Hagemann v. United States

24 Cust. Ct. 587, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2081
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 10, 1950
DocketNo. 7815; Entry No. 812604
StatusPublished

This text of 24 Cust. Ct. 587 (Hagemann 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
Hagemann v. United States, 24 Cust. Ct. 587, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2081 (cusc 1950).

Opinion

Cole, Judge:

Merchandise invoiced as “Liquitol B” and “Liquitol C,” with prices of 20 reichsmarks and 16 reichsmarks per 100 kilos, respectively, less 2 per centum cash discount, was imported on February 7, 1938, at the port of New York by the Alpha Lux Co., Inc. Entry was made at the invoice prices, claimed to be representative of foreign value, section 402 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938 (19 U. S. C. § 1402 (c)), in Germany, which is alleged to be the country of exportation.

The shipment in question is covered by an invoice dated “Den Haag 19th January 1938,” and showing N. Y. Internationale Mineralen Cie of Den Haag (hereinafter referred to as “the Holland exporter”) as the shipper and seller of the merchandise. The appraiser regarded the Netherlands as the country of exportation and in adopting United States value, section 402 (e) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1402 (e)), as the basis for appraisement, found a value of $0.1218 per pound for “Liquitol B” and $0.06667 per pound for “Liquitol C,” net packed.

The long delay, between the time of official appraisement and trial and submission of the case to the court, prompted the following statement by counsel for plaintiff:

Before stating the details, I would like to give the court a little bit of the background of this case. It first appeared on the calendar in January of 1939, and since that date has been continued, from time to time, in order to enable counsel to obtain what he thought was necessary and pertinent evidence.
The merchandise is a product of Germany, and it was shipped to the United States via Holland. Due to the war, it is evident, now, that I will be unable to obtain any further information whatsoever from Germany because the manufacturer’s plant, I believe, in Dusseldorf was bombed and it is highly probable that it isn’t in existence any longer — and I mean the individuals there too — because we haven’t been able to communicate with them in the past four years, at least. Accordingly, I would like to present to the court what evidence I have. * * *

The two products under consideration are combinations of chemical compounds and are used in iron and steel foundries and steel-producing companies to keep metal fluid in castings or ingots so that “pipes” or cavities will not develop, but each is composed of different ingredients, adapting it for a specific use. “Liquitol C” is used on steel. “Liquitol B” contains a higher percentage of metal, creating greater exothermic reaction, and is used on cast iron.

The case has been the subject of a previous decision, F. W. Hagemann v. United States, 19 Cust. Ct. 258, Reap. Dec. 7390. It comes before me at this time on remand, Same v. Same, 21 Cust. Ct. 309, Reap. Dec. 7623. In my original decision, I held that plaintiff had [589]*589failed to make out a prima facie case, and accordingly granted defendant’s motion for dismissal, invoking section 501 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

It was not argued before me at the first trial that the appraisement herein was made subsequent to enactment of the Customs Administrative Act of 1938, which amended said section 501 and directed that the court shall determine a value "notwithstanding that the original appraisement may for any reason be held invalid or void and that the merchandise or samples thereof be not available for examination,” (19 U. S. C. (1946 ed.) § 1501 (a)). When this fact was brought to the attention of the second division on review, it became apparent that I was in error in granting the motion for dismissal, and that the Government never should have entered such motion because admittedly there was nothing to support it, a fact which was pointed out upon appeal, for the first time.

In the original disposition of the case, Reap. Dec. 7390, supra, no consideration was given to the question of the country of exportation because the record, at that time, failed to establish essential details required under the statutory definition of foreign value, section 402 (c), as modified, supra. Plaintiff’s additional testimony, offered at the trial pursuant to the remand, materially changes the record as it relates to market conditions in Germany and as plaintiff’s case is based entirely on the premise that Germany is the country of exportation, it becomes necessary, in the light of the supplementary proof, to discuss that issue and determine whether it is Germany, as claimed, or the Netherlands, as found by the appraiser.

Supporting the appraiser’s action, if not the whole basis therefor, is a report (defendant’s exhibit 6) of Treasury Representative Horace A. Browne, bearing date of July 8, 1938, and referring specifically to the consular invoice covering the shipment in question. The information contained therein was obtained from officials of “the Holland exporter,” i. e., R. Laban, the manager, and R. E. Martin, director of the concern. This summation of the said report is pertinent:

“The Holland exporter” buys from a German producer a chemical base in sufficient quantities to keep about 10 tons on hand in Holland. After importation of the German-made substance, another chemical is added and the resulting article is called Liquitol. The name of the German supplier would not be disclosed, and because “it is a fabrication secret” no information was given concerning the material that is added in Holland to the German product.

Said R. E. Martin, director of “the Holland exporter,” executed an affidavit (plaintiff’s exhibit 5) on April 2, 1940, wherein he testified directly opposite to the information he contributed to the report, exhibit 6, supra, almost 2 years earlier. Referring to the products in question, his affidavit reads: “that the aforesaid merchandise [590]*590was manufactured wholly in Germany by the firm of Rheinische Formschlichte-Fabrik, Gebr. Oelschlaeger, located at Dusseldorf-Holthausen, Germany; that the said merchandise was exported from Germany on or about January 13th, 1938; that the said merchandise was destined at the time of exportation from Germany to the Alpha-Lux Co. Inc. of 192 Front Street, New York City, U. S. A.; that the said merchandise did not enter into the trade or commerce of The Netherlands; that the said merchandise was not subjected to any process or treatment of any kind whatsoever but was exported from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in the same condition and state that it left Germany; * *

The vice president of the importing corporation, who saw the merchandise on arrival, testified that it was received in steel drums of the type “only used in Germany,” and that these containers were marked, indicating that Germany was the country of exportation. He stated that early in 1938, when the present merchandise was exported, “the Holland exporter” had no facilities for processing the imported products. His conclusion was based on information received during his visit to Holland in 1939 when he was shown installations “they had made that year for reprocessing this stuff in Holland.”

In a report dated April 1, 1939 (defendant’s exhibit 7), prepared by Treasury Attaché Paul Hermes — not the same treasury representative who made the earlier report, exhibit 6, supra

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Related

United States v. Geo. E. Mallinson Importing Co.
14 Cust. Ct. 382 (U.S. Customs Court, 1945)
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19 Cust. Ct. 258 (U.S. Customs Court, 1947)
Hagemann v. United States
21 Cust. Ct. 309 (U.S. Customs Court, 1948)

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Bluebook (online)
24 Cust. Ct. 587, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2081, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hagemann-v-united-states-cusc-1950.