United States v. Semon Bache & Co.

4 Cust. Ct. 595, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3918
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJanuary 29, 1940
DocketNo. 4713; Entry Nos. 745291, 809091
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Cust. Ct. 595 (United States v. Semon Bache & 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. Semon Bache & Co., 4 Cust. Ct. 595, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3918 (cusc 1940).

Opinions

Kincheloe, Judge:

These appeals to reappraisement involve the proper dutiable value of certain gauge glasses, known as the Eureka and the Hercules qualities, imported from England in two shipments, one of which was made in April, 1935, and the other in October, 1935.

Entry was made of the Eureka quality at various unit prices, less discounts of 10 per centum, 10 per centum, and 10 per centum, which, it is conceded by the respective parties, is the equivalent of the foreign manufacturer’s list prices less 80 per centum. The Hercules quality was entered at various unit prices less discounts of 75 per centum, less 10 per centum less 2){ per centum.

The merchandise was appraised at the foreign manufacturer’s list prices, less 50 per centum discount, less 2% per centum cash discount, less, as to the Eureka quality, 1 pence per dozen pieces for cost of fusing ends.

The instant cases have been the subject of previous litigation both in this court and in the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. They were originally tried in this court before the single judge, who found that the entered values represented the proper dutiable values for the merchandise (Reap. Dec. 3951). An application for review of said judgment was filed by the Government, and this division in its decision reported in Reap. Dec. 4039, affirmed the judgment of the single judge. In said decision (Reap. Dec. 4039), we held that 500 feet or more of the Hercules quality, and 1,000 feet or more of the Eureka, were the usual wholesale quantities for the respective qualities, [596]*596and in reaching that conclusion we accepted the expert testimony of importer’s witnesses, Tomey and Sobel, wbo bad had years of experience in buying and selling in the trade the qualities of gauge glasses in question, and whom we considered to be thoroughly qualified to present such testimony on the question of a usual wholesale quantity of such or similar merchandise. In our determination of the issues in said decision, we regarded records of sales of the Eureka quality in quantities less than 1,000 feet and of the Hercules in quantities less than 500 feet of no probative value since they did not reflect, in view of the testimony of importer’s said witnesses, sales in wholesale quantities of such merchandise.

The Government appealed said judgment of this division to the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, and in its decision in United States v. Semon Bache & Co. (25 C. C. P. A. 387, T. D. 49466), the court held in substance that there was no evidence of record to establish that the sales to retailers for resale were not sales made in the ordinary course of trade; and that there was no evidence of record to establish that such sales and sales to other purchasers in quantities of less than 1,000 feet of the Eureka quality, and less than 500 feet of the Hercules quality, were not sales in wholesale quantities except mere assertions by plaintiff’s witnesses which were mere conclusions based upon facts appearing of record, and therefore should not have been given any weight by this court in determining the usual wholesale quantity of the merchandise in question in the ordinary course of trade in England. Accordingly, the appellate court reversed the judgment of this court and remanded the cases “for a reconsideration of the issues on the record as made and in accordance with the views herein expressed.”

When the cases came before us on remand, we again very exhaustively reviewed all of the evidence offered by the importer and the Government, and in our decision and judgment reported in Reap. Dec. 4475, we adhered to the findings made in our previous decision, Reap. Dec. 4039. The appellate court in its opinion in United States v. Semon Bache & Co., 27 C. C. P. A., C. A. D. 67, followed its earlier decision involving the instant cases, T. D. 49466, supra, and again reversed the judgment of this court and remanded the cases “for a reconsideration of the issues on the record as originally made and in accordance with the views expressed in our decision of February 28, 1938, supra,” and respectfully declined to reconsider the record as made.

We have outlined the proceedings heretofore had in these appeals to reappraisement for the purpose of setting forth and emphasizing our views, which we have consistently maintained throughout this entire litigation, and which we still believe to be a proper determina[597]*597tion of tbe issues presented herein. We based our conclusions that the usual wholesale quantity of the Eureka quality was at least 1,000 feet and the Hercules at least 500 feet, largely, if not entirely, on the testimony of importers’ witnesses, who testified unequivocably that sales of lesser quantities of the respective qualities, that is less than 1,000 feet of Eureka and less than 500 feet of Hercules, were not sales in wholesale quantities of such merchandise. It was our opinion then, as it is now, that the oral testimony of importers’ witness, Sobel, and the statements of importers’ witness, Tomey, contained in his affidavits, Collective Exhibits 1 and 2, are of sufficient probative value to establish that the entered values of the instant merchandise correctly represent the dutiable values thereof.

However, in view of the fact that our appellate court in its second opinion in this matter, C. A. D. 67, supra, respectfully declined to reconsider the record as made, and further, in view of the fact that in its first opinion, T. D. 49466, supra, said court held that there was no evidence of record to establish that the sales to retailers for resale were not sales made in the ordinary course of trade, and that there was no evidence of record to establish that such sales and sales to other purchasers in quantities of less than 1,000 feet of the Eureka quality, and less than 500 feet of the Hercules quality were not sales in wholesale quantities except mere assertions of plaintiff’s witnesses, which, in its judgment, were mere conclusions based upon facts appearing of record, and therefore should not have been given any weight by this court in determining the usual wholesale quantity of the merchandise in question in the ordinary course of trade in England, we are, therefore, at this time, considering the questions presented by the instant appeals solely in the light of the views expressed hy said court in its opinion, T. D. 49466, supra.

In said opinion, the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals states the issue before us as follows:

It is agreed that the foreign values are the dutiable values of the merchandise. There is no dispute respecting the correctness of the manufacturer’s unit list prices in the foreign market, and the sole issue before the courts below was as to the discounts which should be allowed from the manufacturer’s list prices in order to make foreign values.

The proper determination of said issue involves ascertaining the usual wholesale quantities of the two qualities of gauge glasses under consideration, as such statutory phrase has been applied in finding foreign value within the definition of such value as set forth in section 402 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930. As judicially interpreted, usual wholesale quantities of a commodity are the wholesale quantities in which a major portion of sales or offers for sale of such commodity are made. United States v. Richard, 15 Ct. Cust. Appls. 143, [598]*598T. D. 42216; Pleissner v. United States, 16 Ct. Cust. Appls. 507, T. D. 43237;

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Related

United States v. Richard
15 Ct. Cust. 143 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1927)
United States v. Wiener
15 Ct. Cust. 428 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1928)
Mohr v. United States
16 Ct. Cust. 448 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1929)
Pleissner v. United States
16 Ct. Cust. 507 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1929)

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Bluebook (online)
4 Cust. Ct. 595, 1940 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3918, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-semon-bache-co-cusc-1940.