Geo. S. Bush & Co. v. United States

28 Cust. Ct. 308, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 45
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 11, 1952
DocketC. D. 1429
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 28 Cust. Ct. 308 (Geo. S. Bush & 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
Geo. S. Bush & Co. v. United States, 28 Cust. Ct. 308, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 45 (cusc 1952).

Opinion

Rao, Judge:

The collector of customs at the port of Seattle, Wash., had before him for classification four so-called Model F gasoline-driven power saws, which were imported in a knocked-down condition, together with an assortment of repair and replacement parts for various other Model F power saws. His determination that the merchandise in question consisted of machines, not specially provided for, and parts thereof, resulted in the assessment of duty at the rate of 27% per centum ad valorem pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 372 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

Two separate protests, which were consolidated in this suit, were filed against that decision of the collector. Although several claims were made in each of the protests, the only ones relied upon by plaintiff were that the engines in each of the four complete power' saws were separately dutiable at the rate of 17% per centum ad valorem, as internal combustion engines of the carburetor type, such as are provided for in paragraph 372 of said act, as modified by the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, 74 Treas. Dec. 253, T. D. 49753, and that certain of the assorted replacement parts were more specifically provided for as parts of internal combustion engines of the carburetor type in said paragraph 372, as modified, and are likewise subject to assessment at only 17% per centum ad valorem. In [310]*310other words, it is plaintiff’s basic premise herein that gasoline-driven power saws are not entireties for customs purposes, and that at least the engine portion thereof, and parts of the same, are separately classifiable.

The pertinent portions of the respective tariff provisions read as follows:

Paragraph 372 of the Tariff Act of 1930:

* * * all other machines, finished or unfinished, not specially provided for, 27)4 per centum of Valorem: Provided, That parts, not specially provided for, wholly or in chief value of metal or porcelain, of any of the foregoing, shall be dutiable at the same rate of duty as the articles of which they are parts: * * *

Paragraph 372 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the trade agreement with the United Kingdom, supra:

Internal combustion engines, finished or unfinished, not specially provided for: Carburetor type-17)4 % ad val.
*******
Parts, not specially provided for, wholly or in chief value of metal or porcelain, of any articles provided for in any item numbered 372 in this schedule, shall be dutiable at the same rate of duty as the articles of which they are part's.

At the trial three witnesses testified for plaintiff and there were received in evidence, in plaintiff’s behalf, seven documentary exhibits to which we shall hereinafter refer. The Government offered no testimony.

The first witness called was S. S. Birks, examiner of merchandise at the port of Seattle for over 25 years. He stated that he had examined the merchandise which is the subject of the instant protests and described the same in the following manner:

A. The saw machine is composed essentially of the gasoline driven engine which in turn — the gasoline powered engine, pardon me — which in turn drives the gears and mechanism of the gearhousing. Attached tó that is what is known as a cutter bar, a long, flat piece of steel with a groove cut around the edge of it. In that groove a flexible chain with sawteeth is caused to be operated by means of the driving portions of the gearhousing. On the end of the cutter bar is fixed an outer end handle assembly, as it is sometimes termed, or tailstock assembly which is merely a holding device for the second man on the cutting team to hold and assist in directing the saw blade against the cutting operation on the timber. It also embodies an oiling attachment to keep the saw chain oiled during its operation.
Q. I think you omitted the handlebar. — A. I did. The handlebars are attached to the engine assembly for the convenience of the first operator for holding the bulk of the machine’s weight in usage.

Referring to plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 1, an “Instruction Manual and Parts List for Model ‘F’ 7000 Series Power Chain Saw,” issued by Industrial Engineering, Ltd., hereinafter inferred to as I. E. L., the Canadian manufacturer of the involved power saws, Examiner Birks noted that illustrations of the complete articles appear on pages 1 and 2 of said exhibit; that on page 5 thereof, there [311]*311is a cross-section diagram of tbe engine, which he described as being an internal combustion engine, carburetor type; that page 16 contains a picture of the handlebar assembly of the power saw; page 17 shows the gearhousing assembly, page 18, the tailstoek assembly, and page 19, the cutter bar and chain.

Asked to state the respective values of the various assemblies, the witness enumerated them as follows:

A. The value of the engine unit alone is slightly under 50 % of the value of the entire sawing machine; the value of the gearhousing assembly is approximately 28%; the value of the handlebar assembly, approximately 4%; the value of the cutter bar, approximately 6%; the value of the cutting chain, approximately 5% and the value of the tailstoek assembly, approximately 7 %.

He then stated that I. E. L. issued price lists which separately valued the different assemblies.

With respect to the assorted replacement parts included in the invoice of the shipment at bar, Birks testified that he marked on the invoice a green letter “x” next to the items which are parts of the gasoline engine, a double “xx” in green ink to refer to parts of the gearhousing assembly, and that hedeft unmarked parts of the handlebar and tailstoek assemblies, cutter bars, sawing chains, or cutting attachments.

The witness further stated that he had handled this type of saw for about 8 years, including, in addition to the Model F power saws, other saws manufactured by I. E. L. and its predecessors, the P. M. saw produced by the Power Machinery, Ltd., and the Hornet saw; that he had also seen some American-made saws; that all of them “are quite similar in design” and “embody the same principles of power being applied to a movable chain bearing teeth”; and that ordinarily they are powered by gasoline engines, but sometimes by compressed air or electric engines.

On cross-examination, Birks testified that the engine, handlebar, and gearhousing assemblies, and the other parts, are parts of the complete assembly known as a power saw; that none of these separate parts could operate in performing the function of this machine without all the other parts; and that there would be no complete power saw without each integral part. He further stated that it might be possible to utilize the engine in the performance of other functions, but the engine would probably have to be adapted for such other uses, and different attachments would be required.

James McKee testified that since 1945 he has been in the sales and service department of I. E. L. Power Saws, Inc., of Seattle, an importer and the American sales representative of I. E. L. of Vancouver, British Columbia, and that prior thereto, for a period of 7 years, he was an aircraft mechanic. In the course of his work, he goes into the field whenever trouble develops and repairs and checks the product in operation. This work includes servicing saws of the character

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
28 Cust. Ct. 308, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 45, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/geo-s-bush-co-v-united-states-cusc-1952.