Standard Fruit & S. S. Co. v. United States

4 Cust. Ct. 643, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3939
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 20, 1940
DocketNo. 4734; Entry Nos. 1938 and 1939, 2340, 2125
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Cust. Ct. 643 (Standard Fruit & S. S. 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
Standard Fruit & S. S. Co. v. United States, 4 Cust. Ct. 643, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3939 (cusc 1940).

Opinion

Cline, Judge:

These are appeals to reappraisement taken under the provisions of section 501 of the Tariff Act of 1930 from values found by the United States appraiser at the port of New Orleans on certain steam electric generating sets and spare parts imported from Belfast, Ireland.

[644]*644The merchandise in each case consists of two vertical reciprocating steam engines, each with an electric generator and certain spare parts. The three units of engines and generators were imported to be installed in the engine rooms of three of the plaintiff’s vessels for use in connection with refrigeration machinery. Each of the units was identical and interchangeable, and with each importation a set of spare parts for the steam engines was included so that in the event of a breakdown at sea shipboard repairs would be possible, and there were also furnished extra sets of carbon brushes for the generators.

The record shows that prior to the purchase of the units in question plaintiff had purchased a similar unit for one of its ships, and the instant shipments were repeat orders of the same equipment. The purchase was made by the plaintiff through its agent, James Maxton & Co., of Belfast, from the Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co., Ltd., of Belfast, the facts of the purchase being that plaintiff inquired through its agent the price of such units and spare parts and upon being quoted a price which equalled the invoiced and entered value accepted it as fair and reasonable and placed the order. The price quoted was £32 less than had been paid on the prior order, which plaintiff’s marine superintendent, who had charge of the purchase of the units in issue, assumed to be due to the fact that the manufacturer was able to make a saving because of mass production.

From a report signed by Treasury Representative Ronald N. Marquis under date of January 30, 1936, which is in evidence as Exhibit 1, it appears that the Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co. of Belfast plac'ed an order with its subsidiary, the Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co., Ltd., of Sunderland, England, for the electric generators and spare carbon brushes in issue, and that they placed an order with the firm of Beiliss & Morcom, Ltd., of Birmingham, England, with which they had no connection, for the six steam engines and spare parts therefor here in question.

It will be noted that the merchandise in issue was purchased and imported as units of two steam engines and two generators. While the engines and generators were intended to be used together the evidence indicates that they were separate articles of commerce, not necessarily designed to be used together.

From a perusal of Exhibit 1 it appears that the generators were supplied by the Sunderland Co. of Sunderland, England to the Belfast Co. at £227.10.0 each, together with shunt regulators at £5.0.0 each, and spare carbon brushes at £6.0.0 per set, all less 2K per centum discount. The report states as to the discount — -

There are no freely offered discounts, either trade or cash.
There was a special discount of 2J4% arranged with the Belfast house on the instant transaction.

[645]*645Obviously, therefore, such discount cannot be taken into consideration in determining; the value of the merchandise under section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

Eliminating the discount, the price of the generators and shunts supplied in the instant case was £227.10.0 each for the generators and £5.0.0 for the shunts, or a total of £232.10.0. They were appraised at £239.0.0 for the combination of generator and shunt.

With respect to sales of such or similar merchandise the report, Exhibit 1, contains the following:

The identical generators have been sold in the home market by the manufacturer.
Mr. Moor [General Secretary of the Sunderland Co. of England] explained however, that while all of these generators are of a similar construction, that each engineer who may be using the machines will have his own ideas as to his particular requirements, so, therefore, there may be slight differences, such as the speed at which it will run, the electrical output, etc. But the size of the frame is the basis on which the price depends.
The generators in question were 23 x 9, i. e., the armature was 23 inches long by 9 inches in diameter.

The invoice of a sale of three 23 x 9 generators made September 20, 1935, is thereupon quoted by the Treasury representative, the price being £239.0.0 each for the generators and shunts, plus £4.10.0 for an extra set of brushes.

The report continues:

There has been no change in the manufacturer’s prices for the past two years.
The manufacturer admitted that the price on the generators in question for the Standard Fruit & Steamship Co. had been reduced on account of the quantity purchased.
The usual wholesale quantity of generators sold at a time in the home market is from one to six, with the most usual number being two.

On behalf of the plaintiff there was offered in evidence an affidavit, which was admitted as Exhibit 2, executed by one Reginald H. Gough, who therein identified himself as a director of the Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co., Ltd., of Sunderland, England, and who, after reciting facts which indicate his qualifications to make such an affidavit, stated:

That the wholesale prices at which the above-described merchandise was sold were the freely offered for sale prices to all purchasers in the principal markets of Great Britain for use and consumption in Great Britain in the regular course of trade at or about the time the above-described merchandise was exported to the United States. That the prices were the same for export to the United States for the same type of merchandise.
That identical merchandise as above described or merchandise of the same type at or about the date of exportation of the above-described merchandise to the United States was freely offered to all purchasers in the principal market of Great Britain in the regular course of trade.

[646]*646The affiant treats the unit, consisting of a vertical reciprocating steam engine and the electric generator, as an entirety and states that the invoice price is the price at which the unit was offered for sale and sold in the markets of Great Britain at the time of the expor-tations in this case, yet it is shown by the customs agent’s report, Exhibit 1, that Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co., Ltd., of Sunderland, England, the company with which the affiant is connected, manufactures the generators and spare parts only and that the steam engines were manufactured and sold by Beiliss & Morcom, Ltd., of Birmingham, England to the Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co., Ltd., of Belfast, Ireland. The Treasury representatives report the following with respect to the investigation at the place of business of Beiliss & Morcom, Ltd., at Birmingham:

In the instant case, this manufacturer sold the engines to the Sunderland Forge & Engineering Co. to be used in connection with the generators manufactured by that firm. Mr.

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

Related

United States v. Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc.
1 Cust. Ct. 591 (U.S. Customs Court, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
4 Cust. Ct. 643, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3939, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standard-fruit-s-s-co-v-united-states-cusc-1940.