Carrington Co. v. United States

• Decision Date: 13 June 1974
• Docket Number: Customs Appeal No. 5539.
• Citation: 61 CCPA 77,497 F.2d 902
• Parties: The CARRINGTON CO., and United Geophysical Corp., Appellants, v. The UNITED STATES, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA)

61 CCPA 77, 497 F.2d 902 (1974)

The CARRINGTON CO., and United Geophysical Corp., Appellants, v. The UNITED STATES, Appellee.

Customs Appeal No. 5539.

United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.

June 13, 1974.

Glad, Tuttle & White, San Francisco, Cal., attys. of record, for appellants. George R. Tuttle, San Francisco, Cal., of counsel.

Irving Jaffe, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., Andrew P. Vance, Chief, Customs Section, Michael S. O'Rourke, New York City, for United States.

Before MARKEY, Chief Judge, and RICH, BALDWIN, LANE and MILLER, Judges.

MILLER, Judge.

This appeal is from the decision and judgment of the Customs Court, Carrington Co. v. United States, 358 F. Supp. 1286, 70 Cust.Ct. 105, C.D. 4415 (1973), overruling appellants' protests concerning classification of Flextrack-Nodwell motor vehicles imported with Mayhew drills. We affirm.

Familiarity with the opinion below is assumed. However, we point out that in one protest the drills were mounted on the vehicles, and in the other protest the drills merely accompanied the vehicles in an unassembled condition for subsequent mounting;¹ also, that one vehicle which was entered without an accompanying drill was granted free entry under item 692.11² as a motor vehicle for the transport of persons or articles.

The imported vehicle with the mounted Mayhew drill circled is shown below:

The following reproduction shows the vehicle with the drill ready for operation:

The Customs Court held that classification of the imported vehicles was properly made under item 692.16, TSUS (the duty varying according to the date of entry). Pertinent provisions are as follows:

PART 6. — TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT

* * * * * *

Subpart B. — Motor Vehicles

* * * * * *

Motor vehicles specially constructed and equipped to perform special services or functions, such as, but not limited to, fire engines, mobile cranes, wreckers, concrete mixers, and mobile clinics:

                  692.14 Fire engines .......... * * *
                  692.16 Other ................. 9% ad val
                                                8% ad val
                

OPINION

The issue is whether the imported vehicles are specially constructed to perform special services or functions other than the mere transportation of goods or persons within the meaning of item 692.16, appellants having admitted that the drill is sufficient to make the imported vehicle specially equipped.³

It is a well-established principle that classification of an imported article must rest upon its condition as imported. United States v. Baker Perkins, Inc., 46 CCPA 128, C.A.D. 714 (1959). That the imported vehicle is differently classified when imported without an accompanying drill or with different equipment would not be inconsistent with this principle. Moreover, the fact that the drill can be removed and replaced with other equipment, such as a kitchen diner or water tank, does not affect classification of the vehicle when imported with the drill. Nothing in item 692.16 requires that a vehicle chassis be suitable for one and only one purpose.

Accordingly, we...