United States v. B. Holman, Inc.

29 C.C.P.A. 3, 1941 CCPA LEXIS 139
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedApril 1, 1941
DocketNo. 4323
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 29 C.C.P.A. 3 (United States v. B. Holman, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. B. Holman, Inc., 29 C.C.P.A. 3, 1941 CCPA LEXIS 139 (ccpa 1941).

Opinion

Hatfield, Judge,

delivered tíbte opinion of tlie court:

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, Third Division.

Merchandise, consisting of goatskins, exported from China and imported into the United States at the port of New York under the Tariff Act of 1922, was entered “for warehousing” and deposited in a bonded warehouse under the provisions of that act. It was originally assessed for duty by the collector as “Furs dressed on the skin” at 25 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1420 of the Tariff Act of 1922, and the two entries (W. H. B. 17663 and W. H. B. 20789) were liquidated under that act on April 2, 1930.

The importer duly protested the collector’s classification, claiming that the merchandise covered by entry W. H. B. 17663 was dutiable alternatively at 10 or 15 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1420, 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1431, or 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1459 of the Tariff Act of 1922, or that it was free of duty under paragraph 1579 or paragraph 1666 of that act, and that the merchandise covered by entry W. H. B. 20789 was dutiable alternatively at 10 or 15 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1420, 10 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1457, or 10 or 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1459 of the Tariff [6]*6Act of 1922, or that it was free of duty under paragraph. 1579 or paragraph 1666 of that act.

The merchandise was withdrawn from bonded warehouse and entered for consumption after the enactment of the Tariff Act of 1930, and became dutiable under that act by virtue of the provisions of sections 315 and 557 thereof.

So that the issues in the instant case may be better understood, the following facts, although not here directly involved, may with propriety, we think, be related at this point: It appears from the record in the instant case, together with the record in the case of B. Holman, Inc. v. United States (an appeal from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, First Division), Suit 4093, 29 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 1, C. A. D. 163, decided concurrently herewith, that the trial of the issues raised by the importer’s protests against the collector’s liquidations of April 2, 1930, under the Tariff Act of 1922, was continued several times by the trial court, with the-consent of counsel for the parties, to await final decisions in pending cases “involving similar issues”;' that, on April 22, 1936, the importer moved to amend those protests by adding thereto claims that the involved merchandise was properly dutiable at either 10 or 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1558 of the Tariff Act of 1930, or that it was free of duty under paragraph 1681 of that act; that the motions to amend, were denied, the trial court stating, in substance, that as the collector “has not yet liquidated” the involved entries under the Tariff Act of 1930 “the amendments are not timely”; that thereafter, on June 2, 1936, the issues raised by those protests came on for trial, and, for reasons not of importance here, counsel for the importer moved that the case be continued until October of that year; that the motion was overruled by the court, and the cause ordered submitted; and that counsel for the importer submitted no evidence. The protests were overruled, and judgment was entered accordingly. In its decision, the court again referred to the motions to amend the protests, stating, in substance, that as section 514 of the Tariff Act of 1930 requires that protests be filed within 60 days after but not before “liquidation or reliquidation,” the granting of the motions “would in effect be permitting the filing of new protests before reliquidation, which is not provided for by the statute.”

It appears in the instant case from stipulations entered into by counsel for the parties that the merchandise covered by entry W. H. B. 20789 “was withdrawn from bonded warehouse for consumption [under the Tariff Act of 1930], and duty paid thereon on August 18, 1930”; that the merchandise covered by entry W. H. B. 17663 “was withdrawn from bonded warehouse for consumption [under the Tariff Act of 1930] and duty paid thereon on July 6, 1933, and January 17, 1934, respectively”; that, as to entry W. H. B. 20789, “there appears [7]*7on the inside of the entry paper the following: ‘July 30, 1931, (Initials) JJS. No change under Act of 1930. Ver. (Initials) WHM. (Initials) MMG.’ ” (the letters “Ver.,” apparently intended as an abbreviation for the word “verified,” and the initials “WHM” and“MMG” appear on the entry immediately beneath the notation “No change under Act of 1930”); that the “initials JJS, WHM, and MMG were placed thereon by the following customs officials, holding the following positions:

Initials Name Position
JJS_ J. J. Smith_ Liquidator, Collector’s Office.
WHM... W. H. Morehead. Liquidator, Comptroller’s Office.
MMG... M. McGann_ Clerk, Warehouse Division, Collector’s Office.,

that, as to entry W. H. B. 17663, “there appears on the inside of the entry paper the following: ‘JAN. 29, 1931 (Initials) JJM. No change, Act of 1930. (Initials) LH (Initials) JN.’ ” (the initials “LH” and “JN” appear on the entry immediately beneath the notation “No change, Act of 1930”); that the “initials JJM, LH, and JN were placed thereon by the following customs officials, holding the following positions:

Initials Name Position
JJM. Joseph J. McGrath.. Liquidator, Collector’s Office.
LH.. Lazarus Comptroller’s Office.
JN... J. Newman_ Clerk, Warehouse Division, Collector’s Office.

that “there has never been any posting in the Custom House” at the port of New York of “any liquidation or reliquidation” of either of the involved entries under .the Tariff Act of 1930; that the importer made a written demand upon the collector on March 9, 1936, “either to reliquidate or repost a liquidation under the Tariff Act of 1930” of each of the involved entries; that, on March 20, 1936, the collector of customs at the port of New York refused to comply with the importer’s demand; and that the involved protests (No. 867701-G, entry W. H. B. 17663, and No. 867698-G, entry W. H. B. 20789) were filed within 60 days after such refusal.

It appears from the entry papers, under “summary of examination and appRAIsement,” that, on January 8, 1931, the collector requested the appraiser to “Please report advisory classification [of the merchandise covered by entry W. H. B. 17663] under Tariff Act of 1930”; that, on July 22, 1931, the collector made a similar request as to the merchandise covered by entry W. H. B. 20789; and that the appraiser complied with those requests.

[8]*8It appears from the invoices that the appraiser advised the collector that the involved merchandise was dutiable as “Dressed Fur Skins” at 25 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1519 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930.

It is contended in each of the involved protests that the merchandise is not dutiable as assessed by the collector but is properly dutiable alternatively at 10 or 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1558 of the Tariff Act of 1930, or is free of duty under paragraph 1681 of that act.

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Bluebook (online)
29 C.C.P.A. 3, 1941 CCPA LEXIS 139, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-b-holman-inc-ccpa-1941.