United States v. Outerbridge

7 Ct. Cust. 223, 1916 CCPA LEXIS 78
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedMay 31, 1916
DocketNo. 1607
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 7 Ct. Cust. 223 (United States v. Outerbridge) 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. Outerbridge, 7 Ct. Cust. 223, 1916 CCPA LEXIS 78 (ccpa 1916).

Opinion

De Vries, Judge,

delivered tbe opinion of the court:

In December, 1912, the Downey Shipyard & Marine Co., of Brooklyn, N. Y., contracted with the Bermuda Transportation Co., of Ber[224]*224muda, to build for them a steel vessel fully equipped with machinery and general outfit. The boat was constructed at the Downey Shipyard & Marine Co.’s yards at Brooklyn, N. Y., and was named the Princess. The Bermuda Transportation Co. is a corporation organized under the laws of Bermuda. The merchandise here in question was ordered by the building company from Plenty & Son (Ltd.), Newbury, England, and duly imported at the port of New York and made a part of the said boat. A statement of the items is in the record. (Record, p. 48.) While there are numerous questions in this appeal as to compliance with the regulations, the repeal of statutes in pari materia, and of'evidence, in the view taken of the case by the court these questions are subsidiary to and decided by the main issue, which is, whether or not the imported merchandise falls within the provisions of subsection 5 of paragraph J of section 4 of the act of October 3, 1913, reading:

J (subsection 5). That all materials of foreign production which may be necessary for the construction of naval vessels or other vessels of the United States, vessels built in the United States for foreign account and ownership, or for the purpose of being employed in the foreign or domestic trade, and all such materials necessary for the building of their machinery, and all articles necessary for their outfit and equipment, may be imported in bond under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe; and upon proof that such materials have been used for such purposes no duties shall be paid thereon. ■

The relevancy of subsection 6'of paragraph J of section 4 of the act of October 3, 1913, is also discussed in the briefs. Inasmuch, however, as the record clearly shoyrs that the Princess was owned and used by a foreign corporation and was not owned or registered under the laws of the United States, the terms of that subsection exclude its relevancy.

Owing to some apparent confusion as to whether or not said subsection 5 repealed section 5 of the act of August 24, 1912, the board predicated its decision upon that paragraph of the act of 1912, and held the imported merchandise entitled to free entry thereunder.

It seems agreed by all parties herein that if the imported merchandise is entitled to free entry, such must be accorded under the provisions of subsection 5 of paragraph J of section 4 of the act of October 3, 1913, supra.

It might be said generally that the invoice included various items some of which entered into the construction of a triple-expansion marine engine and some of which, though ordinarily included within the engine room of a ship, did not enter into the construction of the engine.

The invoice, dated London, England, October 16, 1913, described the importation as follows:

[225]*225q 12", 20", 32" triple-expansion marine engines, with air and circulating 18" pumps, steam reversing gear, all complete, and packed in five (cgs.) wooden cases.
*******

In an affidavit by tbe master builder; dated at New York, N. Y., November 17, 1913, tbe following was declared:

⅜ * ⅜ ⅜ * * ⅜
Description of articles: (1) Triple-expansion steam engine and all its parts-, as specified in shipping specifications hereto attached.
* * ⅜ ⅜ * ⅛ *

Tbe collector returned that “tbe witbin-described merchandise consists of completed machinery or mechanism for tbe propulsion of vessels.” Accordingly duty was assessed by tbe collector upon tbe entire importation as manufactures of metal under tbe provisions of paragraph 167 of the said act. Upon protest tbe Board of General Appraisers reversed tbe decision of the collector, concluding as follows:

There remains hut one question for decision, and that is: Are the articles which are the subject of this protest such as come within the purview of the Panama Canal act? It is contended by the Assistant Attorney General that the material furnished constituted a complete engine. This we think the testimony does not justify. The articles in question we find are such as come within the purview of that law. See Conkey & Co.’s case, G. A. 7668 (T. D. 35086). The protest is sustained and the collector directed to liquidate the entry accordingly.

Subsection 5 of tbe act of October 3, 1913, supra, is not clear and unambiguous. It will be noted that while it provides for “materials ” necessary for tbe building of tbeir machinery, it then provides for “articles” necessary for the outfit and equipment; later, however, providing that such free entry should only be accorded on “proof that such materials have been used,” etc. This alternative use of tbe words “articles” and “materials” denies to tbe paragraph uniform expression unless it be held that tbe “articles” therein provided for shall be confined to such articles as are materials' used in further manufacture. This distinction was observed in Tide Water Oil Co. v. United States (171 U. S., 210, 216), wherein tbe court said:

Ordinarily, the article so manufactured takes a different form, or at least subserves a different purpose from the original materials; and usually it is given a different name. Raw materials may be and often are subjected to successive processes of manufacture, each one of which is complete in itself, but several of which may be required to make the final product. Thus, logs are first manufactured into boards, planks, joists, scantlings, etc., and then by entirely different processes are fashioned into boxes, furniture, doors, window sashes, trimmings, and the thousand and one articles manufactured wholly or in part of wood. The steel spring of a watch is made ultimately from iron ore, but by a large number of processes or transformations, each successive step in which is a distinct process of manufacture, and for which the article so manufactured receives a different name.
The material of which each manufacture is formed * * * is not necessarily the original raw material, * * * but the product of a prior manufacture, the finished product of one manufacture thus becoming the material of the next in rank.

[226]*226And in United States v. Richter (2 Ct. Cust. Appls., 167, 169; T. D. 31680), wherein this court observed:

Ordinarily a manufactured article takes a different form, or at least subserves a purpose different from the original materials out of which it is made, and usually it takes a different name. * ⅜ ⅜ That does not mean, however, that its usefulness as a material has necessarily ended and that as a manufacture it can not serve the purpose of material for some other manufacture.

The court is clearly of the opinion, however, that whatever may be the difficulties of prescribing an exact line of differentiation between materials, articles, and parts as to various possible importations under ' the paragraph, this case is ruled by certain well-established and clearly pertinent rules of construction.

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7 Ct. Cust. 223, 1916 CCPA LEXIS 78, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-outerbridge-ccpa-1916.