Parrott v. United States

24 Cust. Ct. 71, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1445
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 7, 1950
DocketC. D. 1210
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 24 Cust. Ct. 71 (Parrott 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
Parrott v. United States, 24 Cust. Ct. 71, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1445 (cusc 1950).

Opinion

Johnson, Judge:

The importation in controversy in the instant case consisted of 2,262 cases of port wine, each containing 12 bottles of four-fifths of 1 quart capacity; 1,750 cases of sparkling wine in bottles of 27-ounce capacity, 12 bottles to the case; and 450 cases of spariding wine in bottles of 13)^-ounce capacity, 24 bottles to the case.

The evidence produced at the trial and the official papers disclose that the merchandise arrived in the United States at the port of Philadelphia and was entered at that port for immediate transportation under bond to the port of Seattle, Wash., the port of destination. There, the shipment was entered for consumption. At Philadelphia, before transshipment, certain breakage of bottles and loss of contents were noted by the discharging inspector. At Seattle, there was a considerably greater loss by breakage and shortage of the contents. The collector disallowed all breakage or other loss relative to the port wine. As to the spariding wine in 27-ounce bottles, allowance in duties was made for 1}{2 cases, which was part of the shortage [73]*73reported at Philadelphia and set out in the importer’s affidavit of shortage. No allowance was made for breakage or loss of spariding wine in 13K-ounce bottles. Upon arrival of the shipment at Seattle, it was subjected to fumigation under customs supervision and then released for consumption. However, samples were sent to the Seattle station of the Food and Drug Administration of the Federal Security Agency under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for analysis. The importer was notified that the goods must be held intact pending analysis and that in the event the goods fail to comply with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, notification was also given therein that the cases in the shipment must be returned to the collector for destruction or exportation. Subsequently, the Federal Security Agency issued an order permitting the importer to segregate the shipment by candling the “good portion” and “reject portion.” The goods were candled under customs supervision and it was found that the bottles in 622}{2 cases contained glass particles and were rejected. Such portion of the goods was destroyed under customs supervision and duties thereon were remitted. There were 1,056^2 cases out of the lot of 1,750 cases originally imported which were finally released by the Government for consumption within the United States. Out of the original importation of 1,750 cases of sparkling wines in 27-ounce bottles, only l,713ft2 cases were subjected to candling processes, the remainder having been previously found short by reason of breakage or otherwise. Due to the candling operations, 35 additional cases were found to contain only broken, cracked, or missing bottles. A thorough study of the documentary evidence establishes the exact amount of loss due to breakage and other causes. The entry also establishes the quantity upon which internal revenue taxes were assessed.

The plaintiff in this case claims that a refund of duty should have been made for all of the loss of wine from broken bottles in excess of 10 per centum of the contents of any one case found by the discharging inspector at the port of Seattle and that the collector erred in limiting the allowance to the extent of the breakage over 10 per centum of the contents of any one case, as reported by the discharging inspector at the port of Philadelphia.

The plaintiff further claims that a refund of duty and internal revenue tax should have been made on the 420 bottles, 27 fluid-ounce capacity of sparkling wine, equivalent to 35 cases, which were found broken, or cracked, and empty throughout the net quantity actually received of 1,713%2 full cases, when this quantity, following its-detention by the Food and Drug Administration of the Federal Security Agency, was segregated by candling into a “good portion” consisting of bottles free of glass particles, and a “reject portion” consist[74]*74ing of bottles containing glass particles. In other words, since only the “good portion” of 1,056%2 full cases was released for consumption by the Food and Drug Administration and the remainder of the importation of sparkling wine in 27-ounce bottles was denied entry for consumption, the collector, upon liquidating the entry, in addition to the allowance of duty and internal revenue tax on the 622%2 cases, rejected and destroyed under the supervision of the customs, should have made an allowance of duty and internal revenue tax on the 35 cases found broken and empty at the time the goods were candled.

Later the protest was amended clarifying the foregoing claims, citing section 558 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938, and paragraph 813.1

The action came on for hearing and was submitted by both sides. Later, plaintiff moved that the submission be set aside and that the action be restored to the calendar. The motion was granted. When the case again came to trial counsel for the plaintiff further moved to amend so as to include the claim under paragraph 813, as amended by the enactment by Congress of Public Law 612,2 which repealed the language in effect at the time the goods were entered and substituted new language therefor. Inasmuch as the motion had been made after the initial call of the calendar, it was denied as untimely under rule 9 (2) of the Rules of the United States Customs Court, adopted May 29, 1936, as amended.

[75]*75Counsel for the plaintiff contends that relief should be granted upon all losses occurring at the port of Seattle rather than at the port of Philadelphia in view of the decision in United States v. Somerset, 33 C. C. P. A. 138, C. A. D. 328. Also that greater relief should be granted by virtue of the amendment of paragraph 813 by Public Law 612, as construed in the case of Austin, Nichols & Co., Inc. v. United States, 22 Cust. Ct. 33, C. D. 1155. It is also further contended that inasmuch as the 1,750 cases of sparkling wine in 27-ounce bottles had been detained upon the order of the Food and Drug Administration, and that only 1,056%2 cases were finally released by the Government for consumption, relief in duties and internal revenue tax should be granted upon 35 cases reported at the time of candling as containing broken, empty, and cracked bottles, citing as authority United States v. Mackay, 34 C. C. P. A. 127, C. A. D. 355.

Counsel for the Government concedes that under authority of the Somerset and Mackay cases, supra, the importer is entitled to allowance for loss of wines through breakage or leakage while in transit to Seattle and that the claim for an allowance in duties upon the 35 cases would seem proper. However, Government counsel urges that the plaintiff has failed to prove that such allowances were not made by the collector in liquidating the entry, and that without a more complete analysis or listing of the items there would be danger of a double allowance, particularly on the 35 cases found to contain empty and broken bottles at the time of candling operations, and also that there is no proof in the record to establish that the internal revenue tax was collected upon the 35 cases.

Counsel for the Government further contends that an allowance in duties upon quantities in excess of the quantities subject to the imposition of internal revenue taxes under the provisions of Public Law 612, supra,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 Cust. Ct. 71, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1445, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parrott-v-united-states-cusc-1950.