Portland Copper & Tank Works, Inc.

43 T.C. 182, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 18
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 17, 1964
DocketDocket No. 90564
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 43 T.C. 182 (Portland Copper & Tank Works, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Portland Copper & Tank Works, Inc., 43 T.C. 182, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 18 (tax 1964).

Opinion

Scott, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency of $449,413.94 in petitioner’s income tax for its fiscal year ended January 31, 1959. The issue for decision is whether in computing its taxable income, petitioner properly reduced its gross sales for its fiscal year 1959 by the sum of an amount which it had proposed as a refund to its principal customer under price redeterminable contracts and an amount which it had estimated as the refund applicable to other such contracts.

FINDINGS OF FAC®

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly.

Portland Copper & Tank Works, Inc., hereinafter referred to as petitioner, is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Maine with its principal office at 80 Second Street, South Portland, Maine.

Petitioner filed its Federal income tax return for its fiscal year ended January 31, 1959, with the district director of internal revenue for the district of Maine.

At all times material hereto, petitioner kept its books and accounts and filed its Federal income tax returns on an accrual basis of accounting.

Petitioner is a manufacturing company which engages in subcontract work for other contractors who furnish military and defense products to agencies of the U.S. Government. During the year here involved, petitioner’s principal activity was the manufacture of jet engine components as a subcontractor for the General Electric Co., hereinafter referred to as General Electric.

General Electric contracted with petitioner for production of specific items by means of purchase orders stating fixed prices, arrived at by negotiation of the parties. The purchase orders were subject to a General Electric “Price Redetermination Supplement Applicable to United States Government Contracts and Subcontracts.”

Under the price redetermination supplement, the fixed prices shown on the purchase order were subject to change through negotiation at a future time. This redetermination supplement provided in part:

(3) Tim.es for Negotiation.
(a) At the time indicated or upon completion of delivery of the per-cent of the items to be furnished under this contract as stated on the face of the order, the parties shall negotiate to revise the prices of all items theretofore and thereafter to be delivered. Not more than thirty days after the time indicated or the completion of delivery of the percent, as stated on the face of the order, the Seller shall furnish to the Buyer the statements and data referred to in Clause
(5)of this Supplement. * * *
(b) Por the purposes of the first negotiation contemplated by this Clause, the date of execution of this contract shall be deemed to be the effective date of the price revision. * * *
****** *
(5) Submission of Data. — At the time or each of the times specified or provided for in Clause (3) of this Supplement ithe Seller shall submit (i) a new estimate breakdown of the unit cost and proposed prices of items remaining under this contract after the effective date -of the price revision, itemized so far as is practicable in the manner prescribed by Porm DD 784 or the equivalent Government form; (ii) an explanation of the difference between the original (or last preceding) estimate and the new estimate; (iii) such relevant shop and engineering data, cost records, overhead absorption reports and accounting statements as may be of assistance in determining the accuracy and reliability of the new estimate; (iv) a statement of experienced costs of production hereunder to the extent that they are available at the time or times of the negotiation of the revision of prices hereunder; and (v) any other relevant data usually furnished in the case of negotiation of prices under a contract. The Government may make such examination of the Seller’s accounts, records and books as the Contracting Officer may require and may make such audit thereof as the Contracting Officer may deem necessary.
(6) Negotiations.
(a) Upon the filing of the statements and data required by Clause (5) of this Supplement, the Seller and the Buyer will negotiate promptly in good faith to agree upon prices for items to be delivered on and after the effective date of the price revision. Negotiation for price revisions under this Supplement shall be conducted on the same bases, employing the same types of data (including, without limitation, comparative prices, comparative costs, and trends thereof) as in the negotiations of prices under a new contract.
(b) After each negotiation the agreement reached will be evidenced by a supplemental agreement stating the revised prices to be effective with respect to deliveries on and after the effective date of the price revision (or such other later date as the parties may fix in such supplemental agreement).
(7) Disagreements. — If within 120 days after the date on which the statements and data are required pursuant to Clause (3) of this Supplement to be filed (or such further period as may be fixed by written agreement) the Buyer and the Seller fail to agree to revised prices, the failure to agree shall be deemed to be a disagreement as to a question of fact and shall be submitted for decision of the Contracting Officer having cognizance of the prime contract. He shall reduce his decision to writing and mail or otherwise furnish a copy thereof to the Buyer and the Seller. Within 30 days from the date of receipt of such copy, both the Buyer and the Seller shall have the right of appeal by mailing or otherwise furnishing to the Contracting Officer a written appeal addressed to the Secretary of the service involved, and the decision of the Secretary or his duly authorized representative for the hearing of such appeals shall, unless determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have been fraudulent or capricious or arbitrary or so grossly erroneous as necessarily to imply bad faith, or not supported by substantial evidence, be final and conclusive; provided that, if no such appeal is taken, the decision of the Contracting Officer shall be final and conclusive and the prices so fixed shall remain in effect for the balance of the contract or until any subsequent effective date of price revision authorized by this Supplement. In connection with any appeal proceeding under this Supplement, the Buyer and the Seller shall both be afforded an opportunity to be heard and to offer evidence in support of their positions. Pending final decision of a disagreement hereunder, the Seller shall proceed deligently with the performance of the contract and in accordance with the Contracting Officer’s decision.
(8) Payments. — Until new prices shall become effective in accordance with this Supplement the prices in force at the effective date of the price revision shall be paid upon all deliveries, subject to appropriate later revision made pursuant to Clause (6) or (7) or (9),2., (B), of this Supplement.
(9) Termination Provisions.

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Portland Copper & Tank Works, Inc.
43 T.C. 182 (U.S. Tax Court, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
43 T.C. 182, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/portland-copper-tank-works-inc-tax-1964.