Palmar Import Co. v. United States

57 Cust. Ct. 2, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1888
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 13, 1966
DocketC.D. 2708
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 57 Cust. Ct. 2 (Palmar Import 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
Palmar Import Co. v. United States, 57 Cust. Ct. 2, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1888 (cusc 1966).

Opinion

WatsoN, Judge:

The merchandise in the case at bar consists of certain items described on the invoice as “13 T150 Rubber Monkey — Material : Rubber.” It was assessed for duty under paragraph 1513 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General [3]*3Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739, and T.D. 52820, at the rate of 35 per centum ad valorem as toys. Plaintiff herein claims that the articles in question are properly classifiable under paragraph 1537 of the tariff act, as modified by the Protocol of Terms of Accession by Japan to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 53865, and T.D. 53877, at the rate of 12% per centum ad valorem as manufactures in chief value of india rubber.

The pertinent provisions of the statutes here under consideration are as follows:

Paragraph 1513 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739, and T.D. 52820:
Toys, not specially provided for:
% íJí #
Other (* * *)_35% ad val.
Paragraph 1537 (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Protocol of Terms of Accession by Japan to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D1. 53865, and T.D. 53877:
Manufactures of india rubber or gutta-percha, or of which these substances or either of them is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for (* * *) :
íjí Sjí íjí íj* íjí Jí
Other_12%% ad val.

The record consists of the testimony of one witness called on 'behalf of the plaintiff and two exhibits. Plaintiff’s exhibit 1 (E. 7) is a sample of the type of rubber monkey here imported, item number 13 T 150, being a monkey with a drum (E. 7). Plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 2 is a sample of a skeleton with moving arms, being item number 13 T 151 illustrating in such item another style of action in addition to that indicated by the use of plaintiff’s exhibit 1. This latter article is not protested (E. 8).

The oral evidence in the case was given by Mr. S. Eobert Benton, assistant buyer and general manager for Palmar Import Co., importer of toys, novelties, housewares, promotional merchandise, and general giftware (E. 3). The witness stated that previously he had owned a nursery school and children’s camp and that this experience had given him a familiarity with the type of articles “that little children like to play with” (E. 5). Plaintiff’s witness, who stated that he had been with that firm for 5 years, testified that Palmar Imports sells its merchandise at wholesale to hardware stores, department stores, and to variety stores, and that, in connection with sales by his company, he travels throughout most of the United States, “to almost every major city” (E. 4). Eeferring to item “13 T 150 Eubber Monkey” [4]*4(plaintiff’s exhibit 1), Mr. Benton testified that he had been familiar with such item for 5 years, through purchases from the Orient and through sales at Palmar Imports. He stated that items such as plaintiff’s exhibits 1 and 2 are sold to variety chains and that he had never sold them to toy jobbers (E. 8) ; that they are also available in tobacco novelty shops in every major city. The witness had seen plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 2 pinned to the lapel of a coat, “used as a joke.” Plaintiff’s exhibit 1 is used by placing it on a table and squeezing the bulb, which forces air through the tube into the airless arms (E. 10), generating the action. Mr. Benton further stated that exhibit 1 costs $9 a gross complete, and that the bulb and stem portion by itself may cost anywhere from $4 to $5 per gross (E. 14). Tire witness had seen exhibit 1 used along the coastline of California, Washington, and Oregon as well as in Chicago and New York. He then testified that the persons he had seen using plaintiff’s exhibit 1 were adults and that adults were the chief users of such items (E. 17-18). In the opinion of the witness, there were several factors which would prevent an article such as plaintiff’s exhibit 1 being used by children under 12 years of age, namely, that the involved item “could be harmful to a child who would stick it in his mouth” (E. 18), and further, that a child could cut himself with the wire contained in the article. Plaintiff’s witness then stated that the item (plaintiff’s exhibit 1) is too fragile to be used as a toy (E. 18).

On cross-examination, Mr. Benton stated that he has never observed children playing with articles such as plaintiff’s exhibit 1. Pie stated, however, that the item in question is solely for purpose of amusement. The witness also testified that he has imported at least 200 gross of the involved article and has observed “at least a thousand people or more using it at this Chicago show during the period of 1962 and 1963” (E. 19) and that these people were either wholesalers or retailers purchasing for their own use or for sale purposes (E. 19). Tire witness stated that he had seen these items used along the west coast the same as in Chicago, “on the counter for demonstration and sales purposes.” Mr. Benton then testified that he had never seen the articles used other than at the store where they were purchased (E. 20), but that he had made inquiries of a number of people, some 200 persons, purchasing such items, as to whether they were purchasing the items for themselves or for their children, and that it appeared that the “majority” of persons questioned “were buying [the article] to amuse themselves but would also amuse their children at the same time.” Plaintiff’s witness had no knowledge of whether the subsequent use of the item at bar was actually as stated by the purchaser (E. 21).

In the case at bar, plaintiff contends in the first instance that the involved article is not a “toy.” In determining this question, it is [5]*5well settled that the classification made by the collector carries with it the presumption that he has found every fact necessary to sustain his classification. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. United States, 27 CCPA 146, C.A.D. 75; Novelty Import Co., Inc., v. United States, 53 CCPA 28, C.A.D. 872. Plaintiff, in the case at bar, assumes the burden not only of proving that the classification by the collector is incorrect but must also affirmatively establish the correctness of its claim. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. v. United States, 30 CCPA 150, C.A.D. 227; see also Bob Stone Cordage Co. et al. v. United States, 51 CCPA 60, 65, C.A.D. 838. Specifically, the initial question, in the case at bar, is whether the involved merchandise is a toy within the statutory and judicially accepted meaning of that term. As defined in paragraph 1513 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the term “toy” means an article chiefly used for the amusement of children, whether or not also suitable for physical exercise or mental development. Accordingly, plaintiff has assumed the burden of establishing that at or immediately prior to the date of importation the article here involved was not chiefly used for the amusement of children. See Wilbur-Ellis Co. et al. v. United States, 18 CCPA 472, T.D. 44762.

The determination of chief use not only involves a territorial or geographical consideration, but also the quantity of the merchandise used.

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Bluebook (online)
57 Cust. Ct. 2, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/palmar-import-co-v-united-states-cusc-1966.