Fisher Scientific Co. v. United States

42 Cust. Ct. 657
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 2, 1959
DocketReap. Dec. 9444; Entry No. 369, etc.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 42 Cust. Ct. 657 (Fisher Scientific 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
Fisher Scientific Co. v. United States, 42 Cust. Ct. 657 (cusc 1959).

Opinion

Lawrence, Judge:

The 47 appeals for’ a reappraisement enumerated in the schedule hereto attached and made a part hereof, which were consolidated for trial and determination, involve the question of the proper value for appraisement purposes of certain analytical balances which were exported from Switzerland during the period from November 1,1951, to December 31,1954.

There is no controversy between the parties as to the basis of value, it being the position of both that foreign value is applicable. The only question presented is what constitutes the usual wholesale quan[658]*658tity. Appraisement of the importations was predicated on values applicable to sales of one or two analytical balances, whereas plaintiff herein contends that the entered values applicable to sales in quantities of three or more models constitute the proper values for appraisement purposes.

The statutory provision here involved is contained in section 402(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938 (19 U.S.C. § 1402 (c)), reading as follows—

The foreign value of imported merchandise shall be the market value or the price at the time of exportation of such merchandise to the United States, at which such or similar merchandise is freely offered for sale for home consumption to all purchasers in the principal markets of the country from which exported, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, including the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature, and all other costs, charges, and expenses incident to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.

It was brought to the attention of the court by plaintiff’s counsel that “Mettler Analytical Balances,” the subject merchandise in the instant case, had been the subject of previous litigation in United States v. Fisher Scientific Company, 40 C.C.P.A. (Customs) 164, C.A.D. 513, and in United States v. Fisher Scientific Co.; Fisher Scientific Co. v. United States, 44 C.C.P.A. (Customs) 122, C.A.D. 648. Whereas the records in said cases have not been incorporated herein, they are particularly worthy of note, and the latter case will serve as a guiding influence in the determination of the present issue.

In the case reported in C.A.D. 648, supra, it was held by the appellate court that the usual wholesale quantity, in which analytical balances imported from Switzerland between April 1949 and October 31, 1951, were sold, was in quantities of five or more balances. As to the importer’s contention that due to a change in sales practice such instruments were sold on and after November 1, 1951, in wholesale quantities of three balances or more, the court said — •

It is stated in one of Mettler’s affidavits that a change in sales practice took place on November 1, 1951 and that after that date, balances were sold at one price in lots of three or more, and that sales in ordinary course of trade in quantities of three or more “numerically exceeded and were more numerous than sales thereof in any other quantity.” As above noted, however, no evidence has been presented of any sale made after November 1, 1951. Under such circumstances, Mettler’s statement presents nothing more than his conclusion and, as we held in Brooks Paper Company v. United States, supra [40 C.C.P.A. (Customs) 38, C.A.D. 495], such a conclusion does not constitute substantial evidence which would justify setting aside the appraiser’s valuation. * * *
‡ ‡ ‡ $
It is urged by the importer that Mettler’s conclusion is supported by the lists of sales in the incorporated case and in the instant one, and that such evidence as to sales “is projected to September 2,1953.” Such projection, however, is effected merely by Mettler’s conclusions, so far as the period after October 31, 1951, is concerned, since there is no specific evidence as to a single sale after that date.
[659]*659In our decision in the incorporated case, we said:
* * * where the exporter of the imported merchandise is the sole producer of such merchandise, in the country from which exported, as in this case, we think the party challenging the appraised value in the first instance would he wise to at least present a summary of the relevant sales for the pertinent time period, so that the customs courts may be able to decide all relevant questions of law and fact in order to determine what is the usual wholesale quantity.
No such summary has been presented here. We are in agreement with the Appellate Division that the importer has failed to present such substantial evidence as to the usual wholesale quantity of the involved merchandise after October 31, 1951 as to justify setting aside the valuations of the appraiser on exports made after that date. [Italics quoted.]

When this case was called for hearing, Benjamin B. Fisher, vice president for 17 years of the plaintiff company, was called to testify. He stated that he was the witness Fisher who testified in the earlier cases (cited above) and that the Mettler analytical balances here involved are the same kind of merchandise as in the previous cases. He identified an affidavit of Erhard Mettler of Zurich, Switzerland, which he had obtained at counsel’s request, which affidavit, together with all of the exhibits attached thereto, was received in evidence as plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1.

On behalf of defendant, there was received in evidence, as defendant’s collective exhibit A, a certified copy of a report, together with accompanying papers, of William It. Beckett, American vice consul at Zurich, Switzerland. Inasmuch as said exhibit relates to sales made for home consumption in Switzerland between August 10, 1948, and July 19,1950, which predates the period with which the court is here concerned, namely, November 1, 1951, to December 31, 1954, said exhibit is of no evidentiary value herein, which fact is conceded by defendant in its brief.

The affidavit of Erhard Mettler, together with the 14 enclosures attached to and forming a part thereof, which are in evidence as exhibit 1, appears to supply substantial evidence including the “summary of the relevant sales for the pertinent time period” which was lacking in the previous Fisher case, C.A.D. 648, supra.

Attached to exhibit 1 in the instant case are invoices representing all sales of analytical balances made for home consumption in Zurich, the principal market of Switzerland during the entire period from November 1, 1951, to December 31, 1954, which are identified as enclosure number 3, together with a tabulation of said transactions which is marked enclosure number 4. Said enclosures indicate that there was a total of 231 sales transactions during the period in question. Of said total, 66 sales were not in the ordinary course of trade since they covered sales of analytical balances made to special specifications for [660]

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44 Cust. Ct. 568 (U.S. Customs Court, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
42 Cust. Ct. 657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisher-scientific-co-v-united-states-cusc-1959.