Kurt Orban Co. v. United States

41 Cust. Ct. 190
United States Customs Court·Decided November 19, 1958·No. C. D. 2041·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

LawebNCE, Judge:

This protest relates to that part of the importation covered by entry 903031, described in consular invoice 9201 as “One Lindemann Metal Scrap Baler Code ‘Sevol’ complete incases No. 1/7 and 19 parts unpacked,” which was classified by the collector of customs as “Machine tool parts,” and duty was imposed thereon at the rate of 15 per centum ad valorem as provided in paragraph 372 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1001, par. 372), as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T. D. 51802.

Plaintiff claims that said merchandise should be classified as a machine, not specially provided for, and parts thereof, and subjected to duty at the rate of 13% per centum ad valorem pursuant to said paragraph 372, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 86 Treas. Dec. 121, T. D. 52739.

The pertinent provisions of the statutes to which reference hasbeen made are here set forth:

Paragraph 372, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, supra:

Machine tools (except jig-boring machine tools)_ 15% ad val.
* * * * * * *
Parts, not specially provided for, wholly or in chief value of metal or porcelain, of articles provided for in any item 372 of this Part:
* * * * * * *
Other_The same rate of duty as the articles of which they are parts

[192] Paragraph 372, as modified by the Torquay protocol, supra:

Machines, finished or unfinished, not specially provided for:
Calculating machines specially constructed for multi-
plying and dividing_ * * *
* * * * * * *
Other * * *_13¡K% ad val.
Parts, not specially provided for, wholly or in chief value of metal or porcelain, of any article provided for in any item 372 in this Part:
Parts of sewing machines_* * *
Other_The rate for the article of which they are parts

As a proviso to paragraph 372 of the basic tariff act, the following appears:

* * * Provided further, That machine tools as used in this paragraph shall be held to mean any machine operating other than by hand power which employs a tool for work on metal.

The only witness in the case, Plorst Orbanowski, a vice president in charge of the industrial equipment division of the importing corporation, was called by the plaintiff. This witness is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from which he received a degree in civil engineering and had had 30 years’ experience "in engineering of all types.”

He stated that the Kurt Orban Co., Inc., plaintiff herein, was engaged in the sale of industrial equipment and the importation of such equipment from Europe to the United States, and that he was familiar with the Lindemann metal scrap baler and its operation.

He identified a circular issued by the Lindemann machine factory and circulated throughout all English-speaking countries, which was received in evidence as exhibit 1. It contains pictorial illustrations of the working method of the Lindemann baler, which is composed mostly of cast iron and cast steel, in various stages of its operation. Orbanowski described the operation of the baler as follows:

Well, the scrap which is either steel scrap or non-ferrous scrap is dumped into the assembly chamber, the half-pressure ram is retracted, the scrap falls all the way down into the present assembly chamber and the half-pressure ram pushes it into the compression chamber.
During this operation, the excess scrap which sticks out above the bottom of the assembly chamber is sheared over and remains on the cover of the assembly chamber, the compression chamber is now closed. When [Then] a second hydraulic ram compresses the bale to a density of approximately 25 per cent of the metal density and after this compression has been completed, this bale which is so to say a bundle, is extracted through an opening in the compression chamber on to a conveyor belt and transported to where it has to go.

As a matter of fact, tbe record discloses that the shearing operation is a mere detail which may or may not have to be performed dependent [193] upon whether care is exercised in regulating the amount of scrap which is put into the compression chamber prior to the pressing operation. However, the blades are permanently attached to the machine in order to shear off any protruding pieces of scrap in the pressing operation.

When asked if the device had movable parts, the witness replied that it had "two moveable rams, the so-called half-pressure rams and the pressure ram which compresses the scrap to a bundle and pushes it out,” and that the motivating force was hydraulic pressure from a hydraulic pump. Those movable parts return to their original position, being retracted by hydraulic pressure.

From the foregoing description of the character and operation of the device, we entertain no doubt that it is in fact a machine, as that term has been judicially defined. Simon, Buhler & Baumann (Inc.) v. United States, 8 Ct. Cust. Appls. 273, T. D. 37537; United States v. Guth Stern & Co., Inc., 21 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 246, T. D. 46777; and United States v. J. E. Bernard & Co., Inc., 30 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 213, C. A. D. 235.

The only question remaining for our consideration is whether or not the Lindemann scrap metal baler is in fact a machine tool and, hence, more specifically provided for as such than as a machine.

In support of the collector’s classification, defendant relies upon the following cases, wherein certain items were held to be dutiable as machine tools:

F. W. Meyers & Co., Inc. v. United States, 60 Treas. Dec. 1293, Abstract 17438 — blocks which constituted the operating part of a machine known as a drop hammer;

Henry Pels & Co. v. United States, 65 Treas. Dec. 1294, Abstract 26990 — a machine for cutting steel billets;

United Machine Tool Corp. v. United States, 64 Treas. Dec. 98, T. D. 46457 — blades which sever metal and fit into and form integral parts of machines known as plate shearers;

Alka Bottle Capping Machine Co. v. United States, 73 Treas. Dec. 1210, Abstract 38149 — an automatic machine whose function is to cut a metal disk from a sheet of aluminum which is inserted in the machine in roll form and then to shape and fit said metal disk over the top of a milk bottle;

Alex Benecke v. United States, 6 Cust. Ct. 432, C. D. 509, affirmed in 30 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 55, C. A. D. 214 — steel rolls, parts of a rolling mill which through its exerted pressure when in operation reduced the size of the steel it worked on without the employment of lathes or other shaping machine parts.

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Kurt Orban Co. v. United States, 41 Cust. Ct. 190 (cusc 1958).

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