New York Merchandise Co. v. United States

54 Cust. Ct. 199, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2476
United States Customs Court·Decided April 28, 1965·No. C.D. 2533·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Ford, Judge:

This is an action brought by the importer to determine the proper classification of certain plastic doilies or table scarfs. The imported merchandise was described on the invoice as doilies measuring 14 by 42 inches and 15 by 33 inches and was assessed with duty at the rate of 45 per centum ad valorem as articles similar in use to bureau or table scarfs under the provisions of paragraph 1529(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the supplemental agreement between the United States and Switzerland, 90 Treas. Dec. 174, T.D. 53832, by virtue of the similitude provisions contained in paragraph 1559 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1954, T.D. 53599 (19 U.S.C. § 1001, par. 1559).

[200] Plaintiff, in its protest, claims the imported merchandise to be properly subject to duty at the rate of 10 per centum ad valorem as “Articles manufactured, in whole or in part, not specially provided for,” under the provisions of paragraph 1558 of the Tariff Act of 1980, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 86 Treas. Dec. 121, T.D. 52739, and T.D. 52827. Alternatively, the imported merchandise is claimed properly dutiable at 15 per cen-tum ad valorem as articles similar in use to those provided for in paragraph 1413 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T.D. 51802. By amendment to the protest, a further claim was made 'but not relied upon by plaintiff. We, therefore, deem abandoned, the claim by amendment under the provisions of paragraph 923 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified.

The pertinent portions of the statutes involved herein read as follows:

Paragraph 1529(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended:

Laces, lace fabrics, and lace articles, made by band or on a lace, net, knitting, or braiding machine, and all fabrics and articles made on a lace or net machine, all the foregoing, plain or figured; lace window curtains, veils, veilings, flouncings, all-overs, neck millings, flutings, quillings, ruchings, tuckings, insertings, galloons, edgings, trimmings, fringes, gimps, and ornaments; braids, loom woven and ornamented in the process of weaving, or made by hand, or on a lace, knitting, or braiding machine; and fabrics and articles embroidered (whether or not the embroidery is on a scalloped edge), tamboured, appliquéd, ornamented with beads, bugles, or spangles, or from which threads have been omitted, drawn, punched, or cut, and with threads introduced after weaving to finish or ornament the openwork, not including one row of straight hemstitching adjoining the hem; all the foregoing, and fabrics and articles wholly or in part thereof, finished ox-unfinished (except materials and articles provided for in paragraph 915, 920, 1006, 1022, 1111, 1116(a), 1504, 1505, 1513, 1518, 1523, or 1530(e), or in Title II (free list), or in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph), by whatever name known, and to whatever use applied, and whether or not named, described, or provided for elsewhere in this Act, when composed wholly or in chief value of filaments, yarns, threads, tinsel wire, lame, bullions, metal threads, beads, bugles, spangles, or rayon or other synthetic textile, * * *.

Paragraph 1529(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the supplemental agreement between the United States and Switzerland, supra:

Insertings, edgings, * * * doilies, rounds, ovals, oblongs, squares, motifs, bureau or table scarfs and sets, piano scarfs, chair back and chair arm covers, antimacassars, * * *; all the foregoing, finished or unfinished, however provided for in paragraph 1529(a), Tariff Act of 1930, which are embroidered or tam-boured and which are wholly or in chief value of cotton (not including any laces, lace fabrics, or lace articles, made in any part on a lace machine, or articles or materials embroidered or tamboured in any part by hand or otherwise than with the use of multiple-needle, Comely, or Bonnaz embroidery machines, but not excluding articles or materials the edges of which are embroidered with the use of other machines and not excluding articles or [201] materials by reason of tbe incidental ornamentation thereof by hand by means of spider work, faggoting, or similar stitches, extending across open-work resulting from the removal of a part of the fabric) :
*******
Other. 45% ad yal.

Paragraph 1559 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1954, supra:

(a) Bach and every imported article, not enumerated in this Act, which is similar in the use to which it may be applied to any article enumerated in this Act as chargeable with duty, shall be subject to the same rate of duty as the enumerated article which it most resembles in the particular before mentioned; amd if any nonenumerated article equally resembles in that particular two or more enumerated articles on which different rates of duty are chargeable, it shall be subject to the rate of duty applicable to that one of such two or more articles which it most resembles in respect of the materials of which it is composed.
***** He *
(c) If two or more enumerations shall be equally applicable to any article, it shall be subject to duty at the highest rate prescribed for any such enumeration.

Paragraph 1558 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by tbe Tor-quay Protocol to tbe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, supra:

Articles manufactured, in whole or in part, not specially provided for (except * * *)---10% ad val.

Paragraph 1413 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, supra:

Papers and paper board and pulpboard, including cardboard and leatherboard or compress leather, embossed, cut, die-cut, or stamped into designs or shapes, such as initials, monograms, lace, borders, bands, strips, or other forms, or cut or shaped for boxes or other articles, plain or printed, but not lithographed, and not specially provided for_15% ad val.

The record herein consists of tbe testimony of one witness called on behalf of tbe plaintiff and tbe introduction of samples of the imported merchandise which were received in evidence as plaintiff’s exhibits 1 and 2. The witness, Mr. Lawrence Ginsberg, the chief buyer of all textile merchandise for the importer, testified that he was familiar with the imported merchandise since he had purchased it in Israel when he was there; that, while he was in Israel, he had observed the manufacturing process of both exhibits 1 and 2 which he described as follows:

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New York Merchandise Co. v. United States, 54 Cust. Ct. 199, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2476 (cusc 1965).

54 Cust. Ct. 199 (New York Merchandise Co. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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