United States v. W. H. S. Lloyd & Co.

24 C.C.P.A. 390, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 11
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedFebruary 8, 1937
DocketNo. 4033
StatusPublished

This text of 24 C.C.P.A. 390 (United States v. W. H. S. Lloyd & Co.) 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. W. H. S. Lloyd & Co., 24 C.C.P.A. 390, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 11 (ccpa 1937).

Opinions

Bland, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal by the Government from the judgment of the United States Customs Court, First Division, in reappraisement 109634-A and nine others, under the Tariff Act of 1930, rendered by the division May 1, 1936, upon appeal from a decision and judgment by the single judge sitting in reappraisement on December 6, 1935.

The entries are so-called duress entries made in 1935. The test case mentioned in the duress certificates was W. H. S. Lloyd Co., Inc. v. United States, being reappraisement 107842-A, etc.

The record in the case at bar consists of the record in said test case, which was introduced at the trial before the single reappraising judge, and which consisted of an affidavit of John Thomas Chasney, dated December 10, 1934, therein identified as Exhibit 1, and two special agent’s reports, therein identified as Collective Exhibits 2 and 3. In addition to the record in said reappraisement 107842-A, the Government in the instant cáse introduced a special agent’s report, which was marked Exhibit 1.

The merchandise involved in the instant case and the test case consists of wall paper purchased from the Wall Paper Manufacturers Ltd., of London, England, and imported by the appellee. The paper in all the cases was entered at fist prices less discounts of 10 per centum, 5 per centum, and 2% per centum, plus packing. It was appraised by the local appraiser at said list prices less a discount of 2% per centum, plus packing. Upon appeal, the single reappraising judge held that the dutiable value was the list prices less 10 per centum and 2% per centum, plus packing, the 5 per centum, relating to sample books, being disallowed. No further appeal was taken in the test case.

In the duress cases here involved, the importer appealed from the appraisement of the appraiser who, in appraising the merchandise, [392]*392allowed a, 2% per centum discount from the list prices. Before the single judge sitting in reappraisement, the importer objected to the Government’s introduction of evidence, consisting of a special agent’s report, upon the theory that the final appraised value in the test case became the dutiable value in the' duress cases, and that no evidence tending to prove any different value was competent. The single reappraising judge overruled the objection of the importer and held that by virtue of House Joint Resolution 336 (Public Resolution No. 37), approved July 12, 1932, published in T. D. 45805, thelaw had been changed, and that the final appraised value in the duress case should be accepted as the dutiable value. He, therefore, admitted the special agent’s report, which included what was said to be a photostatic copy of a copy of an affidavit of said John Thomas Chasney, which the Government contended showed that the 10 per centum discount was not freely offered to all purchasers, etc. The single reappraising judge called attention to the fact that the affidavit “is not attested as to genuineness or authenticity” and said, “In my opinion, therefore, the affidavit has little or no probative value.” He then found the dutiable value to be the invoiced and entered values less discounts of 10 and 2}{ per centum, plus packing, which is the same value as that found in the test case.

The Government appealed to the United States Customs Court and before the First Division thereof challenged the correctness of the finding of the single reappraising judge as to the 10 per centum discount.

Before the appellate division of the trial court, and here, no question has been raised as to the correctness of the list prices, as to the deduction of the 2% per centum for cash, or as to the correctness of the finding that the 5 per centum, relating to sample books, should not have been deducted. The sole question which was before the division, and is here before us, relates to the correctness of deducting 10 per centum from the list prices.

The United States Customs Court, First Division, held that the single reappraising judge erred in not giving consideration to the testimony introduced by the Government in the duress cases, but stated as follows:

* * * However, while error was committed by the court below in not giving consideration to the full report, we have given it such consideration, and we find that there is nothing in the report and the photostatic copy of the affidavit accompanying it that is contrary to the facts established by the affidavit, Exhibit 1, 107842-A, etc. * * *

It held that the affidavit introduced by the importer in the test case, which was reintroduced in the duress cases, established the correctness of the holding that the 10 per centum discount in controversy was properly deducted (along with the 2/ per centum discount) from the [393]*393list prices, and that there was nothing in the record to justify any other conclusion.

The Government in this court, aside from assigning error relating to the trial court’s denial of a motion for a rehearing, confines the issue to be decided solely to the question of the allowance of the 10 per centum discount, and argues that the record shows that the 10 per centum discount was allowed to only a majority of the exporter’s customers, was not allowed to all purchasers in the ordinary course of trade, and was, therefore, properly a part of the foreign value within the meaning of the statute. It quotes from the special agent’s report and from the affidavits of said Chasney and argues that the affidavits show that the 10 per centum discount is allowed as a half-yearly deferred rebate to such customers only as would confine their purchases exclusively to the said English syndicate; that no customer obtained the 10 per centum discount unless it made all its purchases from the syndicate, if the syndicate sold the character of goods which the customer bought; that if the customer purchased the character of goods manufactured by the syndicate from others it was not entitled to the discount; and that, therefore, the prices given to the preferred customers with a 10 per centum discount were given in a controlled market.

The importer contends first, that since the single reappraising judge arrived at the same value as that found in the test case, and since upon appeal the First Division of the United States Customs Court made a similar finding, its judgment should be affirmed. The importer argues that under the statute as affected by said resolution, both of which will be more particularly discussed later, the value found in the test case must be accepted as the dutiable value in the duress cases. The second contention of the appellee, importer, is that even if this view is not entertained by this court in this appeal, there is substantial evidence in the record which supports the finding of the trial court that the said 10 per centum discount was freely offered to all purchasers in a market not controlled, as is contemplated by subsection 3 of section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

In reappraisement proceedings this court is confined in its review of the judgment of the Customs Court to questions of law only, and if there is any substantial evidence in the record which sustains the judgment appealed from, the same will not be reversed.

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Bluebook (online)
24 C.C.P.A. 390, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-w-h-s-lloyd-co-ccpa-1937.