties imposed on beverages in this schedule which are subject also to internal revenue taxes shall be imposed only on the quantities subject to such taxes.

Of course, an amendment of the law would not ordinarily affect the liquidation of an entry which had been completed almost , a year and a half before the new law became effective, except for section 2 of Public Law 612, reading as follows:

Sec. 2. This amendment shall be effective as to all such merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the day following the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply also to any such merchandise entered or withdrawn before that day with respect to which the liquidation of the entry or withdrawal, the exaction, or the decision as to dutiable quantity has not become final by reason of section 514, Tariff Act of 1930.

In view of the above amendment of the law and the retroactive effect thereof, the court held that duties should be assessed upon the basis of the same quantity upon which internal revenue taxes were finally assessed. Pursuant to the decision of the court, the collector at the port of Boston reliquidated number 6286 on June 16, 1950, and assessed the duty upon the same number of gallons [338]*338used as the basis of the internal revenue tax. However, in reliquidat-ing number 6285 on September 27, 1950, the collector assessed duty upon the basis of the number of proof gallons used to determine the internal revenue tax only upon 75 barrels which had been withdrawn from warehouse by the plaintiff and refused to reliquidate in conformity with the decision as to the quantity contained in 89 barrels which had been shipped to Pittsburgh for rewarehousing.

In the pending protest, the plaintiff claims that the collector erred in refusing to reliquidate the entry relative to the quantity of spirits contained in the 89 barrels, first, because his refusal was in violation of the judgment and mandate of this court; second, because the basis for the assessment of duties, whether under a withdrawal for consumption or a withdrawal for transportation in bond, was controlled by the liquidated duties determined in the liquidation of the entry of December 17, 1946, and that such liquidation was binding upon the collector at the port of Pittsburgh; and third, that a protest including the 89 barrels withdrawn for transportation in bond to Pittsburgh could only have been filed at the port of Boston under the laws and regulations effective at the time of the original liquidation.

At the trial, the customs liquidator at the port of Boston testified for plaintiff that the liquidation of December 17, 1946, included the computation of taxes and duties upon the 89 barrels of spirits in question; that a protest was filed against such liquidation; and that a tentative reliquidation was made in accordance with the judgment order of the court which was forwarded to the Comptroller of Customs for verification. But the Comptroller ruled that the 89 barrels should have been excluded from the reliquidation of the warehouse entry in view of the provisions of Public Law 612 and paragraph 813 of the tariff act, as amended. The witness further testified that the collector’s office did not agree with the Comptroller’s ruling. The case was submitted to the Bureau of Customs which ruled that the withdrawal for transportation should stand as originally liquidated and that no action should be taken. Therefore, the reliquidation was made accordingly, the court’s judgment order not being carried out to the extent of the 89 barrels.

The Assistant Comptroller at the port of Boston also testified in behalf of the plaintiff that the 89 barrels of spirits in question were included in the liquidation which he verified in December 1946, and the liquidated figures of the 89 barrels were verified and then forwarded to the collector at Pittsburgh; that his office refused to accept the tentative reliquidation of the collector following the court’s mandate for the reason that in the opinion of his office “there was no longer any ownership, or there had been a complete severance by transfer of this merchandise to Pittsburgh.” As further authority for the action recommended, the witness referred to T. D. 51966, paragraph 5, providing that withdrawals would not be included in reliquidation of [339]*339merchandise subject to review under Public Law 612.

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Related

Monte Cassino Wine Co. v. United States
41 Cust. Ct. 184 (U.S. Customs Court, 1958)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 Cust. Ct. 335, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eastern-distilled-spirits-co-v-united-states-cusc-1952.