Northern Steamship Co. v. United States

54 Cust. Ct. 92, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2570
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 16, 1965
DocketC.D. 2514
StatusPublished

This text of 54 Cust. Ct. 92 (Northern Steamship Co. 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
Northern Steamship Co. v. United States, 54 Cust. Ct. 92, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2570 (cusc 1965).

Opinion

Richardson, Judge:

The issue involved in this case is whether certain work performed on the SS Hawaiian Logger, a vessel documented under the laws of the United States and owned by Northern Steamship Company, Inc., by an independent contractor, Apolo Marine Syndicate, in Calcutta, India, between January 16 and 22, 1961, is properly dutiable under section 466 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as equipment or repairs made in a foreign country upon a vessel documented under the laws of the United States. Said section provides:

* * * The equipments, or any part thereof, including boats, purchased for, or the repair parts or materials to be used, or the expenses of repairs made in a foreign country upon a vessel documented under the laws of the United States to engage in the foreign or coasting trade, or a vessel intended to be employed in such trade, shall, on the first arrival of such vessel in any port of the United States, be liable to entry and the payment of an ad valorem duty of 50 per centum on the cost thereof in such foreign country; and if the owner or master of such vessel shall willfully and knowingly neglect or fail to report, make entry, and pay duties as herein required, such vessel with her tackle, apparel, and furniture, shall be seized and forfeited. For the purposes of this section, compensation paid to members of the regular crew of such vessel in connection with the installation of any such equipments or any part thereof, or the making of repairs, in a foreign country, shall not be included in the cost of such equipment or part thereof, or of such repairs.

This case has been submitted upon a stipulation of fact and the deposition of Igor A. Rosenquist, who was employed as second officer aboard the Hawaiian Logger during the period involved herein.

Invoices “A” and “B,” attached to the stipulation, describe the work done on the vessel in Calcutta. Plaintiff conceded that items No. 1, 2, and 3 of invoice “A” were properly classified as “expense of repairs” and the Government conceded that items No. 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12 of invoice “A” were excluded from the provisions of section 466, supra, and were not dutiable.

[94]*94The dispute centers on the following items as set forth on invoices “A” and “B”:

invoice’ “a”
Description of Work Rate Rs.
8. Scraped, cleaned all the Rose Boxes and lifted up all rust in proper places and muds to Main Deck. Contracted for— 225. 00 225. 00
9. Swept, cleaned all the Main Deck and placed all Iron rust in proper place. Contracted for_ 200. 00 200. 00
invoice "b”
Description of Work Rate Rs.
1. Breaking by Air Compressors and Pavement Breakers by special skilled workers the cement concrete and stone from No. 4 & 5 Lower Holds and lifted up all broken cement and stone chips to Main Deck. Contracted for_ 4875/. 4875. 00
2. Supplied 8 Gang of Riggs for the above purpose. Per Gang- 50/. 400.00
3. Supplied 10 Winch Drivers for the above purpose. Contracted for_ 100/. 100.00

By deposition, read into the record, Igor A. Eosenquist, then second officer aboard the Beaver State, testified that he is a ship’s officer in the merchant marine with an unlimited master’s license for all oceans and any tonnage. (E. 6.) He had been second officer aboard the Hawaiian Logger during the period from January 16 through 22,1961, while the vessel was in Calcutta, India. He stated that he had appeared before Notary Public Milton H. Soriano on December 19, 1961, and signed an affidavit for use in this case. He did not know where the original was but stated that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, the photostatic copy attached to the interrogatories as exhibit “C” was an exact copy of the affidavit he previously signed. He said that the facts and circumstances relating to the work performed by Apolo Marine Syndicate aboard the SS Hawaiian Logger were accurately and truthfully set forth in said exhibit “C” and that if called upon to testify, his testimony would be the same as that set forth therein. Counsel for the plaintiff stated that the original of the affidavit is in the file and was originally part of the protest. The original is in the file.

Mr. Eosenquist stated in the said affidavit that, in his capacity of second officer on the SS Hawaiian Logger, he was aware of all work performed on the vessel by either independent contractors or crew members, and that the cleaning, painting, and removal of ballast were performed between January 16 and 22,1961, by Apolo Marine Syndicate in Calcutta, India, as indicated on invoices “A” and “B.” He described the work done in connection with the items in dispute as follows:

(1) Item No. 8 concerns the routine scraping and cleaning of the Rose Boxes which are iron boxes containing perforations and are fitted at [95]*95the end of bilge suctions in order to prevent these pipes from being obstructed with solid matter. These boxes must be regularly cleaned of material there collected due to the straining process performed.
(2) Item No. 9 concerns the routine scraping and cleaning of the vessel’s main deck. Said cleaning was not performed in connection with the chipping and scraping of rust and/or paint referred to in Item No. 1 since the removal of such rust and/or paint was contracted for and covered by Item No. 3.
*******
That in reference to Invoice “B” of Apolo Marine Syndicate attached hereto and dated January 22,1961, consisting of three items, this work consisted solely of the removal of ballajst from the #4 and #5 lower holds of the SS Hawaiian Logger. Prior to the time of removal, this ballast did not need to be discharged due to damage, age, wear or dilapidation, nor for the repair of any adjacent area on the vessel.
That all the aforementioned items, i.e. Items No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 of Invoice A and Items No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 of Invoice B consisted of routine cleaning, of removal of ballast and of securing the vessel for sea. This work in no way constituted a repair to the SS Hawaiian Logger, nor did it add any actual value to the vessel.

In answer to cross-interrogatories, Mr. Rosenquist stated that be was aware that grain had seeped into the Rose Boxes and that the work performed on the Rose Boxes consisted of sweeping out the material into cans, buckets, and other containers and depositing same on the deck for removal. Grain and dirt were removed, but the removal of rust was only incidental to the removal of wheat, dirt, and other foreign material which gathered in the bilges. There was no “scraping” of rust in cleaning the Rose Boxes. The Rose Boxes were cleaned for the purpose of readying the ship for the next cargo. Five Rose Boxes were cleaned of material with equipment provided in order to clean them; they were not scraped. The item described as sweeping and cleaning the main deck consisted of sweeping the main deck by large brooms, hand brooms, to remove wheat which had spilled all over the decks and the dirt mixed with the grain. A small amount of rust and chips was mixed in with other debris like the grain and was also removed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
54 Cust. Ct. 92, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2570, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northern-steamship-co-v-united-states-cusc-1965.