Weber v. United States

24 C.C.P.A. 349, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 5
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedJanuary 25, 1937
DocketNo. 4015
StatusPublished

This text of 24 C.C.P.A. 349 (Weber v. United States) 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
Weber v. United States, 24 C.C.P.A. 349, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 5 (ccpa 1937).

Opinions

Graham, Presiding Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

The appellant imported at the port of New York several shipments of certain material which was classified for duty by the collector, in each instance, at 35 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1537 (b) of the Tariff- Act of 1930. The importer protested, claiming it to be dutiable in each instance at 25 per centum ad valorem under said paragraph 1537 (b) as manufactures of rubber, or at 10 or 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1558 as nonenumerated unmanu-factured or manufactured articles, respectively, or, alternatively, as free of duty under paragraph 1697, of said act. The material portions of the relevant paragraphs are as follows:

Par. 1537. (b) Manufactures of india rubber * * * 25 per centum ad valorem; * * * manufactures composed wholly or in chief value of india rubber known as “hard rubber”, not specially provided for, finished or unfinished, 35 per centum ad valorem.
[350]*350Par. 1558. That there shall be levied, collected, and paid on the importation! of all raw or unmanufactured articles not enumerated or provided for, a duty of 10 per centum ad valorem, and on all articles manufactured, in whole or in part, not specially provided for, a duty of 20 per centum ad valorem.
Par. 1697. India rubber and gutta-percha, crude, including jelutong or pon-tianak, guayule, gutta balata, and gutta siak, and scrap or refuse india rubber and gutta-percha fit only for remanufacture.

The imported material is a fine, flour-like brown material. It is commonly known as hard rubber dust. The record shows that hard rubber dust is prepared in several ways. First, it is made by pulverizing waste hard rubber material, such as broken telephone mouthpieces, rubber penholders, parts of battery boxes, and the like. In such cases, nothing is done except to powder the broken scrap materials.

Another method of preparation is from soft rubber materials, such as inner tubes, rubber bands, and the like. In this process, the soft rubber materials are ground up into as fine a condition as is possible, usually into a coarse-grained powder form. To this mass is added a vulcanizing ag.ent and the whole mass is then subjected to heat in a vulcanizer, and thereafter may be rolled out into a sheet form. This rough, hard, vulcanized sheet is then ground into powder form, as near to the grade of fineness that is desired, as possible.

Another process of making it is by taking crude rubber and adding sawdust to it, with sulphur and some oil and other vulcanizing agents, and vulcanizing the whole. After this mass is vulcanized to the proper hardness, it is ground into dust and becomes hard rubber dust.

The witnesses were unable to tell just what method was employed in the production of the material imported here. It was stated that this could be told by a chemical analysis, but no witness was able to state the exact method.

It is shown by the record that this-imported material is known to the trade as hard rubber dust, and is sold to manufacturers of hard rubber articles throughout the United States. It seems to be dealt in quite extensively and to be imported in the case at bar for purposes of sale and not for remanufacture, by the importers.

It is used principally as an adulterant in the making of hard rubber products. In so using it, crude rubber is used as a base. This crude rubber is first masticated, and to it hard rubber dust is added as an adulterant. Sulphur and sometimes a quantity of oil are added to this, mixture, and the whole is then mixed into a dough-like mass. This dough-like mass is then molded into various articles, either into sheets or rods, tubes, rolls, or other articles. It is vulcanized while being molded, by heat. In this way it is possible to make panels, fountain pen cases, or whatever the particular article desired may be, of hard rubber. It appears, also, that occasionally hard rubber dust may be used without an admixture with any other substance. How[351]*351ever, tbe testimony of the witness Thorp is to the effect that any such use thus far has been experimental only, and there seems to be no testimony to the contrary.

The contention of counsel for the Government is that the product has been properly classified and is “manufactures composed wholly or in chief value of india rubber known as ‘hard rubber’, not specially provided for.”

The trial court was of the same opinion, expressing itself, in conclusion, as follows:

Grinding is certainly a manufacturing process, and while, as plaintiff states in his brief, it “does nothing more than fit the scrap for remanufacture”, that fact does not remove this hard rubber dust from paragraph 1537 (b); for, it will be observed the wording is “manufactures composed wholly or in chief value of * * * ‘hard rubber’.” It is not articles “composed wholly or in chief value of * * * ‘hard rubber’.” This rubber dust is clearly a manufacture “composed wholly or in chief value of * * * ‘hard rubber’,” and is specifically provided for by the provision under which the collector classified it.

The appellant relies principally upon the free list provision contained in said paragraph 1697, and argues that the material imported here is simply scrap or refuse india rubber and gutta-perchaj^i onlyjor remanufacture. It is not denied that grinding may sometimes be a process of manufacture, but here it is argued that such grinding as has been used upon the imported material simply fits it for transportation, and does not at all remove it from the provision “fit only for remanu-facture.” It is, according to the importer’s argument, still scrap or refuse rubber and nothing else.

As an alternative argument, the importer alleges that the imported material is an unenumerated manufactured article or a manufacture of india rubber.

There was some attempt on the part of the importer to show a commercial designation of the imported material as scrap or refuse india rubber. However, counsel do not rely upon proof of commercial designation to establish their case. Irrespective of this, we are of opinion that the record fails to show any such commercial designation.

Primarily, the appellant insists that the imported material is “scrap or refuse india rubber * * * fit only for remanufacture,” and hence covered by the free list provision within said paragraph 1697. Although powdered, it is claimed that it is still scrap or refuse rubber and nothing more. This argument is based upon the following authorities: Cadwalader v. Jessup and Moore Paper Co., 149 U. S. 350; two decisions of the Board of General Appraisers, namely, T. D. 28360 and T. D. 29690, Abstract 21030, and, finally, United States v. Michelin Tire Co., 1 Ct. Cust. Appls. 518, T. D. 31544, affirming T. D. 30339, Abstract 22658.

In the Cadwalader case, supra, old worn-out rubber shoes were imported. They were classified under the provision of schedule N [352]*352of section 2502 of the act of March 3, 1883, as “articles composed of india-rubber, not specially enumerated or provided for in this act.” Under the free list, section 2503 of the same act, the following merchandise was exempt from duty: “India-rubber, crude and milk of.” There was also a similitude clause in the act.

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Related

Cadwalader v. Jessup & Moore Paper Co.
149 U.S. 350 (Supreme Court, 1893)
Tide Water Oil Co. v. United States
171 U.S. 210 (Supreme Court, 1898)
United States v. Michelin Tire Co.
1 Ct. Cust. 518 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1911)
United States v. Swift
14 Ct. Cust. 222 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1926)

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24 C.C.P.A. 349, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weber-v-united-states-ccpa-1937.