United States v. Gal

15 Cust. Ct. 395, 1945 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1036
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJuly 6, 1945
DocketNo. 6192; Entry No. 719250/2, etc.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 15 Cust. Ct. 395 (United States v. Gal) 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. Gal, 15 Cust. Ct. 395, 1945 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1036 (cusc 1945).

Opinion

Cline, Judge:

This is an application for review of the decision of the trial judge in Nicholas Gal et al. v. United States, Reap. Dec. 5995, as modified by Reap. Dec. 6005, and relates to the value of aluminum metal covered' paper, exported from Germany in 1935 and 1936 by Aluminiumwerk Tscheulin, G. m. b. H., Teningen, Germany.

These three appeals cover five different varieties <?f paper. Four varieties were appraised on the basis of foreign value, while the fifth type, described in Reappraisement 138496-A, was appraised on the basis of cost of production.

The trial judge held, in substance, that the invoice values less certain charges, were the dutiable export values, as provided for in section 402 (d) of the Tariff Act of 1930.

The appellant does not contend before this division, that the four varieties of the merchandise should be appraised on the basis of foreign value as returned by the appraiser, the only contention being that the plaintiffs below failed to prove all the elements necessary to establish export value and that in the absence of sufficient proof, the judgment below should be reversed. As to the fifth variety, the appellant claims that cost of production is the proper basis for determining the value of the merchandise.

Plaintiffs’ claim that there is no foreign value is based on two [396]*396contentions; one, that the aluminum metal covered paper involved here is not such as or similar to the aluminum metal covered paper sold or offered for sale for home consumption in the foreign market; and second; that the foreign market is a controlled or restricted market.

On the question of similarity of the merchandise, it is stated in an affidavit of Emil Tscheulin, manager of Aluminiumwerk Tscheulin, G. m. b. H., dated October 20, 1939, that the backed aluminum foils, manufactured and sold for consumption in Germany, were produced from new crude aluminum of a standard purity of 99.3 to 99.5 per centum; that the backed aluminum foils, manufactured for export to the United States, were produced from a mixture of waste aluminum and new crude aluminum of a standard purity of 99.3 to 99.5 per centum; and that the foils, produced for consumption in Germany, were softer, not as brittle, and of less tensile strength than those produced for export to the United States. Nicholas Gal, American agent of Aluminumwerk Tscheulin, testified that the paper was specially made up for American purchasers because the packing machines used here were speedier than the machines used in Europe. Treasury Attaché May’s report states that he found no indications in the storeroom of the plant in Germany that papers for the United States were kept separately from those for Germany.

The trial court found that the aluminum metal covered paper involved was not dissimilar to that sold or offered for sale for home consumption in Germany, on the ground of failure to show similarity of use or adaptability to use of both kinds of paper, following Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc. v. United States, 6 Cust. Ct. 746, Reap. Dec. 5097, affirmed by the third division in United States v. Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc., 7 Cust. Ct. 355, Reap. Dec. 5329. We are in agreement with this finding.

The evidence as to a restricted foreign market is found in an affidavit of Dr. Rudolf Gomandt, managing director of the Aluminum Foil Association and the Convention for Aluminum Covered Paper. That affidavit was also offered and admitted in evidence in. the Hensel case, supra. It states in substance that the two associations were cartels comprising all the manufacturers of aluminum foil and aluminum metal covered paper in Germany; that the cartels fixed the prices at which those products could be sold for home consumption in Germany; that the cartels had lists of firms to which members of the cartels could sell for home consumption; that they were prohibited from selling to others; that the lists did not include all possible purchasers; that purchasers could not resell except that wholesalers could sell to consumers at prices fixed by the cartels provided that the latter agreed to use the merchandise in their plants and not resell it; and that a penalty was imposed upon members of the cartels who [397]*397violated tbe restrictions-. The affidavit of Emil Tscheulin, above mentioned, corroborates these statements.

The trial judge held that the merchandise was not freely offered for sale for home consumption and that there was therefore no foreign value. Since the evidence discloses a controlled rather than a free market, sales of the merchandise for home consumption do not establish foreign value. United States v. Half Moon Mfg. & Trading Co., Inc., 28 C. C. P. A. 1, C. A. D. 115; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States, 11 Ct. Cust. Appls. 351, T. D. 39158; Hensel, Bruckmann & Lorbacher, Inc. v. United States, supra; F. C. Gerlach & Co. et al. v. United States, 6 Cust. Ct. 710, Reap. Dec. 5084, affirmed in United States v. F. C. Gerlach & Co. et al., 7 Cust. Ct. 494, Reap. Dec. 5443.

Although the evidence discloses that the appraised value based upon foreign- value is erroneous, it is also incumbent upon plaintiff to establish another correct dutiable value. United States v. Malhame & Co., 19 C. C. P. A. 164, T. D. 45276; Harry Garbey v. United States, 24 C. C. P. A. 48, T. D. 48332. The Government contends that plaintiffs have failed to prove that export value was the correct dutiable value. It is claimed first that the sales were not made in Germany, but in the United States and that there was thus no export market to the United States on which to base an export value. United States v. Massce & Co. et al., 21 C. C. P. A. 54, T. D. 46379.

The sales by Aluminiumwerk Tscheulin to the United States were conducted in the following maimer. By agreement dated June 10, 1930, Nicholas Gal was retained as exclusive selling agent in the United States. He was to receive a commission of 6 per centum and the sum of $100 per month for general overhead expenses for which he was to organize the market in a systematic manner, see that the correct prices were charged on the basis of information received from the company, and forward information as to the development of demand and the solvency of customers. Although the agreement was by its terms to last for 5 years, it was continued by oral arrangement until June 1936 when another written contract with identical terms was negotiated.

Nicholas Gal testified that-he offered the merchandise to all purchasers in the United States on the basis of prices and samples; that when he was successful in closing a deal, he cabled Germany asking whether they would accept the contract; that all orders were subject to confirmation by Tscheulin; that he sent invoices to customers on his own letterhead to which were attached original specification and weight sheets which he received from Germany and which contained'!the name of the customer and the rubber stamp of the German firm; that Tscheulin was financially'responsible for the non[398]*398payment of any importations; and that payment was made to him (Gal) and he deducted his commission, the duty, and other expenses, and remitted the balance to Tscheulin.

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Bluebook (online)
15 Cust. Ct. 395, 1945 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1036, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gal-cusc-1945.