United States v. Border Brokerage Co.

66 Cust. Ct. 639, 326 F. Supp. 1389, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2339
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMay 27, 1971
DocketA.R.D. 288
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 66 Cust. Ct. 639 (United States v. Border Brokerage Co.) 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
United States v. Border Brokerage Co., 66 Cust. Ct. 639, 326 F. Supp. 1389, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2339 (cusc 1971).

Opinion

Maletz, Judge:

The issue in this case concerns the proper value for duty purposes of a model of a telephonic “small call distributing-system” that was manufactured and sold by the Northern Electric Co., Ltd. of Ontario, Canada (Northern Electric), and imported into this country in June 1962 by appellee as customs broker for the account of the purchaser, Bell Telephone Laboratories of New York (Bell).

The imported model was appraised by the government on the basis of “cost of production” under section 402a(f) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956 (19 U.S.C. [640]*640§ 1402(f)) ,1 and valued at $237,482.48 (Canadian currency). The parties are in agreement that cost of production is the proper basis of appraisement but differ as to the amount of such cost of production. The dispute more specifically is whether the government appraiser properly included as part of the cost of production of the imported model design and development costs of $173,895 (Canadian currency) that were incurred prior to its exportation.

Before the trial court, the appellee-importer contended first, that no part of the design and development cost of $173,895 was part of the cost of production; and second, that in any event this design and development cost should be equally prorated between two models that the manufacturer, Northern Electric, produced, which models consisted of the imported model here in question and another model that remained in Northern Electric’s laboratory in Canada.

The trial judge rejected the appellee-importer’s first contention that the design and development cost was not dutiable. However, he upheld its alternative contention that this design and development cost should be prorated over the two models, and thus concluded that the statutory dutiable value for the imported model was $130,576.47 (Canadian currency) rather than the appraised value of $237,482.48 (Canadian currency). Border Brokerage Co., Inc. v. United States, 65 Cust. Ct. 739, R.D. 11725 (1970). The'basis for this latter holding was expressed as follows by the trial judge:

* * * [T]he evidence establishes to my satisfaction that not only was the intent of the parties to make two models but, in actuality, two models were made. The mere fact that only one model was exported does not require the entire cost to be attributed to the model imported. A true cost of production would require the cost be prorated over the two models and I so hold.

On this appeal, appellant (defendant below) stresses that the appellee failed to establish the existence of a second model at a time preceding the exportation of the imported model, and for that reason insists that the trial judge committed error in allocating the design [641]*641and development cost between those two models. The appellee (which did not file a cross-appeal) argues to the contrary that the trial judge was correct in holding that the design and development cost should be prorated between the two models. In this context, the single issue before us is whether the design and development cost is properly allocable between the two such models.

The evidence in the case is entirely documentary. It consists (among other things) of an affidavit2 of an official of Northern Electric’s research and development laboratories who stated that he was in charge of Northern Electric’s work in developing a small call distributing system under a contract between his company and Bell. The purpose of the work was to develop a design of a distributing system and to embody this design in drawings and specifications suitable to be given to a manufacturer for production purposes. Hence, the end physical product of Northern Electric’s work for Bell consisted of drawings and specifications.

The affiant stated that a technique that is used in arriving at a satisfactory design of a switching system is to construct models of the system during the course of the design work and then to observe and test the models. Such models, he observed, are temporary items which are made for the purpose of insuring that the end product of the design work, i.e., the drawings and specifications, is satisfactory.

The affiant further pointed out that Northern Electric made two such models in the course of its design work for the small call distributing system. One model (the dutiable value of which is the subject of this appeal) was exported to the United States in June 1962 for the purpose of field testing on the premises of a 'business in Portland, Oregon. The other model remained in Northern Electric’s laboratory for further testing and design work based on the experience" with the model being tested in Portland. The affiant also stated that “[bjefore production of the model which was shipped to the United States, it was contemplated that at least two models would be produced, and two were in fact produced.” He added that these two models were the only ones of the same class or kind ever manufactured by Northern Electric and that there were no other Canadian manufacturers of articles of the same kind. Lastly, the affiant declared that one set of final drawings and specifications, pursuant to the contract, was delivered to Bell and another set was retained for use by Northern Electric.

The next witness, the manager of accounting at the research and development laboratories of Northern Electric in Canada, similarly [642]*642averred in an affidavit that “ [b] efore production of the model which was shipped to the United States, it was contemplated that at least two models would be produced, and two were in fact produced.” He stated, in addition, that the total design and development cost (including the drawings and specifications) for the two models prior to the date of exportation of the model in question amounted to $173,895 (Canadian currency). This cost, he said, was over and above Northern Electric’s normal and usual design and development costs in its manufacturing operations.

Given this record, we find no error in the conclusion of the trial court that the design and development cost should be prorated between the two units produced rather than allocating all such cost to the model that was actually sold and exported. We start with the consideration that the affidavits in the record by qualified affiants in the employ of Northern Electric established that it was contemplated that at least two models would be produced, and two were in fact produced. Relevant in that situation is Oxford University Press, N.Y., Inc. v. United States, 36 CCPA 102, C.A.D. 405 (1949), where the issue was the allocation of production costs among articles imported or to be imported. The plaintiff had imported 5,000 copies of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations which were appraised by the government on the basis of their cost of production. The plaintiff argued that certain nonrecurring costs for editorial work, proofreading, plates and the like should be allocated over a total of 65,000 copies which it estimated would be printed in the ordinary course of business. The government appraiser had charged all such costs to the 20,000 that had been produced at the time the 5,000 were exported. The court upheld the appraisement on the basis that there was nothing-in the record from which it could even be implied that 65,000 copies of the dictionary were to be printed. As the court pointed out (36 CCPA at 105) :

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
66 Cust. Ct. 639, 326 F. Supp. 1389, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2339, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-border-brokerage-co-cusc-1971.