Haddad & Sons, Inc. v. United States

62 Cust. Ct. 896, 1969 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3549
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 1, 1969
DocketR.D. 11656; Entry No. 24876
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 62 Cust. Ct. 896 (Haddad & Sons, Inc. 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
Haddad & Sons, Inc. v. United States, 62 Cust. Ct. 896, 1969 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3549 (cusc 1969).

Opinion

Kao, Chief Judge:

The merchandise involved in this appeal for reappraisement consists of cotton gingham children’s shirts exported from Japan and entered at the port of New York. They were invoiced at an ex-factory unit price of $2.90 per dozen plus listed export charges. Entry was made at the total invoice amount less charges for packing and labels. The merchandise was appraised at $3.205 per dozen, net, packed.

It was stipulated at the trial that the merchandise does not appear on the Final List promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury, 93 Treas. Dec. 14, T.D. 54521, and that export value, as that value is defined in section 402(b) of the Tariff Aot of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956, is the proper basis of appraisement. Plaintiff claims that the appraised value includes a commission which is a bona fide buying commission and not properly part of the export value.

The special customs invoice received in evidence at the trial as part of the official papers gives the ex-factory price of the merchandise as $2.90 per dozen and lists as export charges: carton and packing, cost of label, inland freight from Hiyogo to Kobe, storage, insurance premium from godown to on board, hauling and lighterage, and buying commission. The total ex-factory price and charges for 600 dozen is given as $1,923.

Written in red ink on the invoice are the words “Appd at $3.205 per doz. net pkd.”

At the trial, Harry Fichtenbaum, customs examiner, testified that he examined the merchandise involved herein and that at that time he had the official invoice documents before him. He noted the various items stated on them, including the invoiced unit price ex-factory, the total invoiced unit price ex-factory, all the various charges and items listed thereon, the grand total, and the quantity of merchandise involved. He stated that he appraised the merchandise at an f.o.b. price, net, packed. He noted that the importer had entered the merchandise [898]*898at the invoiced grand total less the itemized charges. In making his appraisement, he had added back the charges which the importer had deducted.

It was stipulated that the advisory appraisement by the examiner was adopted by the appraiser as the official aj>praised value.

There was received in evidence as exhibit 1 in this case an affidavit of Yasuo Namekawa, president of The Tosho Co., Ltd. (hereinafter called Tosho). This was also received in evidence in Reliance Intercontinental Corp. v. United States, R63/3235, 62 Cust. Ct. 845, R.D. 11639, and Carolina Mfg. Co. v. United States, R63/5931, 62 Cust. Ct. 850, R.D. 11640. It is stated therein that Mr. Namekawa has been president of Tosho for 15 years and has personal knowledge of all its business affairs. As chief managing officer, it was his duty to supervise the business and commercial relationships and affairs of the company. He stated that Tosho has been engaged in the export and import business in Japan for many years; that it makes purchases of Japanese products and sells them for export to the 'United States, and that it also acts as agent on behalf of United States ’buyers for the purchase of Japanese products and as a shipping agent.

The affidavit states that since February 7, 1951, Tosho has represented Haddad & Sons, Inc. of New York (hereinafter called Haddad & Sons), as an agent authorized to place orders on the latter’s instructions and as a shipping agent of Japanese products purchased in Japan by Mr. Moysh Haddad, secretary-treasurer and chief buyer of Haddad & Sons. According to the affidavit, an agreement was executed on February 7, 1951, signed by affiant and Mr. Haddad, authorizing Tosho to represent Haddad & Sons in Japan. The agreement authorized Tosho to place orders on written authorization or order from Haddad & Sons, to make inspection of goods purchased, to accept delivery after approving the quantities and quality of the goods, and to arrange for shipments to the United States. For those services Tosho was entitled to a commission of 3 percent of the total ex-factory price of the goods purchased, which rate was later increased to 5 percent.

The affidavit also states that the services rendered by Tosho included the services of its personnel in translating for visiting buyers, handling all details incident to delivery of the merchandise from the manufacturers, inspecting it, arranging for its shipment, gathering samples, obtaining quotations, and placing orders on instructions of the principal. In every instance where Tosho acted for a principal and signed a customs invoice, it had no interest in the sales price paid to the seller and was compensated solely by the invoiced 'buying-commission.

It appears from the official papers that the merchandise involved herein was manufactured and sold by Nishiyama Seni Kogyo K. K. of Hiyogo, Japan, and that Tosho shipped it to Haddad & Sons.

[899]*899The testimony of Mr. Moysh Haddad as given in another case, Haddad & Sons, Inc. v. United States, R63/5111, was incorporated h erein. Mr. Haddad testified that his firm had an agreement with Tosho under which Tosho was to render it services in Japan. Those services included inspecting merchandise to see that it conformed to specifications, having a representative present when Mr. Haddad made purchases in Japan, to make a record of the transaction and to serve as interpreter, arranging for payment and for the shipment of the goods. For those services Tosho was to receive a buying commission of 5 percent of the ex-factory price of the merchandise.

Mr. Haddad testified that when he made the purchase involved in R63/5111, a representative of Tosho was with him and acted as interpreter. The witness said he made the purchase himself at the manufacturer’s factory.

As in the two previous cases, Reliance Intercontinental Corp. v. United States, supra, and Carolina Mfg. Co. v. United States, supra, two questions are presented for determination: First, whether the appraisement is separable so that plaintiff may rely on the presumption of correctness as to all elements of value except the contested item, and second, whether the record establishes that the commission paid to Tosho was a bona -fide buying commission and thus not properly a part of dutiable export value.

Where an appraisement as noted on the invoice is at a unit value, net, packed, but the testimony of the examiner establishes that it was made up of the invoice unit price plus a proportionate share of the charges, including a buying commission, the appraisement is separable and plaintiff may challenge the inclusion of the commission as a part of the dutiable export value, while relying upon the presumption of correctness as to the other elements of value. United States v. Gehrig Hoban & Co., Inc., 54 CCPA 129, C.A.D. 924; United States v. Chadwick-Miller Importers, Inc., et al., 54 CCPA 93, C.A.D. 914; United States v. Bud Berman Sportswear, Inc., 55 CCPA 28, C.A.D. 929.

In the instant case the appraisement as noted on the invoice was at a unit value, but the testimony of the examiner indicates that it was arrived at by adding back to the entered value the invoice charges which the importer had deducted. These included the buying commission, the amount of which is stated on the invoice and which is equal to 5 percent of the total invoiced ex-factory price.

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62 Cust. Ct. 896, 1969 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3549, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haddad-sons-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1969.