Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc. v. United States

12 Cust. Ct. 381, 1944 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 474
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 18, 1944
DocketNo. 5984; Entry No. 55883, etc.
StatusPublished

This text of 12 Cust. Ct. 381 (Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, 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
Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc. v. United States, 12 Cust. Ct. 381, 1944 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 474 (cusc 1944).

Opinion

Cline, Judge:

In this case 15 appeals for reappraisement were consolidated for trial. The merchandise involved is invoiced as “Fuji silk,” item number “5500, kanebo.” It was imported in pieces. 36 inches wide and 50 yards in length, the colors being designated as. natural, bleached, and colored, different values being given for each condition. The dates of shipment are from September 29, 1936, to' April 7, 1937. The goods .were invoiced at prices in Japanese yen per yard and charges for pacldng, drayage and shipping, marine insurance, freight, consular fee, and buying commission were added on the invoices. They were entered under so-called duress on the basis of export values at prices in United States dollars per piece, [382]*382packing included,- to meet advances made by the appraiser in other shipments on appeal to reappraishment. Appraisement was made at the entered values. The plaintiff claims that the merchandise should be reappraised at the invoice unit values.

The plaintiff called Mr. T. F. Bagsha-w who is the owner of Patten, Mackenzie & Co., the party in interest. He testified that Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc., in whose name the entries were filed, is his customs broker; that there was another firm having the name Patten, Mackenzie & Co. which is owned by Mr. D. Mackenzie and operated in Japan and China; that he testified before this court in 1939 with respect to the same class of merchandise as is herein involved.

The record in reappraisement 120600-A, etc., which is the case in which Mr. Bagshaw testified in 1939, was incorporated and made a part of the record in the instant case.

The witness testified further that the prices of thp materials varied a little in the instant cases, due to market conditions; that the item “Buying commission, 4%,” noted on the invoices, represents the compensation' or profit to Patten, Mackenzie & Co. of Kobe, Japan, for services of purchasing, exporting, and preparing the necessary documents for shipping the silk to this country, and that commission was included in the other charges on the invoices; that on some other kinds of goods the commission is 7% per centum; that the commission of 4 per centum was mutually agreed upon with respect to kanebo silk 5500; that the amounts on the invoices represent the amounts he paid.

On cross-examination, the witness testified that the 4 per centum commission is a part of the .cost over ‘and above the price that was paid for the silk; that a price is quoted for the silk and on top of that they add the 4 per centum commission as a buying commission for his agent.

The next witness called by the plaintiff was Mr. David Mackenzie. The witness testified that he was an exporter and commission agent at the time of these shipments, with a place of business in both Japan and China; that he bought merchandise like exhibit 1 in reappraisement 120600-A. for clients but not for himself and exported it to Patten, Mackenzie & Co. of San. Francisco, John Wanamaker of New York, and a number of other firms; that he bought the material from Kamei who is an agent for Kanegafuchi, the spinning company; that he went back to Japan in October 1936 and remained there until 1942; that from October 1936 until March 1937 he was personally familiar with the market for kanebo silk 5500 and bought the same in the market at Kobe, which was one of the principal markets in Japan; that the prices on the invoices to Patten, Mackenzie & Co. of San Francisco represent the freely offered market values for the merchandise and that such statement is based on definite records of [383]*383silk prices from day to day; that suck merchandise was not sold for home consumption in Japan; that Patten, Mackenzie & Co. of San Francisco paid his firm through drafts which included charges for the services of his firm amounting to 4 per centum on item kanebo 5500, which was his firm’s buying commission for handling the merchandise.

The attention of the witness was directed to the invoice covered by reappraisement number 121167-A and he was asked to' explain the language in the first item on the invoice reading “total 2,250 yds., less 56% yds.” and he stated that the 56% yards represent damaged merchandise or imperfect goods which were deducted from the total-yardage; that the silk was examined by his firm and when damaged merchandise was found, such as bad ends, a flaw in the weaving, or a spot, he would call in the Kamei man and the damage was settled by negotiation.

On cross-examination the witness testified that his firm never kept a stock of goods on hand; that he merely put through orders for his clients or customers in the United States; that the prices varied from day to day; that such merchandise was not sold in the home market in Japan; that up to 1938 he might have been able to buy a piece of the silk but after 1938 he could not even do that.

The defendant offered a copy of a report of Treasury representative J. W. Sutcliffe, dated July 16, 1936, No. Y36-68, and, subject to plaintiff’s objections to be made in his brief, it was admitted in evidence and marked defendant’s exhibit No. 1.

Mr. Mackenzie was recalled and testified that the Japanese do not use fabrics 36 inches in width, the fabrics they use being 14 inches in width or multiples of that width; that Kamei Shoten sells silk known as kanebo 5500 to firms other than his own for export.

In his brief counsel for the plaintiff made objections to defendant’s exhibit No. 1, but inasmuch as the objections relate to the weight to be given that document, rather than to its admissibility, the objections are overruled with exception granted to plaintiff.

Defendant’s exhibit No. 1 shows the prices of silk of the kanebo 5500 quality paid Kamei Shoten by Berriclc Co. and Doshi Trading Co. of Yokohama in January and February 1936. The dates of those shipments are too remote to be of value in this case. The document states also that Kamei Shoten controls the sales “by only offering this Fuji silk to Berrick & Co. and also to Doshi Trading Co.” This statement is rebutted by the testimony of Mr. David Mackenzie who stated that Kamei Shoten freely offered the merchandise to all purchasers.

The record in reappraisement 120600-A, etc., which was incorporated herein, was passed upon in Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc. v. United States, 5 Cust. Ct. 525, Reap. Dec. 5010, affirmed on [384]*384appeal in United States v. Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc., 6 Cust. Ct. 936, Reap. Dec. 6244. That record has been examined with care, but, inasmuch as the court reviewed it in great detail in those-cases, it is deemed unnecessary to do so again.

The case cited covered two appeals to reappraisement, numbers 120600-A and 120601-A. The unit invoice prices of the Fuji silk goods were in Japanese yen per yard and entry in reappraisement 120601-A was made on the basis of the invoice values, plus packing, with a deduction of the nondutiable charges, including a commission of 4 per centum. On the entry covered by reappraisement 120600-A, however, the importer made a voluntary addition of 4 per centum for commission, and entry in that case was made at the invoice values,, less certain nondutiable charges, plus the commission and packing. The appraiser advanced the value in both cases, appraising the silk at values in United States dollars per piece of goods, packing included.

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Bluebook (online)
12 Cust. Ct. 381, 1944 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hensel-bruckmann-lorbacher-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1944.