Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. v. United States

16 Cust. Ct. 60, 1946 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 14
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 20, 1946
DocketC. D. 985
StatusPublished

This text of 16 Cust. Ct. 60 (Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. 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
Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. v. United States, 16 Cust. Ct. 60, 1946 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 14 (cusc 1946).

Opinion

Keefe, Judge:

The controversy arising in this case concerns the unit of weight used by the collector in determining whether the merchandise is properly assessable under paragraph 209 of the Tariff Act of 1930, or under the amendment thereto in the trade agreement made between the United States and Canada, T. D. 49752. Duty was assessed upon the merchandise at 35 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 2Q9. The plaintiff claims that the merchandise is valued at not more than $14 per ton and is therefore properly dutiable at only 17% per centum ad valorem under paragraph 209, by virtue of said trade agreement.

It was stipulated and agreed between counsel for both sides as follows:

1. That the merchandise in question invoiced as “2688 paper bags Talc Powder 710 A improved — each bag 50 lbs. — 134400 lbs. gross — tare lb. per bag— 1344 lb. — total 133056 lbs. net”, which was assessed with duty at 35% under paragraph 209, Tariff Act of 1930, consists of powdered talc imported in paper bags; and that said talc is not a toilet preparation.
2. That said talc in paper bags is purchased abroad at a gross price in its packed condition and accordingly is invoiced at a gross unit price of U. S. $24.50 per 2000 lbs. gross weight, C. & Fr. N. Y.
3. That said unit price includes the cost of the packing (paper bags), and the costs of all other charges as invoiced.
4. That the gross weight of 134400 lbs., as invoiced, includes the weight both of the talc and of the paper bags in which the talc was imported.
5. That the cost of said bags, as invoiced, is a dutiable charge, and that the costs of all other charges as invoiced are non-dutiable charges. While all of said costs are included in the invoiced unit price, the invoice also shows the separate amounts of said costs.
6. That in computing the total estimated dutiable value of said talc in bags as finally entered, the importer used the invoiced unit price of $24.50 per 2000 lbs. gross weight, and the invoiced gross weight of 134400 lbs., of said merchandise, and did not make any deduction for tare — the weight of the paper bags — from [62]*62said invoiced gross weight. The said total entered value includes certain voluntary additions to make market value in the amount of U. S. $220.80, and Man-chukuo Yuan $80.30.
7. That said talc in bags was appraised by the appraiser on the gross weight thereof, at the invoiced unit price of U. S. $24.50 per 2000 lbs. gross weight, subject to all dutiable and non-dutiable charges as invoiced and entered, plus the voluntary additions to make market value made by the importer, i.e. appraised as entered.
8. That the gross landed weight of said talc in bags, as reported by the official United States weigher, is 135368 lbs.; and that said weight includes 1344 lbs. of paper bags. ■
9. That the total dutiable value of said talc in bags, as computed by the collector in accordance with the appraised value thereof, is $842.00, and that said value was determined by him without making any deduction for tare — the weight of the paper bags — from the gross landed weight of said talc in bags as reported by the said official United States weigher.
10. That in computing the total dutiable value of the talc in bags the collector used the official gross landed weight of said talc in bags (135368 lbs.), and the ton of 2000 pounds, for the reason that said talc in bags was appraised at a gross unit price per 2000 pounds, on the basis of gross weight for net weight, and was not appraised on a net weight of talc.
11. That in computing the value per ton of the talc for the purpose of determining the rate of duty applicable thereto under paragraph 209, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the trade agreement with the Dominion of Canada (T. D. 49752), the collector used the net landed weight of the talc 134024 lbs., the long ton of 2240 lbs., and the total dutiable value of $842.00 as determined by him from the official gross landed weight of the talc and bags and the appraised value thereof. The net landed weight of 134024 lbs. was obtained by deducting the tare weight of the paper bags (1344 lbs.) from the said official gross weight of the importation (135368 lbs.)
12. That if the short ton of 2000 lbs. is the proper unit of weight to be used in finding the value per ton of the powdered talc imported in this case, for the purpose of determining the rate of duty applicable thereto, said talc is valued at less than $14. per ton, regardless of whether the gross landed weight, or the net landed weight, of the talc, is the proper weight to be used in making the computation to find the value per ton.
13. That if the long ton of 2240 lbs. is the proper unit of weight to be used in finding the value per ton of the powdered talc imported in this case, for the purpose of determining the rate of duty applicable thereto, said talc is valued at more than $14. per ton, if the net landed weight of the talc is the proper weight to be used in making the computation, but at less than $14. per ton if the gross landed weight of the talc is the proper weight to be used in making the computation, to find the value per ton.
14. That if the gross landed weight is the proper weight to be used in finding the number of tons of powdered talc imported in this case, to find the value per ton thereof, for the purpose of determining the rate of duty assessable thereon, under said paragraph 209, said talc is valued at less than $14. per ton, whether of 2000 lbs., or of 2240 lbs.
15. That if the net landed weight is the proper weight to be used in finding the number of tons of powdered talc imported in this case, to find the value per ton thereof, for the purpose of determining the rate of duty assessable thereon, under said paragraph 209, said talc is valued at more than $14. per ton of 2240 lbs., but at less than $14. per ton of 2000 lbs.

[63]*63Paragraph 209 of the Tariff Act of 1930, provides in part as follows:

Par. 209. Talc * * * powdered * * * 35 per centum ad valorem; * * *.

The Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Canadian Trade Agreement, T. D. 49752, provides as follows:

Tariff Act of 1930; paragraph Description of article Rate of duty

209 Talc * * * powdered * * * (except toilet preparations), valued at not more than $14 per ton 17^% ad val.

The Revised Statutes, § 2951, 12 Stat. 196, is taken from section 26 of the Tariff Act of March 2, 1861, and provides as follows:

Sec. 26. And be it f-urther enacted, That wherever the word “ton” is used in this act, in reference to weight, it shall be deemed and taken to be twenty hundred weight, each hundred weight being one hundred and twelve pounds avoirdupois.

In Synopsis of Decisions, Treasury Department, 1870, page 76, T. D. 599, provides as follows:

A tariff ion is 8,240 •pounds
Wherever the word “Ton” is used in the tariff acts, it should be construed to be twenty hundred weight, each hundred weight being one hundred and twelve pounds avoirdupois.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
16 Cust. Ct. 60, 1946 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 14, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whittaker-clark-daniels-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1946.