Les Parfums de Molyneux v. United States

26 C.C.P.A. 323, 1939 CCPA LEXIS 230
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedFebruary 13, 1939
DocketNo. 4176
StatusPublished

This text of 26 C.C.P.A. 323 (Les Parfums de Molyneux v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Les Parfums de Molyneux v. United States, 26 C.C.P.A. 323, 1939 CCPA LEXIS 230 (ccpa 1939).

Opinion

Garrett, Presiding Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, Third Division, denying appellant’s petition for the remission of certain duties, which accrued as additional duties, upon an impor[325]*325tation from France of merchandise consisting of small quantities of various kinds of perfumes, powders, soaps, and lotions.

The decision of the trial court was based upon its construction of section 489 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which, so far as here pertinent, is the same as section 489 of the Tariff Act of 1922. No specific findings were made respecting the good faith, or lack of it, on the part of petitioner in entering at the values which it did, but, as the case is presented before us, it is agreed by counsel for the Government that the question of petitioner’s intent at the time of entry is not in controversy under the facts as hereinafter recited.

The controversy presents an unusual stituation in that counsel for the Government fully concur with counsel for the petitioner as to both the facts and the law, and join in the contention that the decision of the trial court should be reversed.

The pertinent facts may be stated briefly as follows: The merchandise (which consisted, as stated in the brief on behalf of the appellant, of “one bottle or article each of 111 different kinds of perfumes, powders, and soaps, and one dozen bottles each of three kinds of lotions”) was imported in 1929, during the life of the 1922 tariff act, in order to make a test case to determine the dutiable status of a so-called luxury tax assessed against such merchandise in France. Importer made warehouse entry of the merchandise at values which did not include the luxury tax and the local appraiser advanced the values to an amount which included it. Appellant appealed for reappraisement but another case involving the issue having been made up appellant’s appeal was held in abeyance to await the determination of such other case. The issue reached this court in due course and was decided by us in June 1935, in the case of Veolay, Inc., J. E. Bernard & Co., Inc. v. United States, 23 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 101, T. D. 47766, where, affirming the decision of the United States Customs Court, we held the tax to be a part of the foreign value and, as such, necessary to be included in the dutiable value. Appellant’s appeal for reappraisement was thereupon abandoned and the same was dismissed.

In the meantime, however, the merchandise (which it is agreed was not intended to be consumed in the United States being imported solely for test purposes and entered in warehouse) was exported, being returned to France, and no “regular” duties were ever collected upon it, but by reason of the undervaluation, the additional duties, remission of which is sought in this proceeding, had accrued. As we understand it, they have not been paid and there has been no final liquidation of the entry. It appears that the exportations were made under export entry numbers 55155 and 0590 of June 6, 1930, and July 7, 1933, respectively, so the first exportation was under the Tariff Act of 1922 and the last under the Tariff Act of 1930.

[326]*326The pertinent law, as expressed in the act of 1922, reads:

Sec. 489. Additional duties. — If the final appraised- value of any article of imported merchandise which is subject to an. ad valorem rate of duty or to a duty based upon or regulated in any manner by the value thereof shall exceed the entered value, there shall be levied, collected, and paid, in addition to the duties imposed by law on such merchandise, an additional duty of 1 per centum of the total final appraised value thereof for each 1 per centum that such final appraised value exceeds the value declared in the entry. Such additional duty shall apply only to the particular article or articles in each invoice that are so advanced in value upon 'final appraisement, and Shall not be-imposed upon any article upon which the amount of duty imposed by law on account of the final appraised value does not exceed the amount of duty that would be imposed if the final appraised value did not exceed the entered value, and shall be limited to 75 per centum of the final appraised value of such article or articles. Such additional duties shall not be construed to be penal and shall not be remitted nor payment thereof in any way avoided, except in the case of a manifest clerical error, upon the order of the Secretary of the Treasury, or in any case upon the finding of the Board of General Appraisers, upon a petition filed and supported by satisfactory evidence under such rules as the board may prescribe, that the entry of the merchandise at a less value than that returned upon final appraisement was without any intention to defraud the revenue of the United States or to conceal or misrepresent the facts of the case or to deceive the appraiser as to the value of the merchandise. * * *
Upon the making of such order or finding, the additional duties shall be remitted or refunded, wholly or in part, and the entry shall be liquidated or re-liquidated accordingly. Such additional duties shall not be refunded in case of -exportation of the merchandise, nor shall they be subject to the benefit of drawback. * * *

In section 489 of the 1930 act, the word “manifest” is omitted before the expression “clerical error,” and “the Board of General Appraisers” is changed to “the United States Customs Court.” Also, in the 1930 act there was added with respect to the petition to the court that it might be filed “at any time after final appraisement and before the expiration of sixty days after liquidation.”

The instant petition was timely filed.

The decision of the trial court was based upon the provision in the second paragraph of section 489 of the 1930 act, reading:

* * * Such additional duties shall not be refunded in case of exportation of the merchandise, * * * .

The court directed attention to the fact that the clause was transposed to a different position in the 1922 and 1930 acts from that in the 1897, 1909, and 1913 acts hereinafter referred to, and that the word “remit” appearing in those earlier acts was changed-to “refund” in the latter acts, and, after reciting certain legislative history, said:

Since the provision was inserted to procure a strict observance of the law relating to the requirement of truthfully stating the value on entry, we can see no significance in the change of language, although in the instant case the entry has not been liquidated and, therefore, the Government has not come into possession of any amount which it could refund. We do not believe it to be the [327]*327province of the court-to direct a collector to do something which the statute forbids his doing, assuming that this last prohibition would only relate to the collector’s duties, while the earlier provision with- reference to the granting of petitions for remission relates to the duties of the court. We should give effect to all provisions of the statute if it is possible so to'do. It is therefore our opinion that this court should not direct a refund of the additional duties here assessed because of the fact that the proof shows the merchandise was exported, even though we be satisfied that the importer acted in good faith and with no intention to .defraud. * * *

It is deemed proper here to elaborate somewhat upon the legislative history.

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Bluebook (online)
26 C.C.P.A. 323, 1939 CCPA LEXIS 230, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/les-parfums-de-molyneux-v-united-states-ccpa-1939.