Lorraine Fibre Mills, Inc. v. United States

38 Cust. Ct. 94
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 26, 1957
DocketC. D. 1848
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 38 Cust. Ct. 94 (Lorraine Fibre Mills, 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
Lorraine Fibre Mills, Inc. v. United States, 38 Cust. Ct. 94 (cusc 1957).

Opinion

Johnson, Judge:

The protest in this suit is directed against the legality of a reliquidation of warehouse entry No. 39469, dated June 12, 1947. It is claimed that the reliquidation is null and void on the following grounds: (1) That the entry did not appear in the daily bulletin of liquidation postings for December 21, 1953; (2) that the reliquidation contravenes section 515 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which, it is claimed, makes no provision for a reliquidation that increases the rate or amount of duty; and (3) that the reliquidation occurred more than 60 days after the original liquidation.

Counsel have by stipulation withdrawn the previous submission of this case and have resubmitted it to the third division as now constituted.

The pertinent provisions of the tariff act are as follows:

[95]*95SEC. 505. PAYMENT OF DUTIES.
Tile consignee shall deposit with the collector, at the time of making entry, unless the merchandise is entered for warehouse or transportation, or under bond, the amount of duty estimated to be payable thereon. Upon receipt of the appraiser’s report and of the various reports of landing, weight, gauge, or measurement the collector shall ascertain, fix,, and liquidate the rate and amount of duties to be paid on such merchandise as provided by law and shall give notice of such liquidation in the form and manner prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and collect any increased or additional duties due or refund any excess of duties deposited as determined on such liquidation.
SEC. 514. PROTEST AGAINST COLLECTOR’S DECISIONS.
* * * all decisions of the collector, including the legality of all orders and findings entering into the same, as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable, and as to all exactions of whatever character (within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Treasury) * * * under any provision of the customs laws, and his liquidation or reliquidation of any entry * * * shall, upon the expiration of sixty days after the date of such liquidation, reliquidation, decision, or refusal, be final and conclusive upon all persons (including the United States and any officer thereof), unless the importer, consignee, or agent of the person paying such charge or exaction, or filing such claim for drawback, or seeking such entry or delivery, shall, within sixty days after, but not before such liquidation, reliquidation, decision, or refusal, as the case may be, as well in cases of merchandise entered in bond as for consumption, file a protest in writing with the collector setting forth distinctly and specifically, and in respect to each entry, payment, claim, decision, or refusal, the reasons for the objection thereto. * * *
SEC. 515. SAME.
Upon the filing of such protest the collector shall within ninety days thereafter review his decision, and may modify the same in whole or in part and thereafter remit or refund any duties, charge, or exaction found to have been assessed or collected in excess, or pay any drawback found due, of which notice shall be given as in the case of the original liquidation, and against which protest may be filed within the same time and in the same manner and under the same conditions as against the original liquidation or decision. * * *

At the time of reliquidation, the Customs Regulations of 1943, as amended, provided:

16.2 Procedure: notice of liquidation.—
(d) After liquidation by the collector, formal entries shall be scheduled promptly on a bulletin notice of liquidation, customs Form 4333. * * * The bulletin notice of liquidation shall be posted as soon as possible in a conspicuous place in the customhouse for the information of importers or lodged at some other suitable place in the customhouse in such a manner that it can readily be located and consulted by all interested persons, who shall be directed to that place by a notice maintained in a conspicuous place in the customhouse stating where notices of liquidations of entries are to be found. The bulletin notice of liquidation shall be dated with the date of posting or, if not posted, with the date it is lodged in the above-described place for the information of importers. The entries for which the bulletin notice of liquidation has been prepared shall be stamped “Liquidated,” with the date of liquidation, which shall be the same as the date [96]*96of the bulletin notice of liquidation. Such stamping shall be deemed the legal evidence of liquidation.

The merchandise involved herein was entered as jute webbing dutiable under paragraph 1015 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930 at 35 per centum ad valorem and estimated duties in tbe sum of $3,691.45 were paid. In tbe original liquidation, the merchandise was assessed with duty as jute fabrics witb fast edges at 17K per centum ad valorem under said paragraph 1015, as modified by tbe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T. D. 51802, which modification applies to certain fabrics witb fast edges but not to jute webbing. A refund of $1,845.72 was allowed, but plaintiff filed a protest claiming that tbe merchandise was entitled to free entry under paragraph 1750 (apparently as jute waste). Subsequently, tbe plaintiff abandoned tbe protest, and it was dismissed by a division of this court on October 15, 1953. Meanwhile, tbe chief liquidator, John J. Hardy, had placed the following memorandum on tbe entry:

In the event that decision is made favorable to Govt as a, result of protest. Iteliquidate immediately at 35% P. 1015 TA/30.
Hardy

Hollowing tbe memorandum, on December 21, 1953, tbe collector reliquidated, or attempted to reliquidate, assessing duty at 35 per centum ad valorem, and tbe refund previously allowed tbe importer was collected. Tbe present protest was filed thereafter.

Before summarizing tbe testimony herein, which has to do witb tbe posting of tbe notice of reliquidation, we shall dispose of tbe second and third points raised in plaintiff’s protest, but not pressed in its brief.

In tbe second point, it is claimed that section 515 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930 makes no provision for a reliquidation witb an increase in rate or amount of duties. That section is concerned witb tbe collector’s right to modify bis decision and make refund in response to a protest and has no application to the present situation, where tbe reliquidation was not made in connection witb a review of a protest.

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Bluebook (online)
38 Cust. Ct. 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lorraine-fibre-mills-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1957.