Kaplan Products & Textiles, Inc. v. United States

49 Cust. Ct. 145, 1962 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1257
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedNovember 28, 1962
DocketC.D. 2376
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 49 Cust. Ct. 145 (Kaplan Products & Textiles, 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
Kaplan Products & Textiles, Inc. v. United States, 49 Cust. Ct. 145, 1962 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1257 (cusc 1962).

Opinion

Ford, Judge:

This case brings before the court for determination the proper classification of certain merchandise described on the invoice as “Yarn Dyed Jacquard Satin Brocade Cloth with metal gold yarn.” The imported merchandise was assessed with duty at the rate of 25 cents per pound and 22y2 per centum ad valorem under the provision of paragraph 1306 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the [146]*146Torquay Protocol to tbe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 86 Treas. Dec. 121, T.D. 52739, wbicb provides as follows:

Woven fabrics in tbe piece, wholly or in chief value of rayon or other synthetic textile, not specially provided for, whether or not Jacquard-figured, valued not over $4 per pound_25$ per lb. and 22% % ad val.

Plaintiff herein contends said merchandise is properly dutiable at the rate of 15 per centum ad valorem or 20 per centum ad valorem under the provisions of paragraph 385 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T.D. 51802, which provide as follows :

Woven fabrics, ribbons, and tassels, made wholly or in chief value of any material provided for in any item 385 of this Part_20% ad val.
Beltings and other articles made wholly or in chief value of tinsel wire, metal thread, lame or lahn, or of tinsel wire, lame or lahn and india rubber, bullions, or metal threads, not specially provided for-15% ad val.

Other alternate claims not having been pressed are deemed abandoned.

The record herein consists of the testimony of one witness called on behalf of plaintiff, seven illustrative exhibits, and the following stipulation entered into by and between counsel for the respective parties:

I offer to stipulate that the imported material is a woven fabric obtained and manufactured in the following manner:
A sheet of transparent cellophane, made from a compound of cellulose and less than 3 one-thousandths of an inch in thickness, is bonded to each side of a sheet of aluminum foil. Thereafter, this laminated article is slit or sliced into narrow widths and in such condition is woven with the rayon yarn to make the imported brocade.
In the imported brocade the aluminum cellophane-laminated strip is of greater value than the rayon yarn.

Mr. Kaplan, president of plaintiff corporation, testified that he distributes and sells textile products to manufacturers specializing in rayon and metallic brocades; that this merchandise is sold primarily for evening shoes, evening bags, and evening dresses for women; that his firm is one of the leading companies dealing in metallic fabrics, handling in excess of one million yards a year; that a metallic fabric is one which has a metallic appearance, by virtue of the presence of metal; that he first entered this field in 1927 and has handled metallic fabrics almost constantly since that time; that he is quite familiar with their characteristics, qualities, uses, and methods of manufacture.

The witness then testified that bullion is a metallic thread made of metal, which is wound around a core of cotton and, usually, silk, or, in some cases, wool, that makes it practical for weaving purposes; that [147]*147lame and lahn are the same item, which is a metal produced usually by rolling various thicknesses of metal wire, making it flat, and then slit into given widths which vary, depending upon the fabric, and more often than not are coated with either wax or lacquer; that tinsel wire is an extrusion usually of an oval or circular nature and coated with metal in order to prevent it from tarnishing; that the term “metallic thread” designates any one of the previously defined metallic yarns, twisted or plied with other yarns. A sample of bullion was received as plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 1. Plaintiff’s exhibit 2 for identification represents tinsel wire. A sample of lame was received as plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 3.

The witness offered and there was received in evidence as plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 4, a sample, which, although not identical with the imported material, was agreed to be substantially similar to said merchandise. Mr. Kaplan testified that exhibit 4 is composed of rayon and a metallic yarn. A sample of the metallic yarn was received in evidence as illustrative exhibit 5. The witness then testified as to the method of manufacture of the above merchandise and that it was made in different colors. A sample of the brocade made of identical yarn, except for the color on the adhesive holding the yarn together, was received in evidence as plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 6. The witness testified that exhibit 5 is given many names but is basically a cellophane-coated metal yarn; that merchandise, such as exhibit 5, was produced and sold commercially in this country about 1936 or 1937; that the principal use of an article, such as exhibit 5, is to give a metallic effect and that aside from its use in metallic brocades and other similar fabrics, it is used in draperies, carpets, upholstery fabrics, and articles of clothing; that the benefit of this new type of process is that the metal does not tarnish; that an article, such as exhibit 5, is used for all purposes and has supplanted the prior yarns, such as metallic threads, bullion, lame, and tinsel wire. An article from “American Textile Reporter,” referred to as a trade paper for the textile industry, was received as plaintiff’s collective exhibit 7 for identification.

Mr. Kaplan testified that the difference between lame and the metal in plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 5 is that lame is primarily metal with a very thin coating, whereas the cellophane metal thread contained in plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 5 is metal with primarily a construction of two cellophane surfaces adhering to it; that the purpose of coating the lame is to prevent tarnishing, and the cellophane coating of the metal contained in plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 5 is for the same purpose as well as giving it strength and flexibility for weaving; that, in his opinion, plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 5 is an improved type of lame; that, in his opinion, material which is composed either partly or wholly of either lame or lahn, or bullion, or metallic [148]*148yarn, or metallic thread, or tinsel wire is always referred to as metallic, regardless of the value of the metal actually present in the material ; that exhibit 5 responds to the name of the yam today which is cellophane metal and is not referred to by name as lame or lahn.

Based upon the foregoing stipulation and oral testimony, it is the position of plaintiff herein that the imported fabric is properly dutiable at 15 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 385, supra, as other articles in chief value of tinsel wire, lame, or lahn. Plaintiff has virtually abandoned its claim under said paragraph 385, supra, at 20 per centum ad valorem, by making the following statement in the brief filed on its behalf:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
49 Cust. Ct. 145, 1962 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kaplan-products-textiles-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1962.