Thoresen, Inc. v. United States

51 Cust. Ct. 141, 1963 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1243
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedNovember 26, 1963
DocketC.D. 2422
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 51 Cust. Ct. 141 (Thoresen, 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
Thoresen, Inc. v. United States, 51 Cust. Ct. 141, 1963 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1243 (cusc 1963).

Opinion

Lawrence, Judge:

The importation in controversy from Germany is described in the entry papers as “calculating machines (Rech-enmaschinen).”

The collector of customs classified the commodity as within the provision for mathematical instruments in paragraph 360 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1001, par. 360), as modified by the Sixth Protocol of Supplementary Concessions to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 91 Treas. Dec. 150, T.D. 54108, and duty was imposed thereon at the rate of 27 per centum ad valorem.

Plaintiffs claim that said devices should be properly classified as articles or wares not specially provided for, composed wholly or in [142]*142chief value of metal, in paragraph 397 of said act (19 U.S.C. § 1001, par. 397), as modified by the sixth protocol, supra, and subjected to duty at the rate of 20 per centum ad valorem.

The pertinent provisions of the statutes involved herein read as follows.

Paragraph 360 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the sixth protocol, supra:

Scientific and laboratory instruments, apparatus, utensils, appliances (including mathematical instruments but not including surveying instruments), and parts thereof, wholly or in chief value of metal, and not plated with gold, silver, or platinum, finished or unfinished, not specially provided for:
Slide rules *• * *
Other * * *_27% ad val.

Paragraph 397 of said act, as modified, supra:

Articles or wares not specially provided for, whether partly or wholly manufactured:
Composed wholly or in chief value of iron, steel, copper, brass, nickel, pewter, zinc, aluminum, or other base metal (except lead), but not plated with platinum, gold, or silver, or colored with gold lacquer:
Not wholly or in chief value of tin or tin plate:
Carriages, drays * * *
Other, composed wholly or in chief value of iron, steel, brass, bronze, zinc, or aluminum * * *-20% ad val.

The merchandise is represented by plaintiffs’ exhibit 1, which is a flat metal article, rectangular in shape, measuring approximately 5% inches by 3% inches in size. On the face of the exhibit, at the top, are the words—

CALCULATING MACHINE

and at the bottom are the words—

ADD
SUBTRACT
MULTIPLY

Also on the face of the exhibit is a series of slots in which figures from 0 to 9 are indicated. Notched slides are arranged so that by means of a stylus, attached to the device, the figures may be operated in such manner as to accomplish addition, subtraction, and multiplication. A slide attachment at the top of the device serves to clear the table of figures after a calculation has been made.

William Kenny, the only witness in the case, testified on behalf of the plaintiffs substantially as follows: He had been associated with [143]*143the plaintiff company, since 1948, in the capacity of controller. He is familiar with the subject merchandise, which he described as “an adding machine,” and stated that it was “advertised in newspapers and magazines, through direct mail pieces, and sold directly to housewives or students or small offices for anybody who may have use for it.” With the use of exhibit 1, the witness demonstrated how it was manipulated in the process of addition and subtraction. He further explained that, since multiplication is a form of addition, it can be used for that purpose.

According to the witness, the article may be used by a housewife while shopping or by a student in school to do simple work.

Kenny testified to his familiarity with mathematical instruments during the time he was with the engineers while in the Army using slide rules and all types of protractors, engineering scales, and various other devices. In his opinion, exhibit 1 is not a mathematical instrument, stating as his reasons—

* * * first of all, an instrument is supposed to be more or less a tool. At least that is my opinion, to easily or very simply convert or measure equasions [sic]. * * *

When asked by Judge Ford “If Exhibit 1 is not a mathematical instrument of some type, what is it?” the witness replied “It is simply an adding machine.”

Plaintiffs invite our attention to the case of Alfred Homung v. United States, 31 Cust. Ct. 126, C.D. 1558, wherein this court held that certain pedometers or step counters were not properly classified within the provision in paragraph 368(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 for “* * * any mechanism, device, or instrument intended or suitable for measuring * * * distance * * *.” Neither were they mathematical instruments within the purview of paragraph 360 of said act, as alternatively claimed by plaintiff, but came within the provision for machines provided for in paragraph 372 of said act.

The court cited the following definitions of mathematical instruments:

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Related

Wiley v. United States
58 Cust. Ct. 216 (U.S. Customs Court, 1967)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
51 Cust. Ct. 141, 1963 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thoresen-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1963.