Eastman Tag & Label Co. v. United States

55 Cust. Ct. 438, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1651
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedSeptember 30, 1965
DocketNo. 69567; protest 62/15657 (San Francisco)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 55 Cust. Ct. 438 (Eastman Tag & Label 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
Eastman Tag & Label Co. v. United States, 55 Cust. Ct. 438, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1651 (cusc 1965).

Opinion

Rao, Chief Judge:

The merchandise which is the subject of this protest is described on the consumption entry as an “Applicator Roller” and on the accompanying invoice as “1 Steel Applicator Roller 42” face x 25%'' circ. engraved with No. 12 ruling pattern, and armour plated with chrome.” The collector classified this merchandise within the provision for “print rollers not specially provided for, of whatever material composed, used for printing, stamping, or cutting edges,” in paragraph 395 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T.D. 51802. As such, it was assessed with duty by the collector at a rate of 40 per centum ad valorem.

The plaintiffs claim that the merchandise in question is properly dutiable at the rate of 11% per centum ad valorem as parts of a machine, not specially provided for, in paragraph 372 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Sixth Protocol of Supplementary Concessions to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 91 Treas. Dec. 150, T.D. 54108; or at the rate of 13% per centum ad valorem as parts of an article having as an essential feature an electrical element or device pursuant to paragraph 353 of said act, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade, 86 Treas. Dee. 121, T.D. 52739, or at the rate of 19 per centum ad valorem as articles, not specially provided for, wholly or in chief value of metal, in paragraph 397, as modified by the sixth protocol, supra.

The pertinent provisions of the statutes under consideration read as follows :

Paragraph 395 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 51802:

Print blocks, and print rollers not specially provided for, of whatever material composed, used for printing, sampling, or cutting designs-40% ad val.

[439]*439Paragraph 372 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 54108:

Machines, finished or unfinished, not specially provided for: Adding machines_ * * *
Other * * *_11%% ad val.
Parts, not specially provided for, wholly or in chief value of metal or porcelain, of any article provided for in any item 372 of this Part_ The rate for the article of which they are parts.

Paragraph 353 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 52739:

Articles having as an essential feature an electrical element or device, such as electric motors, fans, locomotives, portable tools, furnaces, heaters, ovens, ranges, washing machines, refrigerators and signs, finished or unfinished, wholly or in chief value of metal, and not specially provided for:
s>{ s-; $ $ $ ‡
Calculating machines * * *
**$$#$*
Other * * *_13%% ad val.
Parts, finished or unfinished, wholly or in part value of metal, not specially provided for, of articles provided for in any item 353 of this Part * * *_The same rate of duty as the article of which they are parts

Paragraph 397 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 54108:

Articles or wares not specially provided for, whether partly or wholly manufactured:

;¡i 4 * * 4= *
Composed wholly or in chief value of iron, steel, copper * * *:
Typewriter spools wholly or in chief value of tin or tin plate. Not wholly or in chief value of tin or tin plate:
# i¡t £ # * ‡
Other, composed wholly or in chief value of iron, steel, brass, bronze, zinc, or aluminum * * * — 19% ad val.

At the trial, plaintiff’s introduced nine exhibits in evidence. Plaintiffs’ exhibit 1 was a schematic drawing of the Inta-Eoto coating and laminating machine with the placement of the roller in question indicated. Plaintiffs’ exhibits 2, 3, and 4 were photographs depicting, respectively, the roller in its packing crate, the roller riding in a bath of coating solution and applying same to a web of paper feeding through the machine, and an unclear overall view of the drying tunnel and coating station. Plaintiffs’ exhibits 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 consisted of materials fed into the Inta-Eoto coating and laminating machine and the products produced thereby.

Plaintiffs’ exhibit 5 was uneoated tag board.

[440]*440Plaintiffs’ exhibit 6 was tag board identical to that of exhibit 5, after coating by the machine.

Plaintiffs’ exhibit 7 was a piece of aluminum foil.

Plaintiffs’ exhibit 8 was a foil-on-paper combination produced by the machine.

Plaintiffs’ exhibit 9 was a “sandwich lamination,” a combination of label paper on backing paper produced by the machine and known as pressure-sensitive label paper.

Paul H. Rigg, the only witness in the case, testified on behalf of the plaintiffs as follows: He has been employed for approximately 16 years by the Eastman Tag & Label Co. of Richmond, Calif., specialty printer of shipping tags and labels. Rigg is in charge of the estimating and planning production department.

He testified as to the use of the roller in question in the three functions of which the Inta-Roto coating and laminating machine is capable. These are the coating of paper with color, the production of laminated tinted foil, and of pressure-sensitive label paper. In the coating of paper, the roller in question is used to apply the coating material to the paper. As regards the production of laminated tinted foil, the testimony is to the effect that foil and paper stock are placed in the coating and laminating machine. An adhesive is applied to the paper, lamination takes place, and, in some stage of the operation, gold color is applied to the surface of the foil. In this process, two rollers are at work, one is metering out the glue and the other is metering out gold lacquer. The merchandise before the court is that part of the machine which applies the color to exhibit 8. The third function of the imported roller is in connection with the production of pressure-sensitive label paper. The witness has never seen or heard of any other use for the imported rollers than on the Inta-Roto coating and laminating machine.

The witness also testified that he had never seen or heard of the roller in question being used for printing, stamping, or cutting designs. He testified as to the physical unsuitability of the rollers for such work.

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Related

Eastman Tag & Label Co. v. United States
62 Cust. Ct. 237 (U.S. Customs Court, 1969)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 Cust. Ct. 438, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1651, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eastman-tag-label-co-v-united-states-cusc-1965.