United States v. Thomas P. Gonzalez Corp.

66 Cust. Ct. 597, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2372
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedApril 9, 1971
DocketA.R.D. 283
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 66 Cust. Ct. 597 (United States v. Thomas P. Gonzalez Corp.) 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. Thomas P. Gonzalez Corp., 66 Cust. Ct. 597, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2372 (cusc 1971).

Opinion

Rosenstein, Judge:

This application for review of the decision and judgment of the trial judge in Thomas P. Gonzalez Corp. v. United States, 63 Cust. Ct. 565, R.D. 11677 (1969), involves a shipment of 150 bags containing 7,500 kilos of garlic powder of the type and condition as shown by exhibit 5, produced and exported by Cia. Agricola de Ensenada, S.A. (hereinafter Agricola), of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, on April 6, 1964. The Special Customs Invoice indicates that the purchaser, the importer-appellee herein, paid $3.12 Mexican pesos per kilo, for a total of $23,400 Mexican pesos.

[598]*598Tli© merchandise was entered at $1,873 United States currency (applying the rate of exchange of .080056) and appraised at United States $0.363 per pound, net, plus cost of bags and packing. The basis of ap-praisement was export value as defined in section 402(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956, T.D. 54165 1 based, pursuant (to section 402(f) (4) (D) of said Act, as amended, on the price of garlic powder produced and sold by Heinz Alimentos, S.A., Mexico, D.F., to United States purchasers.

Plaintiff below did not dispute the basis of appraisement but claimed that the proper export value was the invoiced and entered price of $3.12 Mexican pesos per kilo.

The pertinent provisions of section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Simplification Act of 1956, are as follows:

(b) Export Value — For the purposes of this section, the export value of imported merchandise shall be the price, at the time of exportation to the United States of the merchandise undergoing ap-praisement, at which such or similar merchandise is freely sold or, in the absence of sales, offered for sale in the principal markets of the country of exportation, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, for exportation to the United States, plus, when not included in such price, the cost of all containers and coverings of whatever nature and all other expenses incidental to placing the merchandise in condition, packed ready for shipment to the United States.
Hi H* ❖ # ❖ H* ^
(f) Definitions. — For the purposes of this section—
(1) The term “freely sold or, m the absence of sales, offered for sale” means sold or, in the absence of sales, offered—
(A) to all purchasers at wholesale, or
(B) in the ordinary course of trade to one or more selected purchasers at wholesale at a price which fairly reflects the market value of the merchandise,
without restrictions as to the disposition or use of the merchandise by the purchaser, except restrictions as to such disposition or use which (i) are imposed or required by law, (ii) limit the price at which or the territory in which the merchandise may be resold, or (iii) do not substantially affect the value of the merchandise to usual purchasers at wholesale.
(2) The term “ordinary course of trade” means the conditions and practices which, for a reasonable time prior to the exportation of the merchandise undergoing appraisement, have been normal in the trade under consideration with respect to merchandise of the same class or kind as the merchandise undergoing-appraisement.
(3) The term “purchasers at wholesale” means purchasers who buy in the usual wholesale quantities for industrial use or for [599]*599resale otherwise than at retail; or, if there are no such purchasers, then all other purchasers for resale who buy in the usual wholesale quantities; or, if there are no purchasers in either of the foregoing categories, then all other purchasers who buy in the usual wholesale quantities.
(4} The term “such or similar merchandise” means merchandise in the first of the following categories in respect of which export value, United States value, or constructed value, as the case may be, can be satisfactorily determined:
(A) The merchandise undergoing appraisement and other merchandise which is identical in physical characteristics with, and was produced in the same country by the same person as, the merchandise undergoing appraisement.
(B) Merchandise which is identical in physical characteristics with, and was produced by another person in the same country as, the merchandise undergoing appraisement.
(0) Merchandise (i) produced in the same country and by the same person as the merchandise undergoing appraisement, (ii) like the merchandise undergoing appraisement in component material or materials and in the purposes for which used, and (iii) approximately equal in commercial value to the merchandise undergoing appraisement.
(D) Merchandise which satisfies all the requirements of subdivision (C) except that it was produced by another person.

The president of the importing corporation, Thomas P. Gonzalez, who has dealt in garlic powder since 1932, testified that the subject merchandise, which he saw in the process of production in Ensenada during March 1964, was manufactured in a “crude semifinished” state from garlic culls. The powder was semifinished as “they didn’t have the equipment” to complete the process. The merchandise was unsalable in its imported condition, and he had to refinish, sift, remill, blend and repackage it, which cost him around 12 to 15 cents a pound, in United States currency.

In a letter dated March 5, 1964 (exhibits 1 and 1A), Agricola had offered him ground garlic packed in burlap bags weighing approximately 50 kilos net each at “$3.12 Mexican Currency per kilo F.O.B. Ensenada with American import duties for your account.” He responded to the offer by letter (exhibits 2 and 2A) and received a firm offer from Agricola of 350 bags of garlic powder on the aforementioned terms (exhibits 3 and 3A).

The witness purchases a considerable amount of chili peppers from Agricola which he finances by advancing money against crops. But he gave no financial aid to Agricola with regard to garlic or garlic powder and had no agreement to limit offers of garlic powder to him. Heither party to the transaction owns stock in the other. Gonzalez had owned a dehydrating plant in Mexico which was sold prior to the [600]*600manufacture of the imported merchandise. The witness stated that Mexico is not known as a manufacturer of garlic powder which is produced only when there is a surplus of garlic. His recollection was that there was only one other manufacturer of garlic powder in Mexico, which was located in Salamanca, Guanajuato; but he did not recall if he had purchased garlic powder from it during the period involved herein.

Celestina Luna, “office administrator” of Agricola, testified through an interpreter that the seller is an agricultural cooperative which buys and sells the regional farm products such as beans, garlic and chili; that she supervises the sales and is familiar with the shipment at bar ; that she was free to offer to whomever she wanted; that, at the direction of the partners, she prepared and sent out letters offering the garlic at $3.12 Mexican currency per kilo; and that she did not offer it at a higher price.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
66 Cust. Ct. 597, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-thomas-p-gonzalez-corp-cusc-1971.