Stanley Home Products, Inc. v. United States

54 Cust. Ct. 660, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2456
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMay 17, 1965
DocketReap. Dec. 10982; Entry No. 821127, etc.
StatusPublished

This text of 54 Cust. Ct. 660 (Stanley Home Products, Inc. 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
Stanley Home Products, Inc. v. United States, 54 Cust. Ct. 660, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2456 (cusc 1965).

Opinion

Rao, Judge:

Plaintiff herein seeks a reappraisement of various shipments of merchandise invoiced as saladmakers, which were imported through the port of New York during the period between November 22,1957, and April 2,1958. Thirteen appeals for reappraisement are here involved and have been consolidated for purposes of trial.

The items in dispute, as demonstrated in the record, are used for the purpose of shredding, grating, and slicing vegetables, nuts, cheese, and the like. Each consists of a stationary framework in which removable drums or cutting cylinders may be inserted. As imported, each item was equipped with four drums, a handle for revolving them, and a metal bracket for pressing against the substance being subjected to the action of the drum.

The articles in issue were appraised at a value of $1.59 each, net, packed, which the record shows represented statutory export value, as defined in section 402a(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956, for those shipments entered prior to February 27,1958, or as defined in section 402 (b) of said act, as so amended, for those shipments entered subsequent to said date.

Insofar as the entries prior to February 27, 1958, are concerned, there appears to be some doubt as to the statutory basis of value upon which plaintiff relies in challenging the appraised value of the merchandise at bar. In an amended statement, filed December 14, 1962, pursuant to rule 15 (d) of the rules of this court, plaintiff advised that it was claiming foreign value, or, in the alternative, cost of production, as those bases of value are set forth in section 402a (c) and (f) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956. However, in the brief filed in behalf of plaintiff subsequent to the trial, it is contended as to these entries that export value, as “defined in section 402(c), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended [prior to amendment by Customs Simplification Act of 1956] is the proper basis of value,” or alternatively, that statutory cost of production is the proper basis of value for purposes of appraisement.

With respect to those cases involving entries made subsequent to February 27,1958, plaintiff contends for export value, or, alternatively, United States value, as those bases are defined in subsections (b) and (c), respectively, of section 402, as amended by said Customs Simplification Act.

The relevant portions of said section 402, as amended, are set forth below.

Section 402a (c), (d), and (f), as amended, supra—

(c) Foreign 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 [662]*662the 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.
(d) Export Valije. — The export 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 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, for exportation to the United States, plus, when not included in such price, 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.
(f) Cost op Production. — For the purpose of this title the cost of production of imported merchandise shall be the sum of—
(1) The cost of materials of, and of fabrication, manipulation, or other process employed in manufacturing or producing such or similar merchandise, at a time preceding the date of exportation of the particular merchandise under consideration which would ordinarily permit the manufacture or production of the particular merchandise under consideration in the usual course of business;
(2) The usual general expenses (not less than 10 per centum of such cost) in the case of such or similar merchandise;
(3) The cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature, and all other costs, charges, and expenses incident to placing the particular merchandise under consideration in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States; and
(4) An addition for profit (not less than 8 per centum of the sum of the amounts found under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision) equal to the profit which ordinarily is added, in the case of merchandise of the same general character as the particular merchandise under consideration, by manufacturers or producers in the country of manufacture or production who are are engaged in the production or manufacture of merchandise of the same class or kind.

Section 402 (b), (c), and (f), as amended, supra—

(b) Export Value. — For the purposes of this section, the export value of imported merchandise shall be the price, at the time of exportation to the United States of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, at which such or similar merchandise is freely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale in the principal markets of the country of exportation, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, for exportation to the United States, plus, when not included in such price, the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature and all other expenses incidental to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.
(c) United States Value. — For the purposes of this section, the United States value of imported merchandise shall be the price, at the time of exportation to the United States of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, at which such or 'similar merchandise is freely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale in the principal market of the United States for domestic consumption, [663]*663packed ready for delivery, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, with allowances made for—
(1) any commission usually paid or agreed to be paid, or the addition for profit and general expenses usually made, in connection with sales in such market of imported merchandise of the same class or kind as the merchandise undergoing appraisement ;
(2) the usual costs of transportation and insurance and other usual expenses incurred with respect to such or similar merchandise from the place of shipment to the place of delivery, not including any expense provided for in subdivision (1) ; and
(3) the ordinary customs duties and other Federal taxes currently payable on such or similar merchandise by reason of its importation, and any Federal excise taxes on, or measured by the value of, such or similar merchandise, for which vendors at wholesale in the United States are ordinarily liable.

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

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
54 Cust. Ct. 660, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stanley-home-products-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1965.