United States v. Davis

20 C.C.P.A. 305, 1932 CCPA LEXIS 241
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedDecember 5, 1932
DocketNo. 3560
StatusPublished

This text of 20 C.C.P.A. 305 (United States v. Davis) 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. Davis, 20 C.C.P.A. 305, 1932 CCPA LEXIS 241 (ccpa 1932).

Opinion

Lenroot, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, Second Division, in reappraisement proceedings, affirming a decision of the trial judge sitting in reappraisement, adjudging the appraisements involved, seven in number, were void.

The merchandise involved consists of pickled beef prepared by the koshering process and was imported under the Tariff Act of 1922 at Ranier, Minn., from Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was packed in barrels and shipped in carload lots.

. In its decision the Second Division of the Customs Court made the following findings of fact:

1. That the collector failed to designate the statutory number of barrels required to be opened and examined for purposes of appraisement.
2. That the acting appraiser examined less than 10 per cent of the barrels in the importation, and therefore did not comply with the requirements of said section 499,

and concluded as a matter of law that the purported appraisements were null and void, thus affirming the decision of the trial judge.

The Government contends that there was no mandatory duty upon the collector to designate the statutory number of barrels to be opened and examined for the purposes of appraisement, and, second, that all provisions of law were complied with by the appraising officers in the appraisement of the merchandise herein involved.

The pertinent portions of the sections of the Tariff Act of 1922 bearing upon the above contentions read as follows:

Sec. 501. Reappraisement. — The decision of the appraiser shall be final and conclusive upon all parties unless a written appeal for a reappraisement is filed with or mailed to the Board of General Appraisers [now the United States Customs Court] by the collector within sixty days after the date of the appraiser’s [307]*307report, or filed by the consignee, or his agent, with the collector within ten days after the date of personal delivery, or if mailed the date of mailing of written notice of appraisement to the consignee, his agent, or his attorney. No such appeal filed by the consignee, or his agent, shall be deemed valid, unless he has •complied with all the provisions of this Act relating to the entry and appraisement of such merchandise. * * *
Sec. 499. Examination of Merchandise. — Imported merchandise, required by law or regulations made in pursuance thereof to be inspected, examined, or appraised, shall not be delivered from customs custody, except as otherwise provided in this Act, until it has been inspected, examined, or appraised and is reported by the appraiser to have been truly and correctly invoiced and found to comply with the requirements of the laws of the United States. The collector shall designate the packages or quantities covered by any invoice or entry which are to be opened and examined for the purpose of appraisement or otherwise and shall order such packages or quantities to be sent to the public stores or other places for such purpose. Not less than one package of every invoice and not less than one package of every ten packages of merchandise, shall be so designated unless the Secretary of the Treasury, from the character and description of the merchandise, is of the opinion that the examination of a less proportion of packages will amply protect the revenue and by special regulation permit a less number of packages to be examined. The collector or the appraiser may require such additional packages or quantities as either of them may deem necessary. If any package is found by the appraiser to contain any article not specified in the invoice and he reports to the collector that in his opinion such article was omitted from the invoice with fraudulent intent on the part of the seller, shipper, owner, or agent, the contents of the entire package in which such article is found shall be liable to seizure, but if the appraiser reports that no such fraudulent intent is apparent then the value of said article shall be added to the entry and the duties thereon paid accordingly. If a deficiency is found in quantity, weight, or measure in the examination of any package, report thereof shall be made to the collector, who shall make allowance therefor in the liquidation of duties.
Sec. 500. Duties of the appraiser, assistant appraiser, and examiner.— (a) It shall be the duty of the appraiser under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe — •
(1) To appraise the merchandise in the unit of quantity in which the merchandise is usually bought and sold by ascertaining or estimating the value thereof by all reasonable ways and means in his power, any statement of cost or cost of production in any invoice, affidavit, declaration, or other document to the contrary notwithstanding;
(2) To ascertain the number of yards, parcels, or quantities of the merchandise ordered or designated for examination;
(3) To ascertain whether the merchandise has been truly and correctly invoiced;
(4) To describe the merchandise in order that the collector may determine the • dutiable classification thereof; and
(5) To report his decisions to the collector.
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(d) It shall be the duty of an examiner to examine and inspect the merchandise .and report the value and such other facts as the appraiser may require in his ap-praisement or report, and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by rules and regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury or the appraiser.
(e) The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to designate an officer of the customs as acting appraiser at a port where there is no appraiser. Such acting appraiser shall take the oath, perform all the duties, and possess all the powers of a,n appraiser.
[308]*308Sec. 488. The collector within whose district any merchandise is entered shall cause such merchandise to be appraised.

It appears from the invoices and entries in the record that the car numbers and initials were stated, but there is no statement of the number of barrels in each car or any statement of the marks, numbers or symbols upon the barrels. Five of the entries were accompanied by invoices indicating one quality in each shipment and one unit price. One entry indicated three and the other entry indicated two qualities of beef. The summary sheets attached to the invoices show that the deputy collector designated all of the shipments for examination by placing the car number of each shipment in the space where designated packages are required to be indicated. There was no statement in the invoices or entries that the beef imported was koshered beef. The record shows that the invoice prices represented prevailing market prices of unkoshered beef, and that the additional cost of slaughtering and preparing the imported koshered beef was from 1 to IK cents per pound. In view of this fact the appraiser, some time after the goods were released from customs custody, advanced the entered value by adding the additional cost of koshering the beef.

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Bluebook (online)
20 C.C.P.A. 305, 1932 CCPA LEXIS 241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-davis-ccpa-1932.