Rodriguez v. United States

23 Cust. Ct. 296, 1949 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1203
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedOctober 31, 1949
DocketNo. 7752; Entry Nos. 199-H; 218-H; 242-H
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 23 Cust. Ct. 296 (Rodriguez 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
Rodriguez v. United States, 23 Cust. Ct. 296, 1949 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1203 (cusc 1949).

Opinions

Olivee, Chief Judge:

This application for review of the decision and judgment of the trial court, sitting in reappraisement (Reap. Dec. 7405), was filed under the provision of section 501, Tariff Act. of 1930. The merchandise consists of metal bobby pins imported from Mexico. The merchandise in reappraisement No. 155707-A,. imported on November 29, 1943, was entered at 16.75 Mexican pesos per “grand” gross, plus packing, containers, and stamps, and was. appraised at $3.6666 per great gross, net, packed, less freight charges and consular fee. The merchandise in reappraisement No. 155708-A, imported on December 10, 1943, was entered at 16.75 Mexican pesos, per “grand” gross, including stamps and packing, less cartage charges, and consular fee, and was appraised at $3.6666 per great gross, net,, packed, less cartage charges and consular fee. The merchandise in reappraisement No. 155709-A, imported on December 30, 1943, was entered at 16.75 Mexican pesos per great gross, plus stamps, including brokerage and export charges, and was appraised at $3.6666 per great gross, net, packed. The appraised values were held by the lower court to be the dutiable values of the imported merchandise. The court below held that the importer had failed to establish a price at which the merchandise was freely offered for sale by manufacturers to all purchasers in the ordinary course of trade and hence had not overcome the presumption of correctness attaching-to the appraiser’s finding of value.

Specifically the trial court held that statements contained in the affidavits herein that certain prices were the freely offered prices to all customers are not proof of market value or price at the time of exportation of the merchandise; that it is “impossible to find a single freely offered price to all purchasers in the ordinary course of trade.”

The appellant (importer) maintains that it has established a freely offered price for the imported articles and contends that either the manufacturer’s price for the involved merchandise or, in the alternative, the dealer’s price represented by the entered price of 16.75 Mexican pesos per great gross should be accepted as the proper value. The appellee, on the other hand, contends that the presumption of [298]*298correctness attaching to the appraiser’s finding of value has not been overcome and that the importer has failed to prove any other or different value than the appraised value for the imported or similar merchandise.

The importer at the trial introduced .in evidence the oral testimony of Leopoldo Cantú and documentary exhibits which will be subsequently referred to. The Government offered no oral testimony but introduced in evidence a special agent’s report (exhibit 6). The witness Cantú testified that the merchandise consisted of metal bobby pins and that the purchase of them was made through his agent, one Gregorio Eguia. He further stated that he did not know anything about the value of the merchandise at the time of purchase, but relied on his agent, to whom he gave a check covering the purchase price and expenses.

An affidavit of the importer’s agent, Gregorio Eguia, herein (plaintiff’s exhibit 1) states in substance that he is a general merchant in Monterrey, Mexico; that he acts as a commissionaire or agent in the purchase of merchandise which he does not maintain in stock, and that he acted as agent for Cantú to purchase bobby pins; that no bobby pins were offered for sale in Monterrey and that he went to Mexico City, where he contacted another commissionaire, one Cuéllar, who assisted him in obtaining the bobby pins covered by reappraisement Nos. 155707-A and 155708-A; that all the bobby pins covered by the entries therein were shipped directly from Mexico City to Cantú and billed to him. The affidavit further set forth that the affiant was present when the arrangements were made for the purchase of these bobby pins and that he handed the money to Cuéllar, who paid for them at the rate of 16.75 Mexican pesos per great gross. The affiant further states that he received a commission from Cantú of 500 pesos and an additional 1,000 pesos for his expenses and disbursements.

The affidavit of one Ramiz Barquet (plaintiff’s collective exhibit 2) states that he was the manager of Cía. Com. Dibaco, S. A., and that his company sold 2,800 packages of iron bobby pins to Cuéllar, 2,700 packages of which were purchased from the manufacturer, Penhas y Barouh S. de R. L., at 13 pesos (Mexican currency) a great gross; that it had on hand the other 100 packages; that his company is a jobber and resells to other wholesalers as well as at retail. The affidavit further states that the price to Cuéllar was 16.75 Mexican pesos per package of one great gross each; that such price was the freely offered price to all purchasers whether for exportation to the United States or for Mexican consumption; that such sale was made in the ordinary course of business without restrictions and in the usual wholesale quantities; and that “The price did not vary with the quantity purchased.”

[299]*299The affidavit of one George A. Francis (plaintiff’s collective exhibit 3) states that he is an importer, exporter, and commissionaire; that he purchased 200 packages, each containing one great gross of 1,728 hobby pins from Salvador Montal, the manufacturer, at 13..50 Mexican pesos a great gross, and resold these identical bobby pins to Cuellar for the account of Cantú at 16.75 Mexican pesos a great gross; that such price was the freely offered price for sale to all purchasers in the ordinary course of trade and in the usual wholesale quantities without restrictions whether for exportation or for home consumption; and that the price did not vary with the quantity purchased.

The affidavit of Mario Barouh (exhibit 4), a member of the firm of Penhas y Barouh S. de R. L., manufacturer of bobby pins, states that in November 1943 his firm sold 1,000 great gross of identical bobby pins to a Mexican purchaser at 12.50 Mexican pesos per great gross; that they also sold 2,700 packages to Cía. Com. Dibaco, S. A., a Mexican purchaser, at 13 Mexican pesos per package; that the highest price of his offers and sales for exportation to the United States was 12.50 Mexican pesos per package between November 1943 and August 1944; that the unit wholesale quantity was one great gross containing 1,728 bobby pins; that the price of 12.50 Mexican pesos for exportation to the United States and the price of 13 Mexican pesos for home consumption were the freely offered prices for sale to all purchasers in the ordinary course of trade and in the usual wholesale quantities; and that the respective prices did not vary with the quantity purchased.

The affidavit of Bernardo Solares (plaintiff’s exhibit 5) states that his company, now out of business, manufactured bobby pins in 1943 and that between September and December 1943 his highest offered price for sale of bobby pins was 12 Mexican pesos; that the unit quantity consisted of one package containing one great gross; that the price did not vary with the quantity sold; that the price for exportation to the United States and the price for Mexican consumption were the same; and that no restrictions were placed on such sales.

The only evidence introduced by the Government is a special agent’s report (exhibit 6, R. 16). This report does not contain any facts upon which a finding of value may be made nor any facts to support the value found by the appraiser. Neither does it contradict any of the facts set forth in the affidavits introduced by the importer. The Government concedes as much in its brief, wherein counsel states, page 5:

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Bluebook (online)
23 Cust. Ct. 296, 1949 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1203, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriguez-v-united-states-cusc-1949.