Kelvin & Hughes America Corp. v. United States

53 Cust. Ct. 21, 1964 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2352
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 29, 1964
DocketC.D. 2468
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 53 Cust. Ct. 21 (Kelvin & Hughes America Corp. 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
Kelvin & Hughes America Corp. v. United States, 53 Cust. Ct. 21, 1964 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2352 (cusc 1964).

Opinion

LAWRENCE, Judge:

An importation described on the invoice as “Echo Sounding Equipment Type Ms.30.” was classified by the collector of customs as depth-sounding devices, instruments, or mechanisms, [22]*22intended or suitable for measuring time, distance, or speed, valued over $10 each, in paragraph 368(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1001, par. 368(a)), as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T.D. 51802, and duty was imposed thereon at the rate of $1.15 each and 17% per centum ad valorem. Certain parts thereof were assessed with duty at the following rates:

12% per centum ad valorem in paragraph 368 (c) of the tariff act, as modified, supra.

65 per centum ad valorem or 65 per centum ad valorem, plus 3 cents for each part or piece of material, pursuant to paragraph 368(c) of the basic Tariff Act of 1930.

The rate applicable to the depth sounders themselves ($1.15 each, plus 17% per centum ad valorem), pursuant to paragraph 368(c), as modified, supra.

A portion of the merchandise was assessed with a copper tax pursuant to section 4541 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 4541). However, that tax is not the sub j ect of protest.

Plaintiff claims that the importation should be classified as articles having as an essential feature an electrical element or device in paragraph 353 of said act (19 U.S.C. § 1001, par. 353), as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 86 Treas. Dec. 121, T.D. 52739, and subjected to duty at the rate of 13% per centum ad valorem, or, alternatively, as articles suitable for modifying electrical energy and parts thereof, wholly or in chief value of metal, not specially provided for, in said paragraph 353, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T.D. 51802, and assessed with duty at the rate of 15 per centum ad. valorem.

It is further claimed by plaintiff that the rubber items, identified on exhibit 3, should be classified in paragraph 1537 (b) of said act, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, supra, or the Presidential notification relating to the pi'oclamation for the accession of Japan to said General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 90 Treas. Dec. 280, T.D. 53877, and assessed at 12% per centum ad valorem as articles in chief value of rubber; and that the paper item described on said exhibit 3 should be classified in paragraph 1413 of said act, as modified by Presidential proclamation, 85 Treas. Dec. 116, T.D. 52462, relating to the Annecy Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 84 Treas. Dec. 403, T.D. 52373, as manufactures in chief value of paper, not specially provided for, and assessed with duty at the rate of 17% per centum ad valorem.

At the trial, the following exhibits were received in evidence:

Plaintiff’s exhibit 1 — two pages from a catalog, illustrating the MS30 echo sounder in issue.

[23]*23Plaintiff’s collective illustrative exhibit 2 — small edition of a fish locator or echo sounder with. cord.

Plaintiff’s exhibit 3 — schedule, identifying the nonmetallic parts imported with the echo-sounding equipment in controversy.

Plaintiff’s exhibit 4 — illustration taken from one of plaintiff’s catalogs, depicting the focusing of the sound equipment.

Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 5 — chart, indicating a recording of a school of fish.

Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 6 — a piece of chart paper, illustrating a recording of fish provided by the instant equipment.

Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 1 — chart.

Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 8 — chart, showing how supersonic waves are bent by increases in depth and temperature.

Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 9 — pamphlet, illustrating and describing the type “MS26 A & F” Kelvin & Hughes echo sounder for survey sounding.

Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 10 — pamphlet, illustrating and describing type “MS26 B & G” Kelvin & Hughes echo sounder for navigation.

The only witness who testified in this case was Banton Hall Schaub, who appeared on behalf of the plaintiff. Schaub, who has been associated with the plaintiff company since its founding 2y2 years ago, is president and administrative head of said company and directs the activities of the three divisions thereof, the Marine Division, the Aviation Division, and the Industrial Division. Due to his educational, naval, and business background, the witness was well qualified to testify as to the operation and function of the MS30 echo-sounding equipment in issue.

The instant echo-sounding equipment consists of two units, namely, Recorder and Hull units. A transmitter in the recorder generates and transmits an electrical wave train to the hull unit or transducer located beneath the ship in contact with the water. The transducer converts the electric oscillations to mechanical oscillations. This results in the emission of a sound wave into the water from the face of the transducer. The sound wave progresses outward into the water from the vessel in a cone of energy until it strikes an object, at which point a portion of the sound wave is reflected back to the transducer where it is reconverted to electric energy and returned to the recording unit where it activates a stylus and marks the recorder paper at the moment that the electric energy reflection is returned. The length of time between the transmission of the pulse and the receipt of the returning sound echo is the length of time it took the sound energy to pass from the face of the transducer to the object and back to the face of the transducer. During that time, the stylus has been rotating [24]*24so that the distance the stylus has moved is an approximation of the distance from the transducer to the object reflecting the echo.

Schaub stated that the object or purpose of the instant echo-sounding equipment is to detect the presence of fish in the water. Articles like the MS30 echo sounder are sold exclusively to commercial fishermen. They are portable and can be used on large dories or permanently mounted aboard larger trawlers. One is not able to determine the exact location of fish with an echo sounder such as the MS30, because there are a number of factors which would affect one’s ability to determine the distance from the transducer to the fish, several of which factors are out of control of the operator of the equipment. For example, the salinity, temperature, and pressure of the water in which the sound is being transmitted all affect the velocity. When the MS30 echo sounder is in use, the operator does not know the exact velocity at which the sound is traveling in the water and does not know the speed of the stylus and, therefore, is only able to get an approximation of the distance between the transducer and the echoing object by measuring the length of the arc from the transmission pulse to the returning echo.

According to Schaub, the MS30 echo sounder operates on a basic mechanical or geometric principle very similar to the way radar operates.

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Bluebook (online)
53 Cust. Ct. 21, 1964 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelvin-hughes-america-corp-v-united-states-cusc-1964.