Hudson Merchandise Co. v. United States

58 Cust. Ct. 341, 1967 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2427
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 25, 1967
DocketC.D. 2980
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 58 Cust. Ct. 341 (Hudson Merchandise Co. 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
Hudson Merchandise Co. v. United States, 58 Cust. Ct. 341, 1967 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2427 (cusc 1967).

Opinion

Olivee, Judge:

The merchandise the subject of this protest, described on the invoice as “3 Minutes - Sandtimers,” was classified by the collector as blown glass household articles under paragraph 218(f) of the Tariff .Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 51802 and T.D. 51898, with duty assessed at the rate of 50 per centum ad valorem.

Plaintiff’s protest, as originally filed, claimed a dutiable rate of only 30 per centum ad valorem under a different provision of paragraph [342]*342218(f). However, by way of botb written and oral amendment, plaintiff now claims that the imported items, representing either unfinished, or parts of, household articles, are properly encompassed within the provisions of paragraph 280(d) of the act, as modified by T.D. 54108, as glass, or manufactures of glass, not specially provided for, at the rate of 21 per centum ad valorem.

Paragraph 218(f), as modified by T.D. 51802 and T.D. 51898, reads as follows:

Table and kitchen articles and utensils, and all articles of every description not specially provided for, composed wholly or in chief value of glass, blown or partly blown in the mold or otherwise, or colored, cut, engraved, etched, frosted, gilded, ground (except such grinding as is necessary for fitting stoppers or for purposes other than ornamentation), painted, printed in any manner, sandblasted, silvered, stained, or decorated or ornamented in any manner, whether filled or unfilled, or whether their contents be dutiable or free (except articles primarily designed for ornamental purposes, decorated chiefly by engraving and valued at not less then $8 each) :
Other_500 on each article or utensil, but not less than 30% nor more than 50% ad val., identified only as to articles or utensils valued at less than $1 each.

By subsequent trade agreement,1 the. duty rate of paragraph 218(f) was reduced to 30 per centum ad valorem except for table, kitchen, and household articles.2

Mr. Bernard Lubow, identified as the owner of the importing company, testified on behalf of the plaintiff that his firm imports the instant merchandise and sells it to people who make advertising specialties and other items for household use. The glass timers, small hourglass tubings containing sand, as represented by plaintiff’s exhibit 1, are never used commercially in their imported condition but are placed in some kind of housing or stand before sale or distribution to the ultimate consumer. Plaintiff’s exhibit 2 illustrates the timers placed in a stand or rather two plastic stands — one at each end of the glass tube. Exhibit 3 illustrates a timer with a housing or holding unit to which is attached a clip-on device. Lubow testified that there are several ways to use the imports, e.g., to time telephone conversations or as egg timers, and that his company buys and sells the glass imports as sand timers or egg timers. He further testified that nothing remained to be done to the glass itself subsequent to importation.

There is no question that the imported sand timers are ultimately and chiefly used in the household, the same being conceded at trial by plaintiff. Plaintiff maintains, however, that, in their imported [343]*343state, they are either unfinished articles or parts of other articles, and following the decisions of the court of appeals in the cases of United States v. American Express Co., 13 Ct. Cust. Appls. 350, T.D. 41255, and United States v. Berger & Co., 13 Ct. Cust. Appls. 362, T.D. 41258, they are excluded from the provisions of paragraph 218(f).

The defendant relies upon the decision of this court in William Adams, Inc. v. United States, 51 Cust. Ct. 126, C.D. 2419, for disposition of the issue at bar. In that case, we had before us imported glassware articles, each with a small hole drilled through the bottom to serve as a means for attaching various types of metal bases. They had been assessed with duty as glass household articles and were claimed to be dutiable either as other glass articles in paragraph 218 (f) or as manufactures of glass under paragraph 230(d). We held them to be unfinished household articles that had been so far processed as to fit them for no other useful purpose and, as such, dutiable as assessed. We applied the unfinished article doctrine used by our appellate court in the case of Waltham Watch Co. v. United States (Jaeger Watch Co., Inc., Party in Interest), 25 CCPA 330, T.D. 49425.

Since the trial of the instant case and subsequent to the filing of the respective briefs herein, this court has had occasion to reconsider its determination in the William Adams case, supra, and, based in part upon the existence of additional evidence, we departed from our holding in that case in William Adams, Inc. v. United States, 56 Cust. Ct. 429, C.D. 2670 (hereinafter referred to as the second Adams case). After examining more potent sample evidence and listening to an argument made but not stressed in the first Adams case, we held that the glass imports formed only parts of metal and glass assemblies, and, there being no provision for “parts of table or household articles” in paragraph 218(f), as modified, they were found not susceptible to classification thereunder. The glass dishes and metal bases were finished products in themselves but required assembly together to complete the article which was used in the home. On reconsideration, we determined that the glass dishes were unlike the unfinished articles the subject of the Waltham decision and were not to be governed by the principle of law applied in that case.

We also took note of the grammatical similarity between the provision for household utensils in paragraph 339 and that for household articles in paragraph 218(f), as well as case-law holdings that articles, requiring other parts in order to be useful in the home, will not fall within the scope of paragraph 339 for the reason that no provision is made for parts of household utensils. Cf. United States v. J. E. Bernard & Company, Inc., 42 CCPA 141, C.A.D. 586; John L. Westland & Son, Inc. v. United States, 35 Cust. Ct. 292, Abstract 59419; Samuel Shapiro & Co., Inc. v. United States, 9 Cust. Ct. 246, C.D. 702, [344]*344In reaching our conclusion in the second Adams decision, swpra, we recognized that—

* * * where there is no provision for “parts” of articles, whether the tariff provision be eo nomine or use in character, imported merchandise held to be “parts” will not be susceptible of classification thereunder.

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

Related

Riekes Crisa Corp. v. United States
14 Ct. Int'l Trade 235 (Court of International Trade, 1990)
L & B Products Corp. v. United States
70 Cust. Ct. 30 (U.S. Customs Court, 1973)
Hudson Merchandise Co. v. United States
59 Cust. Ct. 67 (U.S. Customs Court, 1967)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 Cust. Ct. 341, 1967 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hudson-merchandise-co-v-united-states-cusc-1967.