Walco Bead Co. v. United States

29 Cust. Ct. 62, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1411
United States Customs Court·Decided July 9, 1952·No. C. D. 1445·Published·Cited by 31 cases

Opinion

Olivee, Chief Judge:

The merchandise in this case, invoiced as “Bead Ornaments,” was assessed with duty under paragraph 218 (f) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Presidential proclamation (T. D. 51898) to supplement the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (T. D. 51802), as “Christmas tree ornaments” at the rate of 50 per centum ad valorem. The plaintiff claims the merchandise properly dutiable under paragraph 1503 of the tariff act, as modified by the same proclamation, under the provisions contained therein for articles wholly or in chief value of beads or spangles at the rate of 30 per centum ad valorem.

The pertinent parts of the paragraphs in question are as follows:

Paragraph 218 (f), as modified by T. D. 51898:

Table and kitchen articles and utensils, and all articles of every description not specially provided for, composed wholly or in chief value of glass, blown or partly blown in the mold or otherwise, * * *:
Christmas tree ornaments_50% ad val.
Paragraph 1503, as modified by T. D. 51898:
Fabrics and articles not ornamented with beads, spangles, or bugles, nor embroidered, tamboured, appliquéd, or scalloped, composed wholly or in chief value of beads or spangles (other than imitation pearl beads, beads in imitation of precious or semiprecious stones, and beads in chief value of synthetic resin)_ 30% ad val.

At the trial, the plaintiff conceded that these articles were chiefly used as ornamentation on Christmas trees (R. 3, 16).

Plaintiff contends that the articles before us are more specifically provided for under the provision in paragraph 1503, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified, for articles composed wholly or in chief value of beads or spangles than under the provision contained in paragraph 218 (f), Tariff Act of 1930, as modified, for “Christmas tree ornaments.” The [64] Government, on the other hand, contends in the first instance, that the plaintiff has failed to establish that these articles are in chief value of beads or spangles and further maintains that, assuming without conceding that the plaintiff has established that these articles are in chief value of beads, the provision for “Christmas tree ornaments” contained in paragraph 218 (f), Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T. D. 51898, is more specific than the provision contained in paragraph 1503 of the said act for articles composed wholly or in chief value of beads or spangles.

There were received in evidence as illustrative of the merchandise here in question five items concededly in chief value of glass (plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-A to 1-E, inclusive) (R. 11). Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-A is a glass article in the form of a scale. Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-B is a 6-pointed, star-shaped article, having six silver-colored glass balls in the center thereof, with a gold-like glass ball in the center of the other items. Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-C is an article resembling in design a butterfly, the “wings” of which consist of beads and bugles, the “body” of which is represented by a pear-shaped, silver-colored article about 1% inches in length. Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-D is a 6-pointed, star-shaped article having six small, silver-colored glass balls in the center of the article, with a small, silver-colored glass ball in the center of the other glass balls. Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-E is a wired article of 6 sides, containing beads and bugles, having a star-shaped glass design of white satin appearance in the center, upon which are imposed round, glass balls. Four sides of the perimeter of collective exhibit 1-E consists of a series of wired glass hollow beads joined together as a single item and which are made into a bugle. The white satin-like article contained in the exhibit is one piece of glass made into a bugle (R. 18).

Plaintiff’s witness, a salesman for the importing company for the past 18 years, testified that his company sells raw materials to embroidery houses, dress houses, etc., and that the raw materials dealt in are beads. He stated that he was personally familiar with the merchandise covered by this protest and that plaintiff’s collective exhibits 1-A to 1-E were representative of the importation in question as far as the material contained therein was concerned (R. 9). He stated that there were 8 styles covered by the involved invoices, with 12 in a box, of different designs, making an aggregate of 96 different items. He further testified that plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1-A is made up of beads and bugles and wire “which holds them together” (R. 12). The witness defined the term “bead” as used by him in the trade as “a piece of glass with a hole pierced through it, or any substance with a hole pierced through it” and stated that when using the term “bugle” he referred to a bead which is “a longer piece of glass, an oblong piece of glass.” He further stated that plaintiff’s [65] collective exhibits 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, and 1-E are likewise composed of beads, bugles, and wire (R. 13-15), and that other Christmas tree ornaments of different designs that were imported in this shipment were made of the same articles or materials as the samples before us.

The defendant introduced in evidence an article composed of a red-colored glass ring about 2 inches in diameter, attached to which are two silver-colored bells and from which dangles a silver-colored, bullet-shaped item (exhibit 2). With respect to this article, the plaintiff’s witness testified that the two bells and the dangling item were beads (R. 32) but that he would not call the glass ring a bead (R. 34). In his opinion, the article would respond to a description of a bead Christmas tree ornament (R. 27). The witness stated, however, that he had no recollection whether articles similar to defendant’s exhibit 2 were in the shipment before us in this case (R. 31).

Certain other items, similar in design and appearance to plaintiff’s collective exhibits 1-A to 1-E, inclusive, were received in evidence as defendant’s collective exhibit 3. The plaintiff’s witness testified that these items were all beaded ornaments made of glass beads and bugles and that, although they might be of different designs and shapes, they were similar to plaintiff’s collective exhibits 1-A to 1-E, inclusive, and to the imported merchandise (R. 33).

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Walco Bead Co. v. United States, 29 Cust. Ct. 62, 1952 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1411 (cusc 1952).

29 Cust. Ct. 62 (Walco Bead Co. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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