Golding Bros. v. United States

7 Cust. Ct. 505, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2119
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Golding Bros. v. United States. Read the opinion of the Court — 6 Cust. Ct. 877
United States Customs Court·Decided September 26, 1941·No. No. 5444; Entry No. 782827·Published

Opinion

Cline, Judge:

This is an application for review of the decision of the trial court in Golding Bros. Co., Inc. v. United States, Reap. Dec. [506]*5065005, involving.the value of mattress tickings exported from Belgium in. December, 1938. The invoice contains a number of different qualities of tickings at different prices'in Belgian francs'per yard. With the exception of quality “Ostend, 894, 55}i" Spring Air Panel 1939,” the goods were entered at the invoice unit prices and 2}{ per centum for tax was added on entry. The unit valueof quality “Ostend, 894, -55}{" Spring Air Panel 1,93.9” was- advanced on entry from the invoice value of 5.36 to 5.45 francs per yard and the 2){ per centum for tax was added also as hi the-other items. Some of the merchandise was appraised by the appraiser at unit válues in United States currency and some in Belgian francs.

No briefs were filed before this division but the parties submitted the case on the briefs filed below without oral argument.

There is some confusion in the record as to the issue and the basis of appraisement of some of the items. The appraiser marked the summary sheet with the words “Basis U. S. Value & Cost of Production” but there is no statement in the invoice showing the basis of appraisement of the different items. The statements as to the issue and basis of appraisement in the briefs of the parties do not agree in every detail. Counsel for the plaintiff below states in his brief:

Two qualities of cotton cloth, to wit: Clairemont #933 and Newfoundland #978, were advanced by the appraiser in accordance with the provisions for “foreign value” as defined in Setítion 402-C of the Tariff Act of 1930, and the remaining qualities were appraised in accordance with Section 402-e of the Tariff Act of 1930 (United States value), presumably on the theory of the absence of a foreign or export value.
In order to narrow the issue, plaintiff makes no claim except on those qualities listed in Schedule “A”, hereto annexed, contending, that there was a foreign value in the country of exportation at the time of exportation of the 56“ qualities here in question, and an export value to the United States for the 41“ qualities.
It is further admitted by the importers that if it should finally be determined that the proper basis for dutiable value is “United States value” as defined in Section 402-e of the Tariff Act of 1930, the appraised values in United States currency would be the correct basis for dutiable value.

Counsel for tbte defendant ignored in his brief the items which the plaintiff claimed should be appraised on the basis of foreign value. He states the issue as follows:

The merchandise at issue was entered on the basis of export value and appraised on the basis of United States value.
There were other items included in this importation which were appraised on the basis of foreign value. These items were entered on the basis of export value. The claims of the importer as to those items which were appraised on the basis of foreign value were abandoned at the trial. As a result of the abandonments, there remained at issue only those items which were appraised on the basis of United States value. The proof at the trial was limited to those items which are enumerated in Schedule A and B of the importer’s brief.

There appears tó be no schedule B attached to importer’s brief. Schedule A, incorporated in plaintiff’s brief, contains the following [507]*507items on which claim was made together with the entered and appraised values:

The record does not show that counsel for the plaintiff abandoned his claim on all of the qualities which he asserts were appraised on the basis of foreign value, as stated by counsel for the defendant in his brief. The statement in the record referred to reads as follows:

Mr. Siegel. In this case, we accept the findings of the Appraiser on: “Claire-mont, 933, 56 inch Plain Border; Piedmont, 921, both 56 inch and 41 inch”. On the rest of the qualities I offer in evidence an affidavit signed by and sworn to by Mr. Bekaert, dated September 5, 1939.

It appears that the three qualities of ticking relating to which the plaintiff below announced that he accepted the findings of the appraiser are not enumerated in the schedule attached to his brief giving the qualities upon which claim is made. In a subsequent part of his brief, counsel for the plaintiff below refers to all the qualities of 56-inch ticking enumerated in schedule A, claiming that the record shows offers of the same in the Belgian market which established foreign value.

We are of opinion that counsel for the defendant below is in error in his statement that all of the qualities in issue were appraised on the basis of United States value because it is inconceivable that the qualities concerning which the appraiser found unit values in Belgian francs were appraised on that basis. An appraisement on the basis of United States value must necessarily be in United States currency.

The evidence consists solely of documentary proof. The plaintiff below introduced as exhibit 1 an affidavit of Mr. Eugene Bekaert, a partner of the exporting firm. This affidavit was executed before a United States consul in Belgium on September 12, 1939. The defendant introduced exhibit 2, which is a report of Treasury Representative Cha-’cs Schlage:1, No. 301/279, dated December 15, 1938. We have examined these documents carefully, and, as they were reviewed in detail in the decision of the trial court, we deem it unnecessary to repeat the same details in this decision.

The appellant herein, in an endeavor to establish export value with relation to the qualities appraised on the basis of United States value, relies on the statement in exhibit ] to the effect that the invoice [508]*508price of the 41-inch goods “is the price at which our firm would have been willing to receive from anyone in the United States, desiring to purchase the same quality in the same width, and that the price for export to the United States at the time of shipment here in question is the one declared on the invoice as the present market value of the quality noted.” Substantially the same statement in an affidavit of the same affiant was considered by this division in Golding Bros. Co., Inc. v. United States, Reap. Dec. 5272. In finding that such statement in the affidavit was not sufficient to establish export value, the court, after quoting the statement, said that it — .

is similar to the statement considered in Golding Bros. Co., Inc. v. United States, Reap. Dec. 5196, and therein held insufficient to show that the merchandise was freely offered for sale for export to the United States, citing United States v. Oceanic Trading Co., Reap. Dec. 3233. A similar statement appears in an excerpt quoted from an affidavit in the case of Golding Bros., Inc. v. United States, Reap. Dec. 3680, 68 Treas. Dec. 1310. The court held in that case that the importer had not established export value and that decision was affirmed on appeal. Golding Bros. Co. Inc., v. United States, 24 C. C. P. A. 15, T. D. 48289.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Golding Bros. v. United States, 7 Cust. Ct. 505, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2119 (cusc 1941).

7 Cust. Ct. 505 (Golding Bros. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.