John V. Carr & Son, Inc. v. United States

72 Cust. Ct. 19, 1974 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3074
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 19, 1974
DocketC.D. 4500; Court No. 72-7-01636
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 72 Cust. Ct. 19 (John V. Carr & Son, 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
John V. Carr & Son, Inc. v. United States, 72 Cust. Ct. 19, 1974 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3074 (cusc 1974).

Opinion

Maletz, Judge:

This action involves the proper tariff classification of articles imported in 1972 from Canada via the port of Detroit that were described on the special customs invoice as cold formed side rails, and on the consumption entry as parts for railway cars.

The goods were manufactured by Canadian Metal Soiling Mills, Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario (hereafter referred to as “Canadian Mills”) and imported by ACF Industries, AMCAR Division, Huntington, West Virginia (hereafter referred to as “Amcar”). The plaintiff, John V. Carr & Son, Inc., is a customs broker, agent and attorney in fact for the importer.

The imported articles were assessed 'by the government under item 690.35 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States, as parts of railroad or railway cars, at 9% ad valorem. Plaintiff contends that the proper classification should be under item 609.80 as steel angles, shapes, or sections, cold formed, weighing over 0.29 pound per linear foot, not drilled, punched or otherwise advanced, and of other than alloy steel, at the rate of 0.1 cent per pound.

The pertinent provisions of the tariff schedules read as follows:

Assessed Under:
Schedule 6, part 6.
690.15 Railroad and railway rolling stock: Passenger, baggage, mail, freight and other cars, not self-propelled- # * *
[21]*21Parts of the foregoing articles:
*******
Other:
690.35 Parts of cars provided for in item 690.15, except brake regulators- 9% ad val.
Claimed Under:
Schedule 6, part 2, headnote 1.
* * * This part does not include—
*******
(iv) other articles specially provided for elsewhere in the tariff schedules, or parts of articles.
Schedule 6, part 2, subpart B, headnote 1.
This subpart covers iron and steel, their alloys, and their so-called basic shapes and forms, and in addition covers iron or steel waste and scrap.
Schedule 6, part 2, subpart B, headnote 3.
Forms and condition of iron or steel. — For the purposes of this subpart, the following terms have the meanings hereby assigned to them:
* * * * * * *
(j) Angles, shapes, and sections: Products which do not conform completely to the respective specifications set forth herein for 'blooms, billets, slabs, sheet bars, bars, wire rods, plates, sheets, strip, wire, rails, joint 'bars, or tie plates, and do not include any tubular products.
Schedule 6, part 2, subpart B.
Angles, shapes, and sections, all the foregoing, of iron or steel, hot rolled, forged, extruded, or drawn, or cold formed or cold finished, whether or not drilled, punched, or otherwise advanced; sheet piling of iron or steel :
Angles, shapes, and sections:
Hot rolled; or, cold formed and weighing over 0.29 pound per linear foot:
Not drilled, not punched, and not otherwise advanced:
Other than alloy iron or steel_ 0.10 per lb. 609.80

[22]*22I

We consider first tbe facts developed in the record.1 The importer, Amcar, is in the business of building railroad cars and equipment and in this connection uses the imported side rail — which measures some 53 feet in length — as a structural stress carrying member of a railroad hopper car.

The importations — which are manufactured by Canadian Mills in accordance with Amcar’s specifications and are not a stock item — are produced from a coil of steel which is fed into a set of three pinch rolls to eliminate the curvature. After this, the sheet metal is fed into a set of guides called a “mill entry.” From there, the sheet goes into a continuous production cold roll forming machine — consisting of 15 forming passes — which gradually forms the steel sheet into its final shape. It is then cut off at the end of the line and bundled with other side rails for shipment.

Upon completion of this production process, the side rail is angular in shape; has two curves which are called stiffening ribs; and has flanges on either end to enable the rail to fit flush with the curvature of the railroad hopper car.

When the imported side rail is received by Amcar, the first operation it performs is to weld intermediate gussets to its inside in order to stiffen it.2 At this point, the imported rail is then transferred to a side blanket assembly line. This blanket assembly is composed of a series of steel sheets, butt welded together, which eventually form the side of the hopper car. The imported rail is welded directly to the top of the blanket assembly. In addition, various appurtenances are tack welded to other parts of the assembly. Parenthetically, it is to be noted that when Amcar starts building the blanket assembly, it does not know what the exact length of the assembly will be and hence it orders from Canadian Mills rail having the maximum length that it believes will be required. Sometimes, however, the length of the rail so ordered is between a half-inch or inch longer than the blanket assembly, in which case Amcar trims the excess off the edge. On the other hand, if the rail is less than a half-inch longer, the excess is regarded as insignificant and is not trimmed off.

[23]*23Finally, tlie side blanket assembly, incorporating the imported rail, is welded to the intermediate and end bulkheads of the car and forms the side of the car.

The record further demonstrates that at the time of importation and immediately prior thereto, the imported merchandise was used only for incorporation into railroad stock of the kind described in item 690.15 of the tariff schedules. Also, it is established that the thickness of the imported rails does not vary along the lengths; that they are cold formed items which weigh over 0.29 pound per linear foot; and that they are not drilled, punched or otherwise advanced beyond the cold formed shape. Additionally, it is undisputed that the imported rails are not blooms, billets, slabs, sheet bars, bars, wire rods, plates, sheets, strip, wire, rails, joint bars, tie plates or tubular products, as defined in schedule 6, part 2, subpart B, headnote 3(j).

In the opinion of the witness Goldie, vice president and general manager of the manufacturer, Canadian Mills, the imported articles are basic steel angular shapes which are symmetrical through their cross section and are rolled as a continuous process. Further, in his opinion, all steel angles, shapes and sections are ordinarily incorporated into other articles; there are very few that are complete for use as they are; and angles, shapes and sections which are drilled, punched or otherwise advanced, are dedicated to use as parts of articles.

The imported rails were identified in the “Parts List” of Amcar’s schematic drawing of the hopper car as part No. 92 (side plate).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
72 Cust. Ct. 19, 1974 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3074, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-v-carr-son-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1974.