Macartney v. United States

26 Cust. Ct. 410, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 468
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 23, 1951
DocketNo. 55476; petition 6700-R (Duluth)
StatusPublished

This text of 26 Cust. Ct. 410 (Macartney 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
Macartney v. United States, 26 Cust. Ct. 410, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 468 (cusc 1951).

Opinion

Lawrence, Judge:

This petition was filed pursuant to section 489, Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1489), for remission of additional duties imposed by the collector of customs at the port of Duluth, Minn. (Ranier, Minn.), on a carload of [411]*411merchandise described on the invoice and entry as “Prime Inedible Tallow,” imported from Canada, and which was entered at less than the final appraised value.

In support of his claim for relief, petitioner offered the testimony of Jessy Addison Rose, who, since 1946, has been associated with F. E. Macartney, a customs broker for more than 25 years. Prior to his association with the petitioner herein, Mr. Rose for 30 years had charge of the United States Customs Service office at Ranier, Minn., in the capacity of deputy collector in charge, acting appraiser, and cashier.

This witness testified that entry of the importation in issue was prepared under his supervision; that in making entry, the freight and duty were deducted from the invoice price; that the freight was deducted because the customs bill of lading showed same to be “prepaid”; that in accordance with a memorandum from the shipper the importation was cleared and the broker billed the shipper for the duty and entry fee, the price shown on the invoice being considered to be the delivered price.

Mr. Rose further stated that in making entry he believed the entered value to be the correct dutiable value, and that when he subsequently found out that he was mistaken, he transmitted to the customs officials all the information he received, but this was subsequent to entry of the merchandise and it was too late to amend the entry.

He. further testified that in making entry he did not intend to defraud the revenue of the United States, conceal any information from the customs officials, or deceive the appraiser.

On cross-examination, witness Rose stated that the memorandum from the shipper to clear the shipment was not retained in his files. The following questions and answers concluded the testimony:

X Q. You applied to two different sources, didn’t you, to ascertain the Titre Test of this tallow before making entry, didn’t you? — -A. No, not before making entry. The entry was made, and later, when the Government had found out from their small sample taken that the Titre Test was under 40 degrees centigrade, which is the division point, between inedible tallow and animal fats and greases, then, after they had determined that the Titre Test was 39.3 as is stated in the file, then I inquired of the shipper, and also Newridge Chemical Company at Chicago, if they could inform me if they had information as to the Titre Test.
X Q. Up to that time you didn’t take any precautions as against the Titre Test showing it to become tallow which would be- A. I considered it inedible tallow.
X Q. Was that based upon your long experience as a collector?- — -A. Well, inedible tallow is supposed to invoice, as I would say, 999 times out of 1,000— they are correct, but once in a while we will run into one that isn’t, but I assume that on account of Burns & Company being a large shipper, shipping lots of merchandise into the States, that the invoice was correct as to commodity.

Respondent in its brief presents the argument that “It is apparent from the record that the petitioner was careless, negligent and indifferent about undervaluing the merchandise on making entry herein. He did not exercise the care and caution that a prudent man should under the circumstances of the facts of-this case.”

In support of its contention, respondent cites several cases, all of which have received our careful consideration, and several of which will be referred to, infra.

In Endicott Johnson Corp. v. United States, 24 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 39, T. D. 48309, remission of additional duties was denied where import duties were deducted from the export values of five carloads of cattle hides entered on three different dates. The appellate court there said:

As the court below stated in its decision, there seems to have been a lack of care on the -part of the exporter in preparing these valuations for the entries. [412]*412The witness Eve was well conversant with the United States law, and its practices, .as to the entry of imported goods. He was also thoroughly familiar with Canadian market values at the time of these shipments, and it seems an act of gross carelessness to enter these goods repeatedly at a valuation which the slightest thought .and consideration must have made plainly evident to the witness were prices much below the Canadian home market value of the goods.

The case of R. W. Gresham v. United States, 27 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 106, C. A. D. 70, involved the denial of remission of additional duties for lack of satisfactory evidence where merchandise was entered at prices charged by a Canadian company to its parent corporation in Cleveland rather than at the foreign wholesale market value. The court, in its opinion, stated—

It has frequently been pointed out that the entrant of merchandise owes a duty to inform himself as to the correctness of his representations as to the value of his merchandise and that a showing of indifference to its proper value does not meet the requirements of satisfactory proof under the statute.

Also cited by the respondent is the case of Stan Newcomb and Barbara Todd v. United States, 37 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 18, C. A. D. 413. Additional duties imposed on eight entries covering importations made in three successive months were held proper, it appearing that the final appraised value exceeded the value declared on entry by more than 100 per centum, which fact, according to section 489, supra, constituted presumptive fraud. The court there was of the opinion that the burden placed by statute upon the petitioner Newcomb seeking remission of additional duties was not met “by simply testifying that he was lacking in knowledge of the law.”

The case of United States v. Edward H. Corrigan, 38 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 26, C. A. D. 434, is also relied upon by respondent herein. The court there held that the trial court was in error in holding that because the evidence did not warrant a finding that the petitioner made entry with intent to defraud, the petition for remission should be granted. It was further held that the petitioner has the burden to show affirmatively that the entry was made without intent to defraud, and that, in the circumstances of that case, the petitioner had failed to meet that burden.

It is our view that from the record here presented the petitioner cannot be considered as acting with gross carelessness in repeatedly undervaluing importations as was found in the Endicott Johnson case, supra, or that there was a showing of indifference to the proper valuation of imported merchandise as was the fact in the Gresham case, supra, or that reliance for relief rests on testimony of lack of knowledge of the law as in the Stan Newcomb case, supra, or that there is a lack of affirmative proof that the entry was made without intent to defraud as was held in the Corrigan case, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
26 Cust. Ct. 410, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 468, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/macartney-v-united-states-cusc-1951.