Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States

65 Cust. Ct. 498, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2996
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedNovember 18, 1970
DocketC.D. 4128
StatusPublished

This text of 65 Cust. Ct. 498 (Pittsburgh Plate Glass 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
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States, 65 Cust. Ct. 498, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2996 (cusc 1970).

Opinion

Rao, Chief Judge:

The merchandise involved in this case consists of parts of an “undercleaner” designed for use in connection with the production of glass by the “float” glass method, imported from Belgium in four different shipments, covered by four entries. Four protests have been filed against one entry and one protest against three entries. These five protests were consolidated at the trial.

Most of the merchandise was assessed with duty at 14 per centum ad valorem under item 674.53 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States, as parts of machine tools. Certain of the merchandise covered by entry 9073 was classified otherwise as follows:

Retraction gear boxes at $2.25 each +35 per centum ad valorem under item 680.47, as other speed changers (protest 66/74299) ;
Pulleys, motor pulleys, and belts, at 19 per centum ad valorem under item 680.50, as pulleys and parts thereof (protest 66/ 74297);
Stromag clutches at 19 per centum ad valorem under item 680.54 as clutches (protest 66/74300).

It is claimed in the protests that the meehandise is properly dutiable at 10 per centum ad valorem under item 678.50, as parts of machines, not specially provided for. In addition an alternate claim was made at the trial that the gear boxes are properly dutiable at 9 per centum ad valorem under item 680.45, as originally enacted, as fixed ratio speed changers, or, under said item as amended by Public Law 89-241, as multiple and variable ratio speed changers each ratio of which is selected by manual manipulation.

The pertinent provisions of the tariff schedules are as follows:

Work and tool holders and other parts of, and accessories used principally with, machine tools; * * *:
‡ * * * ‡ * *
[500]*500Other:
Parts:
‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ # # ;J<
Other:
674.52 Parts of metal-working machine tools for cutting or bobbing gears- * * *
674.53 Other parts- 14% ad val.
$ $ $ # $ *
678.50 Machines not specially provided for, and parts thereof_ 10% ad val.
Gear boxes and other speed changers with fixed multiple, or variable ratios; pulleys, pillow blocks, and shaft couplings; * * * clutches; * * * all the foregoing and parts thereof * * *:
Gear boxes and other speed changers, and parts thereof:
680.45 Fixed ratio speed changers, and parts thereof_ 9% ad val.
680.47 Other speed changers_ $2.25 each + 35% ad val.
# # * * * *
680.50 Pulleys, pillow blocks, shaft couplings, and parts thereof- 19% ad val.
‡ ‡ ‡ ‡
680.54 Chain sprockets, clutches, universal joints, and parts thereof_ 19% ad val.
Item 680.45 was amended by Public Law 89-241 to read:
680.45 Fixed ratio speed changers, multiple and variable ratio speed changers each ratio ' of which is selected by manual manipulation, and parts thereof_ 9% ad val.

The record in this case consists of the testimony of one witness, called by the plaintiff, and five exhibits.

Perry D. Duncan, an employee of PPG Industries, which manufactures plate and float glass at its plant in Crystal City, Missouri, testified that he was at the time of trial superintendent of the maintenance department. He had been with the firm for 15 years and had previously been project engineer for float installation and assistant superintendent of engineering. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri. His work as assistant superintendent of engineering involved the preliminary design of the float line, along with designing other equipment at the plant. The engineering department participated in setting specifications for the [501]*501involved merchandise. It arrived in 1964 but installation did not start until 1965. At that time it was the duty of the witness to see that the float line equipment was installed according to specifications, put in operating condition, and turned over to the plant for production purposes.

The witness testified that glass is produced by two methods at the Crystal City plant. The new float method and the older plate glass method. He described the float method as follows: The raw materials are mixed in the batch house and are transported to the float tank or furnace where they are heated at a high temperature and form a molten mass. From there, the mass flows into a molten tin bath where it actually floats on the molten tin, giving it its final characteristics. It then goes into the cooling lehr where the ribbon of glass is cooled to room temperature. After that it goes into the cleaning station which involves three processes: The juice box, the undercleaner, and a detergent washer. After inspection, the ribbon is conveyed to a cutter which cuts the ribbon into individual sheets. The sheets are either stacked for future use or conveyed to a further cutting line where they may be cut into smaller sizes and packed and shipped to customers.

The purpose of the juice box and the undercleaner is to remove any film or thin layer of tin which the glass may have picked up in the molten tin bath. This would consist of a small amount of tin which may adhere to the glass physically. It is very hard to see but is enough to obscure vision through the glass.

The juice box or first stage was designed to do the major work in removing the tin by means of an acid spray and the undercleaner was to remove or clean any film that still remained adhering to the glass.

The undercleaner has revolving heads that have a felt pad on top of them. A mixture of rouge is introduced into the felt and as the heads revolve the friction cleans the residue of film from the glass. Rouge is used as a cleaner and as a lubricant between the glass and the felt pads. The action of the cleaner does not remove any portion of the glass, change its shape or affect it at all. The rouge assists in removing or cleaning the tin from the surface of the glass. The undercleaner is not used to cut away or remove any of the glass and is not capable of doing so.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
65 Cust. Ct. 498, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2996, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pittsburgh-plate-glass-co-v-united-states-cusc-1970.