United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc.

470 F.2d 1393, 60 C.C.P.A. 46
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedDecember 29, 1972
DocketNo. 5439, C.A.D. 1079
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 470 F.2d 1393 (United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, 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. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc., 470 F.2d 1393, 60 C.C.P.A. 46 (ccpa 1972).

Opinion

BaldwiN, Judge.

This appeal is from the decision and judgment of the United States Customs Court, First Division, Appellate Term,1 reversing the decision and judgment of the trial court2 and thereby overturning [48]*48the appraised values of certain imported automobiles and sustaining appellee’s claimed values.

Involved are a total of 48 Studebaker automobiles, 1964 and 1965 models, together with certain factory-installed optional equipment added to the basic vehicles. The automobiles were produced by Studebaker of Canada, Ltd., and sold to Studebaker Automobile Sales Corporation, of South Bend, Indiana (hereinafter SASCO). Both the exporter and SASCO were wholly owned subsidiaries of Studebaker Corporation of South Bend. The imported cars were identical to corresponding models of Studebaker cars manufactured for home consumption in Canada.

The completed automobiles are on the Final List published by the Secretary of the Treasury, T.D. 54521, and the parties agree that the proper basis for determining their value is “cost of production” under section 402a(f) of the Tariff Act of 1930, 46 Stat. 109, as renumbered by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956, 70 Stat. 943, T.D. 54165. That section reads:

(f) Cost of Production — For tiie purpose of this title the cost of production of imported merchandise shall he 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;
(S) 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 engaged in the production or manufacture of merchandise of the same class or kind.

The record includes testimony of six witnesses for appellee and a number of documentary exhibits setting out figures, originating with appellee, constituting a breakdown of items of expenses incurred in producing the vehicles during the pertinent time period. There is no dispute as to the actual figures or amounts of the cost items but the issue lies primarily in whether (1) expenses relating to vehicles made for home consumption, or (2) expenses relating to vehicles made for export to the United States, should be used in calculating statutory [49]*49cost of production. The parties stipulated that more cars were exported by Studebaker of Canada to the United States “during 1964 and the period involved in these proceedings” than were sold by Studebaker of Canada in the Canadian home market.

The trial court summarized the actions of the appraiser as to the basic automobiles as follows: (a) he calculated, for purposes of paragraph (1) of section 402a(f), the costs of labor, material, manufacturing overhead, tooling and engineering covering the manufacturer’s export operations; (b) he calculated, for purposes of paragraph (2) of the section, the costs of warranty, selling, advertising, and administrative expenses covering the manufacturer’s home market operations, and (c) he calculated, for purposes of paragraph (4) of the section, the actual profit realized by the manufacturer in its home market operations, except that where the amount fell below the statutory minimum of 8%, he added that minimum. Nothing was added pursuant to paragraph (8) of section 402a(f) because there was no packing involved.

The appraised value of the optional equipment was determined on the basis of the manufacturer’s selling prices to Canadian franchise dealers. Where such prices did not reflect the minimum statutory profit, such minimum profit was included.

The trial court rejected the importer’s appeal to reappraisement and found the cost of production values to be the appraised values. It agreed with only one of several objections of the importer — that manufacturing overhead constituted a part of general expenses of paragraph (2) of the statute rather than of paragraph (1). However, this in itself made no difference in the total appraised value.

On appeal, the First Division found the appraisement in error in all respects charged 'by the appellee here. It first agreed with the trial court that the manufacturing overhead properly belonged in paragraph (2) of the statute. It held that “warranty,” “selling expense” and “advertising expense” were improperly included in the appraisement, agreeing with appellee’s contention that the evidence showed that warranty expense was not borne by the manufacturer but was assumed by the importer, and that the manufacturer had no selling or advertising expense on the cars exported to the United States. The proper administration cost to be included in general expenses was held to be that incurred in connection with the exported vehicles, as claimed, instead of with vehicles sold in the home market, as assessed. The First Division further held that the appraisement was incorrect in basing the “addition for profit” of paragraph (4) on the profit realized in the Canadian market. The court was of the opinion that profit should instead be based on the difference between the “U.S. export cost” asserted by appellee and the invoice price of each car.

[50]*50As to the optional equipment, appellee contended that the statutory cost of production was the net cost of materials only, because no additional labor costs were incurred as a result of the installation of the optional equipment. The First Division agreed with the appellee.

OPINION

The only dispute relating to paragraph (1) of section 402a (f) is whether “manufacturing overhead” was improperly included as part of the cost of materials, fabrication, manipulation, etc. in the appraised value or should be included instead under usual general expenses of paragraph (2) as held in both decisions below. The record shows that the “manufacturing overhead” had been calculated to include “utility expenses, insurance, taxes, depreciation of equipment, supervision, repairs and maintenance, [and] miscellaneous items.” Appellee argues that these expenses are more naturally attributable to general output than to unit cost and thus are more properly part of general expenses than of paragraph (1) costs. It relies particularly on the definition of “overhead” for accounting purposes as “general charges or expenses, collectively, in any business which cannot be charged up as belonging exclusively to any particular part of the work or product” of which “taxes, insurance, lighting” are sxDecified as examples.3

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Bluebook (online)
470 F.2d 1393, 60 C.C.P.A. 46, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-c-j-tower-sons-of-buffalo-inc-ccpa-1972.