United States v. Sandoz Chemical Works

16 Ct. Cust. 392, 1928 WL 28031, 1928 CCPA LEXIS 102
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedNovember 30, 1928
DocketNo. 3087
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 16 Ct. Cust. 392 (United States v. Sandoz Chemical Works) 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. Sandoz Chemical Works, 16 Ct. Cust. 392, 1928 WL 28031, 1928 CCPA LEXIS 102 (ccpa 1928).

Opinion

Geaham, Presiding Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

The appellee imported certain coal-tar colors known as xylene milling blue BL concentrated, azo rubinol 3 GS concentrated, and chloramine blue 3 G concentrated on June 29, June 25, and August 3, 1925, respectively. These were classified by the collector at 7 cents per pound and 45 per cent ad valorem, under the provisions of paragraph 28 of the Tariff Act of 1922, the weight being determined by a computation made by the appraiser, based on the lowest known commercial strength of the merchandise, multiplied by the commercial strength of the merchandise, when imported. The importer protested, claiming the imported material should be assessed with duty at only 7 cents per pound upon its actual weight, further claiming that no standards of strength had been established for- said merchandise by the Secretary of the Treasury prior to the date of their importation, as is provided for by said paragraph 28. The court below sustained the protest and the Government has appealed.

The pertinent portions of said paragraph 28 are as follows:

Par. 28. Coal-tar products: All colors, dyes, or stains, * * * all of the foregoing products provided for in this paragraph, when obtained, derived, or manufactured in whole or in part from any of the products provided for in paragraph 27 or 1549; * * * 45 per centum ad valorem based upon the American selling price (as defined in subdivision (f) of section 402, Title IV) of any similar competitive article manufactured or produced in the United States, and 7 cents per pound: Provided, That for a period of two years beginning on the day following the passage of this act the ad valorem rate of duty shall be 60 per centum instead of 45 per centum. * * * For the purposes of this paragraph any coal-tar product provided for in this act shall be considered similar to or competitive with any imported coal-tar product which accomplishes results substantially equal to those accomplished by the domestic product when used in substantially the same manner: * * * Provided, That the specific duty of 7 cents per pound herein provided for on colors, dyes, or stains, whether soluble or not in water, color acids, color bases, color lakes, leuco-compounds, indoxyl, and indoxyl compounds, shall be based on standards of strength which shall be established by the Secretary of the Treasury, and that upon all importations of such articles which exceed such standards of strength the specific duty of 7 cents per pound shall be computed on the weight which the article would have [394]*394if it were diluted to the standard strength, but in no case shall any such articles of whatever strength pay a specific duty of less than 7 cents per pound: * * * Provided further, That in the enforcement of the foregoing provisos in this paragraph the Secretary of the Treasury shall adopt a standard of strength for each dye or other article which shall conform as nearly as practicable to the commercial strength in ordinary use in the United States prior to July 1, 1914; that if a dye or other article has been introduced into commercial use since said date then the standard of strength for such dye or other article shall conform as nearly as practicable to the commercial strength in ordinary use; that if a dye or other article was or is ordinarily used in more than one commercial strength, then the lowest commercial strength shall be adopted as the standard of strength for such dye or other article: * * *.

On the trial below, and in the argument here, it is admitted that at the times of importation of these coal-tar colors they were not specifically named in any standards of strength adopted and theretofore promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury. In T. D. 40192, 45 Treas. Dec. 588, promulgated May 17, 1924, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury adopted and promulgated certain standards of strength under said paragraph 28, as follows:

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Related

J. M. P. R. Trading Corp. v. United States
33 Cust. Ct. 226 (U.S. Customs Court, 1954)
United States v. Joseph G. Brenner Co.
19 C.C.P.A. 105 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1931)
United States v. Barker Bros.
17 C.C.P.A. 6 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1929)

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Bluebook (online)
16 Ct. Cust. 392, 1928 WL 28031, 1928 CCPA LEXIS 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sandoz-chemical-works-ccpa-1928.