United States v. Westerfield

40 C.C.P.A. 115
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedJanuary 23, 1953
DocketNo. 4727
StatusPublished

This text of 40 C.C.P.A. 115 (United States v. Westerfield) 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. Westerfield, 40 C.C.P.A. 115 (ccpa 1953).

Opinions

Garrett, Chief Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from the judgment of the Third Division of the United States Customs Court, Abstract 56193, 28 Cust. Ct. 350, granting remission of additional duties assessed by the Collector of Customs at the port of New Orleans, Louisiana, upon merchandise described generally as electric trouble lights having magnetic bases by means of which bases the lights could be attached to metal surfaces adjacent the place where work requiring lighting was being done.

The merchandise was imported into the United States from Norway upon an order stated on the invoice used in making the entry to have been accepted December 18, 1949. From official papers in the record it appears that the vessel upon which the shipment was made sailed from the Norwegian port January 27th or 28th, 1949, and (after a stop at Tampico, Mexico) arrived at New Orleans March 10, 1949.

We understand that the merchandise was found to be subject to duty upon the basis of foreign value as that value is defined in section 402 (c) of the Tariff Act of 1930. The dutiable value, therefore, was determinable upon the price at which the merchandise was freely offered for sale to all purchasers in Norway in the usual wholesale quantities at the time of the exportation of the shipment here involved, that is, in January, 1949.1

The consular invoice used in entering the merchandise, prepared by or for the Norwegian seller, recited a purchase price per unit, i. e., per light, of $2.90, an “Invoice Total” of $2,933.00 and a “Current Price (Home Consumption)” of $3.10. In making the entry on March 18, 1949, the $3.10 per unit price was given as the dutiable value.

[117]*117The invoice, which is referred to in the record as No. 391, bears date of February 22, 1949, the consular certificate being dated February 23,1949. Upon it are two typewritten notations reading respectively:

(a) REPLACING INVOICE #196 certified Jan. 28, 1949, naming New Orleans, La. as port of arrival and New Orleans, La. as port of entry.
(b) Letter from exporter stating reason for replace invoice attached to triplicate hereof.

The copy of invoice No. 196 so referred to, which the importer had received, was not brought to the attention of the customs officials by, or on behalf of, the importer at the time the entry was made on March 18, 1949, but it later became a part of the official record forwarded to the Customs Court along with other papers pertinent to the consideration of the petition for remission, and it also was formally introduced in evidence, being specially marked as “Importer’s Exhibit No. 1,” during the direct examination of appellee Westerfield as a witness. It bears date of January 27,1949, and the only difference here material between it and invoice No. 391 is that the former states the “Current Price (Home Consumption)” to be $3.85 instead of $3.10. It is apparent that if No. 196 had been used in making entry, the foreign value would have been treated as $3.85 per unit, and the official appraisal was finally made at that value.

According to the petition for remission, which was sworn to, invoice No. 391 was “airmailed” to the petitioner prior to the arrival of the merchandise at New Orleans which, as has been stated, was on March 10, 1949. Accompanying it was the letter of explanation referred to in the second notation upon the invoice, mentioned supra, which letter was also introduced in evidence during the taking of the testimony of Mr. Westerfield and marked “Importer’s Exhibit No. 2.”

It seems proper to state at this juncture that the record discloses that Mr. Westerfield was a stockholder in, and general manager and vice-president of, a corporation styled Owesen & Co., Inc., whose place of business was located at New Orleans, Louisiana; that there were two other corporations, having the same corporate name and apparently doing business in (a) Los Angeles, and (b) San Francisco, California, a party by the name of A. B. Owesen being chairman of the board of each of the corporations; that each of the three corporations was a “separate and distinct entity;” that Owesen & Co., Inc. had an office at 125 Broad Street, New York City; that some importations of merchandise similar to that here involved were made through the port, of New York at or near the time of the instant importation; and that. Mr. Westerfield owns stock in only the corporation whose place of business is located in New Orleans, but that copies of at least some of the correspondence relative to the importation of the instant merchandise went to the offices of all three corporations.

[118]*118The letter hereinbefore referred to as Importer’s Exhibit No. 2 was addressed to “Messrs. Owesen & Co, Inc., 238 Chartres Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, U. S. A.,” and it is indicated that copies were sent to San Pedro (the Los Angeles, California, port), New York, and San Francisco.

The letter was dated 24th February, 1949. It bears the notation “Re new set of consular invoice.” The complete text reads:

We have pleasure in enclosing a new set of consular invoice No. 391 certified 23rd. February 49 replacing invoice No. 196 of 28th. January 49.
As you see, the current price for home consumption has been changed to $3.10 also for this shipment. We feel sure that this new invoice will reach you before the arrival of the goods and this should help you saving a lot of duty.

In connection with this particular phase of the case, it is proper also to state just here that during the cross-examination of Mr. Wester-field, counsel for the Government caused to be introduced a copy of a letter from the Norwegian shipper addressed to “Messrs. Owesen & Co., Inc., 125 Broad Street, New York 4, N. Y., U. S. A.” dated “22.2.49” (that is, February 2, 1949), the text of which reads:

We regret very much recieving [sic] your letter of the 14th. inst about the trouble you had with the consular invoice covering the 1.000 lamps sent to you with the Lyngenfjord. With surprise we have taken to our notice that you had to pay duty on our price for the inland market for sale to wholesalers. However we have communicated with the United States Embassy in Oslo and will tomorrow swear to the fact that the price will be reduced for the home consumption when we again start selling lamps in Norway. We hope in this way to get the price $3.85 altered to $3.10. With this writing, which we will send you by registered post by air, to the customs. The same will be sent to New Orleans and they have to do the same. Fortunable the ship has not arrived there yet. The best thing had been that you had studied the consular invoice af receipt and then given us your information. We had not the slightest idea that the duty should not be paid on the export price but on the highest obtainable price on the home market. We feel sure that you will get your money back as we have done our utmost here.
If it is some information from the Underwriters please write or wire at once as we are very anxious to know where we stand. We are also anxious to know the new name of the lamp which you owing to a letter from Mr. A. B. Owesen should register in New York. As soon as we know this and also something further about the approval we will put the new tools in work.

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Bluebook (online)
40 C.C.P.A. 115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-westerfield-ccpa-1953.