Glanson Co. v. United States

38 Cust. Ct. 638
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 25, 1957
DocketReap. Dec.. 8793; Entry No. 792815
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 38 Cust. Ct. 638 (Glanson 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
Glanson Co. v. United States, 38 Cust. Ct. 638 (cusc 1957).

Opinion

Mollison, Judge:

This case is before me on remand from the second division of this court. The account of the proceedings to the time of the order of remand is contained in the writer’s original opinion, reported in Olanson Co. v. United States, 29 Cust. Ct. 508, Reap. Dec. 8182, and in the opinion of the second division reported in Glanson Co. v. United States, 31 Cust. Ct. 473, A. R. D. 33.

Briefly stated, the writer found, from the evidence offered, that at the manufacturer’s level there was no price at which such (there being no issue as to similar) merchandise was freely offered for sale to all purchasers, within the meaning of the foreign value statute, and entered an order of dismissal of the appeal for reappraisement on the ground that the record did not support a finding of foreign or any other value provided by the statute, section 402, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. Both parties had contended for a finding of foreign value of “such” merchandise.

On appeal, the second division pointed out that the record showed that the merchandise had been sold for home consumption in the foreign market in wholesale quantities at at least one level below that of the manufacturer, to wit, at the wholesalers’ level, and, even though evidence as to whether sales at the wholesalers’ level met the statutory requirements was not in the record, it was held that, until it was established that such sales did not meet such requirements, the categorical denial of the existence of foreign value could not be asserted. The court ruled, therefore, citing certain appellate authority, that the order of dismissal was erroneous and that a finding of value should have been made.

At the time of the hearing before him under the order of remand, the writer permitted the taking of additional evidence, over the objection of counsel for the Government, which then, as now, contended that the decision of the second division did not provide for the taldng of additional evidence, but required decision upon the record previously made.

In its decision, the second division seemingly approved the holding of the writer that, at the manufacturer’s level of sales, there was no [640]*640price at which the merchandise was freely offered for sale within the requirements of the statute, i. e., there was no price at which merchandise, such as that in issue, was freely offered for sale to “all” purchasers. Put another way, the second division found no error in the writer’s holding that foreign value could not be predicated upon sales or offers for sale at the manufacturer’s level.

From a reading of the opinion of the second division, the writer concludes that the division did not intend that this court was required to find the values of the merchandise to be those returned by the appraiser (as now contended by the Government), but intended to leave the determination of the proceedings to be taken after the remand to the discretion of this court.

This view is supported by the fact that the values returned by the appraiser are shown by the evidence to have been erroneous, inasmuch as they were based upon the price at the manufacturer’s level at which the manufacturer offered the merchandise for sale to retailers, other than chain and department stores. Since the remand was obviously made with the purpose that this court should be guided by the principles expressed in the opinion of the second division, it could hardly have been the purpose of the division to require that this court find values which had been demonstrated to have been erroneous. The ruling against the position taken by the Government, as embodied in its objection at the trial and reiterated in the brief filed in its behalf, to the taking of further evidence is, therefore, adhered to.

It having already been established that no export value, within the requirements of the statute, section 402 (d), existed for the merchandise involved, by reason of the fact that the plaintiff had the exclusive United States right to purchase the cribbage boards manufactured by the exporter, the plaintiff, on remand, reiterated its original contention that, if foreign value for the merchandise, within the definition of section 402 (c), as amended, existed, it was represented by the prices at which the manufacturer sold merchandise such as that here involved to wholesalers and jobbers. For the reasons expressed in the writer’s original opinion, Reap. Dec. 8182, and seemingly approved by the second division in A. R. D. 33, that contention is overruled.

In the alternative, plaintiff offered evidence for the purpose of establishing that at the level below that of the manufacturer, to wit, at the wholesalers’ level of sales, the offers did not meet the requirements of the statute in that (1) they were made to different classes of purchasers at different prices, depending upon the category of the purchasers, and (2) they were made at prices “suggested” by the manufacturer. The “suggested” prices are claimed to have been tantamount to controlled or fixed prices.

[641]*641The evidence with respect to sales or offers for sale at the wholesalers’ level for home consumption in Canada is contained in plaintiff’s exhibit 6, an affidavit of W. Elliot Thomas, an assistant departmental manager of a Canadian wholesaler, which purchased cribbage boards such as those involved from the manufacturer for resale in Canada.

Mr. Thomas’ affidavit is to the effect that his firm resold the cribbage boards purchased from the manufacturer to the following classes of purchasers: (1) Chain and departmental stores and (2) other retail stores. He further stated that the prices at which such boards were sold were governed by the class to which the purchaser belonged, regardless of quantity of purchase, and were different for each class of purchaser, and that the foregoing practice was followed by all other wholesalers who resold cribbage boards obtained from the manufacturer in this case.

From the foregoing, it appears that the same situation, with respect to the prices at which the merchandise was offered for sale, obtained at the wholesalers’ level as was found to bar a finding of foreign value at the manufacturer’s level. Inasmuch as the only other dealers for home consumption in the foreign market of merchandise such as that here involved — chain and department stores and other retail stores— resold only at retail and not in wholesale quantities, it follows that at no level in the foreign market were there made offers for sale of such merchandise in the usual wholesale quantities at a freely offered price to all purchasers, and, consequently, no foreign value, within the meaning of the statute, existed for such merchandise.

The situation as to similar merchandise and as to export value for such or similar merchandise has already been treated in the prior opinion of the writer and the findings approved by our appellate division. (31 Oust. Ct. at page 474.) These findings establish that no foreign value, within the meaning of the statute, existed for merchandise similar to that here involved, and that no export value, within the meaning of the statute, existed for such or similar merchandise.

With the purpose of establishing that no United States value, within the meaning of the statute (section 402 (e), as amended), existed, plaintiff offered the testimony of the partner of the importing-firm who had charge of importation and selling of the involved merchandise.

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Related

Glanson Co. v. United States
40 Cust. Ct. 644 (U.S. Customs Court, 1958)

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