Turner v. United States

26 Cust. Ct. 490, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 669
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJanuary 15, 1951
DocketNo. 7932; Entry No. 1953
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 26 Cust. Ct. 490 (Turner 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
Turner v. United States, 26 Cust. Ct. 490, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 669 (cusc 1951).

Opinion

Lawbence, Judge:

An importation of ferrocerium flints from Canada, invoiced at $6.50 per pound and entered at $7.50 per pound, was appraised at $7.50 per pound, plus a Canadian excise tax of $4.20 per pound, net, packed. The above amounts are in Canadian currency.

[491]*491Plaintiff contends that the Canadian excise tax is not part of the proper dutiable value of the merchandise and has filed an appeal for a xeappraisement pursuant to section 501 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as .amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938 (19 U. S. C. 11501).

At the trial of the issue, the testimony of one witness was offered ■on behalf of the plaintiff, and five documentary exhibits were received lin evidence, two of which were tendered by the plaintiff and three by ;the defendant.

The sole witness, Frank A. Donars, examiner at the port of 'Chicago, merely stated that the only difference between the entered and appraised values was the excise tax of $4.20 per pound.

Plaintiff’s exhibit 1 consists of an affidavit of Bernard Fisher, vice president of Belgo Canadian Mfg. Co., Ltd., exporter of the present importation.

Plaintiff’s exhibit 2 comprises an affidavit of Cyril E. Schwisberg, barrister and solicitor at law admitted to practice law before the courts of the Province of Quebec, Canada, with which was incorporated a copy of the Canadian Excise Tax Act and amendments to September 1948.

Defendant’s collective exhibits A, B, and C consist of reports of the Treasury attaché at Montreal, Canada, together with supporting papers, dealing with the sale of ferrocerium flints in the home and foreign markets and the relation of the Canadian excise tax to such •sales.

It is not disputed that the basis of appraisement was foreign value, .as that value is defined in section 402 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as .amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938 (19 U. S. C. § 1402 (c)), and except for the addition of the Canadian excise tax ■of $4.20 (Canadian) per pound the export value, as defined in section 402 (d) of said act (19 U.S. C. § 1402 (d)), is the same. Consequently, .all elements of appraisement required by, section 402 (c) and (d), supra, are implicit in the determination and findings of the appraiser. United States v. Fritzsche Bros., Inc., 35 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 60, C. A. D. 371.

The only issue before the court is whether or not the Canadian ■excise tax was part of the proper dutiable value of the merchandise.

The Excise Tax Act, a copy of which has been incorporated as part of plaintiff’s exhibit 2 and defendant’s collective exhibits B and ■C, contains inter alia the following provisions:

80. 1. Whenever goods mentioned in Schedules I and II of this Act are imported into Canada or taken out of warehouse, or manufactured or produced in Canada and delivered to a purchaser thereof, there shall be imposed, levied .and collected, in addition to any other duty or tax that may be payable under this Act or any other statute or law, an excise tax in respect of goods mentioned.
[492]*492(a) in Schedule I, at the rate set opposite to each item in the said Schedule computed on the duty paid value or the sale price, as the case may be;
* ***** #
2. Where the goods are imported, such excise tax shall be paid by the importer or transferee who takes the goods out of bond for consumption at the time when the goods are imported or taken out of warehouse for consumption, and where-the goods are manufactured or produced and sold in Canada, such excise tax shall be paid by the manufacturer or producer at the time of delivery of such-goods to the purchaser thereof.
3. The tax imposed by this section or by section eighty-three is not payable in the case of goods that are purchased or imported by a manufacturer licensed under this Part or under section one hundred and thirty of The Excise Act, 1934, and that are to be incorporated into and form a constituent or component part of an article or product that is subject to an excise tax under this Part or to an excise duty under The Excise Act, 1934■
* * * * * * *

SCHEDULE I

(See Section 80, ss. 1)

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4. Devices, commonly or commercially known as lighters, which produce-sparks, flame or heat, whether or not in combination with other articles, on the separate or combined value, as the case may be_twenty-five per cent.
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12. Ash trays; tobacco pipes; cigar and cigarette holders; cigarette rolling devices and other smokers’ accessories, not to include lighters, matches or tobacco-thirty-five per cent.

There is evidence of record to the effect that the Canadian tax authorities set a value of $12 per pound on lighter flints imported or manufactured in Canada. It is also evident from the record that the excise tax of $4.20 (Canadian) here in controversy is arrived at. by applying the 35 per centum rate of duty provided in paragraph 12, Schedule I, supra, to said value, flints being encompassed within the provision for “other smokers’ accessories."

It is the contention of plaintiff herein that inasmuch as the excise-tax is not imposed on sales of flints in Canada when sold to a licensed lighter manufacturer to be incorporated in lighters (Excise Tax Act, section 80, subsection 3, supra), but only attaches when the flints, are delivered to certain purchasers, the cases of F. W. Myers & Co., Inc. v. United States, 8 Cust. Ct. 656, Reap. Dec. 5607, and United States v. Wm. S. Pitcairn Corp., 33 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 183, C. A. D. 334, are controlling of the issue herein.

In connection with the contention of plaintiff, it is of interest to-note that a listing of sales in the home market for a 6 months’ period prior to the importation in issue, contained in defendant’s collective exhibit A, being a report of the Treasury attaché at Montreal, discloses 25 sales of flints without the assessment of $4.20 (Canadian) per pound excise tax and 11 sales of flints bearing said assessment.

[493]*493With, regard to the cases relied upon by the plaintiff herein, the -Myers case, supra, involved a claim for exemption from an 8 per •centum Canadian sales tax levied by the Canadian Special War Revenue Act and amendments thereto. Upon a finding by the trial judge that the polymerized vinyl acetate resins there involved were •sold in the foreign market by licensed manufacturers to licensed wholesalers, in which event section 86, subsection 2 of the revenue act, supra, provided that the sales tax shall not be payable, it was held that the merchandise there in issue was not subject to the 8 per •centum Canadian sales tax.

In the case of United States v. Wm, S. Pitcairn Corp., supra,

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Related

United States v. Turner
29 Cust. Ct. 540 (U.S. Customs Court, 1952)

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Bluebook (online)
26 Cust. Ct. 490, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 669, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-united-states-cusc-1951.