Westbrass Co. v. United States

67 Cust. Ct. 334, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2251
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedNovember 4, 1971
DocketC.D. 4293
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 67 Cust. Ct. 334 (Westbrass Co. v. United States) 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
Westbrass Co. v. United States, 67 Cust. Ct. 334, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2251 (cusc 1971).

Opinion

Newman, Judge:

The merchandise in these seven consolidated protests consists of certain plumbing articles as follows:

“Duo” sink strainers with insert baskets and flat sink strainers1
Keplacement insert baskets for the “Duo” strainers
Laundry tray plugs
Shower heads2
Shower drains

[336]*336The above enumerated articles, imported from Japan during the years 1965, 1967 and 1968 and entered at the port of Los Angeles, were classified by the district director under the basket provisions in the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) for articles of metal based upon the component material of chief value. Accordingly, merchandise covered by protests 68/54255, 68/54258, 68/31566, and 68/32076 was classified under item 657.20, TSUS, as articles of iron or steel, not coated or plated with precious metal, and assessed with duty at the rates of 19 or 17 per centum ad valorem depending upon the date of entry; and articles covered by protests 68/54257, 68/42292, and 67/8241 were classified under item 657.35, TSUS, as articles of copper, not coated or plated with precious metal, and assessed with duty at the rates of 1.275 cents per pound plus 15 per centum ad valorem, or at 1 cent per pound plus 13.5 per centum ad valorem, depending upon the date of entry.

Plaintiff claims that all of the merchandise is classifiable under the superior heading: “Articles not specially provided for of a type used for household * * * use; toilet and sanitary wares; all the foregoing and parts thereof, of metal”, which precedes items 653.60 through 654.20, TSUS. The steel items classified under item 657.20 are claimed to be properly dutiable under the subordinate heading in item 653.95 for articles of iron or steel at the rates of 17 or 15 per centum ad valorem, depending upon the date of entry. The copper items classified under item 657.35 are claimed to be properly dutiable under the subordinate heading in item 654.00 for articles of brass at the rates of 10 or 9 per centum ad valorem, depending upon the date of entry.

Alternatively, plaintiff claims that the strainers ( and also the rubber stoppers in the laundry tray plugs) are not entireties with the bases with which they were imported, and that consequently the appraisement 'and liquidation of that merchandise as entireties is void.3

Statutes INVOLVED
Tariff Schedules of the United States:
Classified under:
Schedule 6, Part 3, Subpart G:
Articles of iron or steel, not coated or plated with precious metal:
Cast-iron articles, not alloyed:
*******
Other articles:
* * * Of tin plate_ * * *
[337]*33719% ad val.4 657.20 Other_
Articles of copper, not coated or plated with precious metal:
* * * Of copper, other than alloys of cop- * * * per; of nickel silver or of cupra-nickel
Other_ 1.2750 per lb. 657.35 + 15% ad vale.5
Claimed under:
‘Schedule 6, Part 3, Subpart F:
Articles not specially provided for of a type used for ¡household, table, or kitchen use; toilet and sanitary wares; all the foregoing and parts thereof, of metal:
íjí H» «í« *í»
Articles, wares, and parts, of base metal, not coated or plated with precious metal:
Of iron or steel:
Not enameled or glazed with vitreous glasses:
Cast articles, coated_ * * *
Of tin plate_ * # *
Other_ 17% ad val.8 653.96
❖ * ❖ * * *
Of copper: Of brass_ 10% ad val.7 654.00

The Record

The record comprises the testimony of two witnesses8 called by plaintiff, and thirteen exhibits introduced by plaintiff. Additionally, upon plaintiff’s motion, the records in two previously decided cases were incorporated: Hancock Gross Mfg., Inc. v. United States, 60 Cust. Ct. 558, C.D. 3459, 285 F. Supp. 168 (1968); and Davies, Turner & Company v. United States, 55 Cust. Ct. 488, Abstract 69651 (1965).

“Duo” sink strainers are used in the household. The strainer base becomes a permanent part of the sink and directs water in the sink into the outlet drain pipe. The basket insert rests within the strainer base and serves a dual function: it acts as a stopper to retain water in the sink; and it prevents garbage or other waste material from entering the drain line. It appears that the basket insert may be easily removed from the strainer base for cleaning or other purposes. Further, the [338]*338basket insert may be purchased separately from the base; and is a readily replaceable 'article.

The flat strainers, as implied by their name, are flat rather than shaped like a basket. They, too, serve to prevent waste materials from entering the sink’s drain line. However, the flat strainers are not designed to retain water in the sink as are the strainer-stoppers. The base used with the flat strainer is permanently attached to the sink and outlet drain, but the flat strainer itself is easily removed from the base. Like the strainer-stopper, the flat strainers may be purchased separately from the bases.

The shower drains are designed to cover the opening to the drain line in the floor of a shower stall. A chrome-plated cover with holes on the shower drain is placed flush with the shower floor tile. The shower drains permit water to flow out of the shower through a drainpipe, but prevent foreign objects from entering the plumbing system.

The shower heads simply serve to diffuse water over a person taking a shower bath. They are installed on a piece of chrome-plated pipe referred to as a shower arm, which in turn, is connected to a water pipe in the wall.

The laundry tray plugs consist of a metal base, which becomes a permanent part of the laundry tray and directs water into the drain line, and a rubber stopper with a metal ring which serves to retain water in the laundry tray until removed from the base. The rubber stopper may be purchased separately from the metal base.

The INCORPORATED Cases

In Davies, Turner & Company, sink strainers without bases, similar in all material respect to those in the present case, were held properly dutiable under the provision for “household utensils” in paragraph 339 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified, rather than under the “basket” provision for base metal articles in paragraph 897 of said tariff act, as modified. There, the dispute was whether the strainers were a part of the fixtures of a home (sinks) or whether such strainers were household or kitchen utensils in the tariff sense.

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Related

Hancock Gross, Inc. v. United States
76 Cust. Ct. 237 (U.S. Customs Court, 1976)
Novelty Import Co. v. United States
67 Cust. Ct. 447 (U.S. Customs Court, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
67 Cust. Ct. 334, 1971 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2251, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westbrass-co-v-united-states-cusc-1971.