Gitkin Co. v. United States

58 Cust. Ct. 383, 1967 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2405
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMay 8, 1967
DocketC.D. 2997
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 58 Cust. Ct. 383 (Gitkin 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
Gitkin Co. v. United States, 58 Cust. Ct. 383, 1967 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2405 (cusc 1967).

Opinion

Rao, Chief Judge:

The merchandise involved hi these cases, consolidated for trial, is described on the invoices as Philippine mahogany folding doors. The litigation has been limited to the articles designated on the invoices by the identifying numbers 2484, 250, and 150-P, and to the sizes 30 by 80 inches, 32 by 80 inches, 36 by 80 inches, and 48 by 80 inches. The merchandise was assessed with duty at 16% per centum ad valorem under paragraph 412 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Annecy Protocol of Terms of Accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 84 Treas. Dec. 403, T.D. 52373, supplemented by Presidential proclamation, 85 Treas. Dec. 138, T.D. 52476, as manufactures of which wood is the component material of chief value. It is claimed that the merchandise is properly dutiable at 15 per centum ad valorem under said paragraph, as modified by the Sixth Protocol of Supplementary Concessions to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 91 Treas. Dec. 150, T.D. 54108, as doors. The pertinent provisions of the tariff act, as modified, are as follows:

[Par. 412, as modified by T.D. 52373 and T.D. 52476.] Manufactures of wood or bark, or of which wood or bark is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for:

Other (except * * *)-16%% ad val.

[Par. 412, as modified by T.D. 54108.] Manufactures of wood or bark, or of which wood or bark is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for:

[B]
Doors_15% ad val.

This case is a retrial of the issues involved in Gitkin Co. v. United States, 54 Cust. Ct. 182, C.D. 2530, appeal dismissed December 13, 1965, the record of which was incorporated herein. In that case, Ralph [385]*385Gitkin, treasurer of the plaintiff company, testified that he was familiar with the articles described on the invoices as “folding doors” since.' he had designed them and did the purchasing and placing of the orders. An illustration of such a door and a photograph of part of one were received in evidence. The articles appeared to consist of narrow vertical slats held together by threads or tapes, suspended from a track attached to the ceiling or doorway. Mr. Gitkin said that the finished product was produced in Japan and the package, as imported, contained the folding door, the track, and the hardware for installing it. He stated that the articles were made to fit a 3-foot opening and were the standard height of doors. They were bought and sold as Philippine mahogany or lauan folding doors. He had seen them used in hotels, private homes, and department stores throughout the country to close openings. The most common use was to close closets, but they could be used between rooms, as room dividers, or to close off one area from another.

A number of invoices of the Jencraft Manufacturing Co., the selling affiliate of the Gitkin Co., and a group of newspaper advertisements were received in evidence. They described the articles as mahogany folding doors, but some of them showed the product suspended from the ceiling and used as a room divider. In one instance, the articles were advertised as “excellent for closets, open doorways (use a pair for extra wide openings), and for room dividers.”

A witness called by the defendant testified that he had seen similar products used as closet or wardrobe closures, room dividers, for the concealment of utilities in recreational areas in schools, to separate divisions in cafeterias, and as window shades and cottage curtains. These uses were not all of the same sized articles as those involved herein. According to the witness, the dimensions of items in sizes 80 inches by 32 or 36 inches were those of articles used for door purposes, and he called them folding doors.

The court sustained the collector’s classification of the merchandise under the provision for manufactures of wood rather than that for doors, on the ground that no samples of the merchandise were produced ; that, from the illustrations, the articles appeared to have some of the characteristics of ordinary wooden doors and some of the characteristics of curtains or draperies, and that much of the evidence reflected plaintiff’s own usage of the term “door.”

In the instant case, plaintiff has produced samples illustrative of the imported merchandise. Plaintiff’s exhibit 1, representing style 2484, and plaintiff’s exhibit 2, representing style 150-P, were attached to a framework simulating a doorway in order to demonstrate how the articles appear when in use. Exhibit 3, also representing style 2484, consists of the package in its condition as imported, containing the [386]*386slatted portion, the track, the hardware necessary for installation, and an instruction sheet.

The principal portion of each imported article is made of narrow vertical slats woven together. Those in exhibit 2 are narrower and are joined only by means of interweaving with cord or string. The slats in exhibits 1 and 3 are in addition woven together with tapes of lighter color than the slats, giving the material a checkered effect. The material is also more solid than that of exhibit 2, where one can see between the slats. The imported merchandise includes also a track to attach to the top of a doorway plus the hardware needed for installation. The length of the track corresponds to the width of the particular article imported. Fastened to the top of the woven material at intervals are plastic or metal pieces to which are attached hooks with heads which fit into the track. The hooks are connected by a chain. By this means, the article is suspended from the track. At one side of the woven material is a solid bar of plastic to be attached to the frame of the doorway and at the other a wider bar which has a handle to pull the article along the track. Exhibits 1 and 3 have magnetic catches to hold the closure in place. When attached, as shown by exhibits 1 and 2, the material hangs in folds and closes the opening.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 Cust. Ct. 383, 1967 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2405, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gitkin-co-v-united-states-cusc-1967.