Samuel Shapiro & Co. v. United States

49 Cust. Ct. 476, 1962 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1239
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Samuel Shapiro & Co. v. United States. Read the opinion of the Court — 48 Cust. Ct. 641
United States Customs Court·Decided December 10, 1962·No. Reap. Dec. 10391; Entry No. 2737, etc.·Published

Opinion

Wilson, Judge:

These appeals for reappraisement involve the proper value of a certain chemical substance, known as sodium trichloracetate, exported from West Germany between April 30, 1953, and December 29,1953. Appraisement of the merchandise was made on the basis of foreign value (section 402(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938) at deutsche marks 245 per 100 kilos, less and plus certain items, as noted on the relevant invoices. Protest 282353-K is a remand from C.D. 2036. The plaintiffs herein claim that there is no foreign value for the importation at bar and that this merchandise is properly subject to [477]*477appraisement on the basis of export value, as defined in section 402(d) of the said act, at the invoiced United States dollar values, less appropriate nondutiable charges. As appears in the record, the invoiced and entered values are less than the appraised values.

Section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938, reads as follows:

SEC. 402. VALUE.
(a) Basis. — Eor the purposes of this Act the value of imported merchandise shall he—
(1) The foreign value or the export value, whichever is higher;
$ ‡ * * *
(c) Eohbign Value. — The foreign value of imported merchandise shall be the market value or the price at the time of exportation of such merchandise to the United States, at which such or similar merchandise is freely offered for sale for home consumption to all purchasers in the principal markets of the country from which exported, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, including the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature, and all other costs, charges, and expenses incident to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.

Since it is conceded by the parties that the foreign value used as the basis of appraisement, if one existed at the time of exportation, was higher than the export value, for which the plaintiffs contend, the official appraisement must be upheld, unless it is found, as asserted by the plaintiffs, that the foreign market at the time in question was a controlled market and, therefore, could not be used as the basis for appraisement. The real question for determination, then, is whether the facts in these appeals are sufficient to warrant a finding by the court that the market in question was a controlled market which could not be used as a basis for appraisement.

The evidence before the court is entirely documentary. Plaintiffs introduced in evidence affidavits of Hans Andreas Biemer and Helmut Wolf, employees of the exporting company, together with a pricelist for 1953 of the manufacturer of the involved product (plaintiffs’ collective exhibit 1). Further affidavits by the parties above referred to, together with a list of export sales, were received in evidence as plaintiffs’ collective exhibit 2. The defendant introduced two reports by Government consular officers in Germany, one by William Arthur Helseth, and the other by Charles Thomas Butler, dated, respectively, September 10, 1953, and January 6, 1954 (defendant’s collective exhibits A and B). Defendant’s collective exhibit A identifies three of the appeals involved herein, namely, reappraisements 259473-A, 259670-A, and 259965-A. Said report, after reciting that the information contained therein was obtained from the books and records of the exporter, states, in part, that no pricelist was issued covering the involved period for export to the United States; that the [478]*478identical product is offered for sale for home consumption in Germany ; that there are no restrictions of any kind imposed by the manufacturer on the buyers of this product, either as to resale, use, or other disposition. The report further indicates that the pricelist for such goods sold for home consumption is identical to the pricelist attached to plaintiffs’ collective exhibit 1, it further appearing that the list prices and discounts given are adhered to in each instance. Defendant’s collective exhibit B contains a tabulation of sales for home consumption for the period January 1, 1953, to April 30, 1953 (exhibit A of defendant’s collective exhibit B).

The pricelist forming part of plaintiffs’ collective exhibit 1 contains the following, respecting the conditions of sale:

IX. Resale of Patented and Special Preparations.
The products mentioned in this price list may he resold only in unopened, original packages, labeled with our registered trademark.
The resale of all preparations listed in this domestic price list to foreign countries, including free harbors, is not permitted without our express consent. Articles destined for export can be purchased only at prices fixed by us for each individual country.
The purchasers are required to impose upon their customers these same conditions.

There is nothing in the evidence to indicate that the merchandise sold for home consumption was not offered to all purchasers on the same terms. Neither were restrictions imposed upon the buyers as to price of resale or as to whom it might be resold. The only conditions imposed on the buyers were that the merchandise purchased from the manufacturer had to be resold “only in unopened, original packages, labeled with our registered trademark,” and that the merchandise listed in the domestic pricelist for sale for home consumption could not be sold to foreign countries, without the express consent of the manufacturer.

The plaintiffs contend that the restrictions above referred to were sufficient to constitute a controlled market. In support of their position, our attention is directed to the holding of the court in United States v. Wm. A. Foster & Co., Inc. (Standard Rolling Mills, Inc.), 34 CCPA 9, C.A.D. 336. The merchandise in the cited case consisted of certain aluminum foil, which admittedly was offered for home consumption. However, the court held such sales were “controlled by a cartel which limited them to certain organizations as well as the use to which the merchandise might be put.” The court therein, page 11, observed as follows: [479]*479there is substantial evidence of record to establish that the merchandise in question had no foreign values within the purview of subsection (c) of section 402, supra. [Italics quoted.]

[478]*478* « * Stated differently, it appears from those exhibits that the purchasers of aluminum foil for home consumption in Germany were limited to “converters” and consumers, and that aluminum foil was not freely offered for sale to all purchasers for home consumption in Germany. Furthermore, such sales were restricted in that the purchasers were not permitted to resell. Accordingly,

[479]*479Our appellate court, in the Foster

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Samuel Shapiro & Co. v. United States, 49 Cust. Ct. 476, 1962 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1239 (cusc 1962).

49 Cust. Ct. 476 (Samuel Shapiro & Co. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Person & Weidhorn, Inc. v. United States
14 Cust. Ct. 281 (U.S. Customs Court, 1944)