United States v. Gondrand Shipping Co.

17 Cust. Ct. 239, 1946 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 793
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 24, 1946
DocketNo. 6286; Entry No. 24207, etc.
StatusPublished

This text of 17 Cust. Ct. 239 (United States v. Gondrand Shipping 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. Gondrand Shipping Co., 17 Cust. Ct. 239, 1946 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 793 (cusc 1946).

Opinion

Keefe, Judge:

This is a dual application filed by the Government for review of the findings of the trial court, sitting in reappraisement, as to the foreign or export value of certain blouses imported from Yugoslavia. The merchandise involved consists of girls’ cotton voile blouses, series V-l, invoiced at United States $0.20 each, and appraised at dinars 24 each; children’s pure linen dresses, series VII, invoiced at United States $0.26 each, and appraised at dinars 36 each; junior cotton voile blouses, series IV, invoiced at United States $0.26 each, and appraised at dinars 36 each; children’s cotton voile dresses, series V-2, invoiced at United States $0.20 each, and appraised at dinars 24 each; and pure linen blouses, series VI, invoiced at United States $0.30 each, and appraised at dinars 41.50 each. -

To these invoice prices 15 per centum was added on entry, except as to the articles covered by reappraisements 140579-A and 140781-A, and certain nondutiable charges were deducted on entry except as to the articles covered by reappraisements 140579-A, 140633-A, 140634-A, 140583-A, 140584-A, and 140585-A. The appraised prices were subject to a discount of 5 per centum, packing included.

[240]*240Series V-l, girls’ cotton voile blouses, were represented by collective exhibit 1; series VII, children’s pure linen blouses, by collective exhibit 2; series IV, junior cotton voile blouses, by collective exhibit 3; and series V-2, children’s cotton voile.dresses, by collective exhibit 4. No sample of the linen blouses, series VI, was produced.

The trial court found (Reap. Dec. 6196) the evidence produced by the plaintiff established that:

* * * merchandise such as or similar to that here involved was, on or about the dates of exportation herein, sold or freely offered for sale in the country from whence this merchandise was exported; that the principal market for the sale of this merchandise was Belgrade, Yugoslavia; that the price did not vary according to the quantity purchased; and that the prices at which this merchandise was freely offered for sale, and sold for home consumption in Yugoslavia in the ordinary course of trade, were the prices shown for the different items on the various invoices now before me.
The record shows that the appraiser found the correct basis of appraisement to be the foreign value, and there is no evidence before me to overcome this presumptively correct finding of the appraiser. On the contrary, the evidence strongly supports this finding. The record also shows that the prices at which this merchandise was freely offered for sale and sold for exportation to the United States were not higher than the prices for home consumption.

Upon sucb findings the trial court held that duty should be assessed upon the basis of the entered values in each case.

The Assistant Attorney General duly applied for a review of the findings of the trial court, but thereafter discovered that the trial court regarded a special agent’s report which had been marked “Exhibit 8” for identification, but not admitted in evidence, as a part of the record. Upon application of Government, an interlocutory order of remand was granted by this court remanding the case to the trial court with directions to take such further proceedings as would furnish the appellate court with a proper record.

The trial court rendered a memorandum on “Motion to Settle Record on Appeal” as reported in Reap. Dec. 6222, admitting that an innocuous error was made in its decision in stating that four reports from special agents were received in evidence rather than three reports but, as the court did not regard any of the reports as pertinent to the issue before it, held the record to have been previously correctly certified, and ordered the record recertified to the appellate division.

Counsel for the Government contends that the trial court erred in holding that the evidence established that the goods were sold or freely offered for sale in Yugoslavia -at the prices shown upon the invoices rather than at the prices returned by the appraiser, or that the goods were freely offered for sale for exportation to the United States.

It was further contended that the trial court erred in entering judgment decreeing that the proper dutiable foreign values were the values appearing on the invoices, although holding, because of section 503 (a) [241]*241of tlie Tariff Act of 1930, that duty shall be taken upon the basis of the entered values; that error was made in directing the collector to take duty upon the entered value in reappraisements 140579-A and 140781-A in the absence of evidence to establish why 15 per centum was not added by the importer as in the remainder of the entries before the court.

It was further contended that the trial court erred in holding that exhibit 8 for identification deals primarily with the cost of production and with questions of fraud and in not finding that it also contains pertinent, relevant, and material matter, and in not issuing an order admitting said exhibit for identification as an' exhibit, and according it proper consideration and weight, and directing the clerk to so recertify the record.

The record before us is a voluminous one including many exhibits. We believe from a careful examination of the record, as detailed below, that the foreign values, as contended for by the importer, have been fully established.

Bela K. Erdoss, who in 1939 was general manager of Jugo-Vez A. D., the exporter herein, testified he was familiar with the market in 1939 and 1940; that he was the originator of the merchandise in Yugoslavia and to his knowledge there was no one other than Jugo-Vez A. D., manufacturing and selling in Belgrade, the same items or items similar in character to the merchandise in question; that Belgrade is the principal market; that he was selling merchandise such as represented by exhibits 3 and-4 in 1939 and 1940; that there were no restrictions on his Yugoslavian sales; that he sold in Yugoslavia to anyone wanting to buy; that his usual sales ranged from a half dozen to about four dozens; that he made a number of such sales in the home market and also for export to France, England, and the United States; that he sold the junior blouses, collective exhibit 3, for home consumption in lots of one dozen at dinars 11 each, net, which equals $0.26, the invoiced amount; that his sales to the United States were made only to George Horvath, the importer herein, who paid the amount for each item as shown on the invoices, and the manufacturer received such amount, no more or no less, for each item; that he made offers in writing in 1939 and 1940 to firms other than George Horvath in the United States but could not recall the names of any of the prospects; and that he sold better and more expensive blouses to the firm of Ta-Ta in Belgrade.

The witness further testified that he secured affidavits from Yugoslavian customers who had actually made purchases from him. These affidavits were admitted in evidence as collective exhibit 5. The affidavit of Lazar D. Ljubinovich in the Yugoslavian language was marked “A” and the translation “A-l.” The affidavit of Miodrag L. [242]*242Jovanovich. in the Yugoslavian language was marked “B” and the translation “B-l.”

The translation, A-l, is a letter to Jugo-Vez A. D., certified to before a notary public, confirming that the afiiant was buying from Jugo-Vez A.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Gondrand Shipping Co.
12 Cust. Ct. 345 (U.S. Customs Court, 1943)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 Cust. Ct. 239, 1946 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 793, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gondrand-shipping-co-cusc-1946.