Headley Asphalt Division v. United States

24 C.C.P.A. 427, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 17
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedMarch 1, 1937
DocketNo. 4038
StatusPublished

This text of 24 C.C.P.A. 427 (Headley Asphalt Division v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Headley Asphalt Division v. United States, 24 C.C.P.A. 427, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 17 (ccpa 1937).

Opinion

Lenroot, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This appeal brings before us for review a judgment of the United States Customs Court, First Division, one judge dissenting, overruling the protest of appellant against the classification and assess[428]*428ment with duty at one-half cent per gallon, by the collector at the port of Philadelphia, of 110,913 gallons of Mexican crude oil in bulk, by virtue of section 601 (c) (4) of the Revenue Act of 1932. The protest claimed exemption from duty on the following grounds:

1. That the said oil was exempt from duty as fuel supplies under the provisions of article 125 of the Customs Regulations.

2. “* * * that the oil in question was never imported into the United States, within the terms of the Revenue Act of 1932, Section 601, and the Tariff Act of 1930, Section 1, since it was never unloaded and never left customs custody while witliin the limits of the United States.”

The cause was submitted to the trial court upon the following stipulation:

It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between the attorneys for the respective parties hereto that the above entitled suit be submitted to the Court for determination on the basis of the Collector’s Report and the record herein.
It is agreed that the collector’s Report may be admitted in evidence.
It is also stipulated and agreed that the certificate or affidavit of the Deputy Collector of Customs, dated October 16, 1935, hereto attached, may be admitted in evidence.
The case is respectfully submitted upon this stipulation and the record and all the official papers in the case.
* sf: * * * * *

Section 601 of the Revenue Act of 1932, insofar as is here pertinent, reads as follows:

SEC. 601. EXCISE TAXES ON CERTAIN ARTICLES.
(a) In addition to any other tax or duty imposed by law, there shall be imposed a tax as provided in subsection (c) on every article imported into the United States unless treaty provisions of the United States otherwise provide.
(b) The tax imposed under subsection (a) shall be levied, assessed, collected, and paid in the same manner as a duty imposed by the Tariff Act of 1930, and shall be treated for the purposes of all provisions of law relating to the customs revenue as a duty imposed by such Act, except that—
% ‡ ‡ * * * 4
(c) There is hereby imposed upon the following articles sold in the United Stales by the manufacturer or producer, or im] orted into the United States, a tax at the rates hereinafter set forth, to be paid by the manufacturer, producer, or importer:
* * * * * * *
(4) Crude petroleum, K cent per gallon; fuel oil derived from petroleum, * * * and all liquid derivatives of crude petroleum, except * * * cent per gallon; * * *.

Section 446 of the Tariff Act of 1930, upon which appellant also relies, reads as follows:

SEC. 446. SUPPLIES AND STORES RETAINED ON BOARD.
Vessels arriving in the United States from foreign ports may retain on board, without the payment of duty, all coal and other fuel supplies, ships’ stores, sea stores, and the legitimate equipment of such vessels. Any such supplies, ships’ [429]*429stores, sea stores, or equipment landed and delivered from sueli vessel shall be considered and treated as imported merchandise: Provided, That bunker coal, bunker oil, ships’ stores, sea stores, or the legitimate equipment of vessels belonging to regular lines plying between foreign ports and the United States, which are delayed in port for any cause, may be transferred under a permit by the collector and under customs supervision from .the vessel so delayed to another vessel of the same line and owner, and engaged in the foreign trade, without the payment of duty thereon.

Section 432 of said tariff act reads as follows:

SEC. 4321 MANIFEST TO SPECIFY SEA AND SHIP’S STORES.
The manifest of any vessel arriving from a foreign port or place shall separately specify the articles to be retained on board of such vessel as sea stores, ship’s stores, or bunker coal, or bunker oil, and if any other or greater quantity of sea stores, ship’s stores, bunker coal, or bunker oil is found on board of any such vessel than is specified in the manifest, or if any such articles, whether shown on the manifest or not, are landed without a permit therefor issued by the collector, all such articles omitted from the manifest or landed without a permit shall be subject to forfeiture, and the master shall be liable to a penalty equal to the value of the articles.

The collector’s report referred to in the stipulation states in part as follows:

This oil was imported in the Nor. S. S. “Meline”, an oil burning tanker. The manifested quantity of oil was 2,820,092 gallons, and the landed quantity was 2,806,338 gallons, of which 2,695,425 gallons were discharged into shore tanks and 110,913 gallons were pumped from the cargo tanks into the bunker tanks for use on the vessel as fuel. The oil pumped into the bunker tanks was included in the cargo as manifested and was also included in the quantity covered by the entry, but was not included in the vessel’s Stores list.

The certificate of the Deputy Collector of Customs, referred to in the stipulation, reads as follows:

I, Luther Sterner, Deputy Collector of Customs in Charge, Wilmington, Delaware, Custom House, do hereby swear that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the Norwegian SS. “Meline,” which arrived at the port of Wilmington, March 10th, 1934, and subsequently discharged its cargo at the plant of The Texas Company, was, while discharging its cargo under continuous supervision of this office.
Luther Sterner,
Deputy Collector of Customs.

The entry papers show that the cargo of oil, including the oil here involved, was imported by appellant, and that at the time of entry it was the owner or ultimate consignee thereof.

The manifest referred to in section 432 does not appear in the files, nor is it referred to in the stipulation, but it is conceded that the report of the collector is correct in stating that said oil was not included in the vessel’s “Stores list.”

The trial court held (with respect to appellant’s first claim that the oil was exempt from duty as fuel supplies retained on board) that obviously the fuel supplies contemplated by section 446 of the tariff [430]*430act are such as had an existence as fuel supplies on the arrival at the port of entry, and not merchandise which is part of the manifested cargo.

Counsel for appellant states his contention upon this point as follows:

The oil here in question was entered as cargo, it is true, but it was pumped into the ship’s fuel tanks and became fuel supplies while the vessel was still in customs custody. The Act does not say expressly when the character of goods as fuel supplies or as cargo is to be determined. It

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 C.C.P.A. 427, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/headley-asphalt-division-v-united-states-ccpa-1937.