Westrac v. United States

70 Cust. Ct. 100, 1973 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3462
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMarch 22, 1973
DocketC.D. 4414
StatusPublished

This text of 70 Cust. Ct. 100 (Westrac 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
Westrac v. United States, 70 Cust. Ct. 100, 1973 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3462 (cusc 1973).

Opinion

Fokd, Judge:

The cases listed in schedule “A,” annexed hereto and [101]*101made a part hereof, consolidated for the purpose of trial, involve replacement parts for the undercarriage of various models of crawler tractors. The merchandise was classified as parts of tractors as provided for under item 692.35, Tariff Schedules of the United States, or under item 664.05, Tariff Schedules of the United States, as parts of mechanical shovels, excavators, etc.

Plaintiff contends the merchandise involved is entitled to entry free of duty as parts of tractors suitable for agricultural use as provided for in item 692.30, Tariff Schedules of the United States.

The pertinent portions of the statutes involved provide as follows:

664.05 Mechanical shovels, coal-cutters, excavators, scrapers, bulldozers, and other excavating, levelling, boring, and extracting machinery, all of the foregoing, whether stationary or mobile, for earth, minerals, or ores; * * * all
the foregoing and parts thereof- 9% ad val. [1968] 8% ad val. [1969]
Tractors (except tractors in item 692.40 and except automobile truck tractors), whether or not equipped with power take-offs, winches, or pulleys, and parts of such tractors:
692.30 Tractors suitable for agricultural use, and parts thereof-Free
692.35 Other_10% ad val. [1968] 9% ad val. [1969]

At the outset of the trial, counsel for defendant conceded that Caterpillar tractors, models D4, D6, D6C and 307, are suitable for agricultural use. Accordingly, parts of such tractors are entitled to entry free of duty under item 692.30, supra, as claimed. Since the merchandise involved is claimed to be parts, the proof must comply with General Interpretative Rule 10 (i j) which reads as follows:

10. General Interpretative Rules. For the purposes of these schedules—
**$$**$
(ij) a provision for “parts” of an article covers a product solely or chiefly used as a part of such article, but does not prevail over a specific provision for such part.

The models not covered by the concession as being suitable for agricultural use are the D4C, D7E, D8, D8H and the D9. The record establishes that the various letters, i.e., C, E, and IT, following the model number indicate modifications in the later models of those tractors. Therefore, the court concludes that the D4C and the D7E are [102]*102likewise suitable for agricultural use. This fact is substantiated by witnesses Rasmussen, Weber, Sparks, Clemens and Scboemer. Accordingly, we have left for consideration models D8, D8H and D9. The statutory language “suitable for agricultural use” was reviewed in American Express Co. v. United States, 69 Cust. Ct. 209, C.D. 4395, 350 F. Supp. 1402 (1972), wherein the following observations were made:

Under the Tariff Schedules of the United States, the question of chief use is not involved in the claimed provision but rather that of suitability. While there have been many decisions concerning this term, the decision of Judge Richardson in F. W. Myers & Company, Inc. v. United States, 59 Cust. Ct. 445, C.D. 3182 (1967), reviewed a number of such cases which clearly and concisely set forth the applicable law as follows:
“Suitable” for one use does not exclude other uses. Nor does suitability require that the merchandise be chiefly used for the stated purpose.
United States v. Lorsch & Co., 8 Ct. Cust. Appls. 109, T.D. 37222, and Wah Shang Company v. United States, 44 CCPA 155, C.A.D. 654.
But suitability does require more than evidence of a casual, incidental, exceptional or possible use.
Kahlen v. United States, 2 Ct. Cust. Appls. 206 at page 208, T.D. 31947.
There must bo a substantial actual use.
Wah Shang Company v. United States, supra.
But there is nothing in the Shang case to indicate that the word “substantial” should be stretched to reach back and revive “chief use.” It is submitted that “substantial” is the antithesis of “casual, incidental, exceptional, or possible.” “In the tariff law the term ‘suitable’ means actually, practically, and commercially fit.” * * *
Kahlen v. United States, supra.

In addition after reviewing the following information in the Explanatory Notes to the Tariff Classification Study, the decision further relies upon the intent of Congress in affording free entry of track-type tractors which have a capability of more than one use.

Items 692.30 and 692.35 cover tractors (except platform tractors and automobile truck tractors). Item 692.30 would put on a sounder basis the existing treatment of tractors as agricultural implements under paragraph 1604 of the free list of the Tariff Act of 1930. In recent years, practically all imports of tractors have been admitted free under paragraph 1604. Tractors are mobile power units used for many purposes, including agricultural, construction, road building, etc. Attempts to distinguish so-called agricultural-type tractors from types chiefly used for non-agricultural purposes neces[103]*103sarily involve unrealistic distinctions. For years it was the practice to classify as agricultural implements only so-called wheel-type tractors. Within recent months a so-called 'half-tread tractor, said to be of special design for agricultural purposes, was held to be free as an agricultural implement. Item 692.30 would change the present “chief use” concept implicit in paragraph 1604 by providing for tractors “suitable for agricultural use.” In view of the unrealistic distinctions which have been involved in the administration of the chief use concept, it is believed that the practical result has been more nearly a suitability test rather than one of chief use. Moreover, the suitability test is much less difficult to apply. Tractors not suitable for agricultural use are provided for in item 692.35 at the existing rate of duty of 11.5 percent ad valorem currently applicable under paragraph 372.
It is clear that the foregoing note reflects a congressional intent in the enactment of item 692.30 of the Tariff Schedules not to exclude from the duty-free treatment accorded agricultural tractors under item 692.30 of the Tariff Schedules those imported track-type tractors capable of several uses, so long as their suitability for agricultural use is established. Also, tariff provisions for agricultural implements should be liberally construed so that the evident intent of Congress to benefit agriculture should be effected. United States v. American Express Co., 12 Ct. Cust. Appls. 483, 486, T.D. 40693. * * *

Following the principles enunciated in the above case, the court finds the evidence is not sufficient to establish a substantial use of the various models of the D8’s and D9’s in agriculture. Plaintiff’s exhibit 9 indicates the number of tractors of the various models produced up to the time they were discontinued.

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Related

Kahlen v. United States
2 Ct. Cust. 206 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1911)
United States v. Lorsch & Co.
8 Ct. Cust. 109 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1917)
United States v. American Express Co.
12 Ct. Cust. 483 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1925)
F. W. Myers & Co. v. United States
59 Cust. Ct. 445 (U.S. Customs Court, 1967)
American Express Co. v. United States
69 Cust. Ct. 209 (U.S. Customs Court, 1972)

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Bluebook (online)
70 Cust. Ct. 100, 1973 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westrac-v-united-states-cusc-1973.