The Hawaiian gazette., 1873-03-12

the invoice price including casts and charges, as
per form of Inward Entry"
The Act of 1864 requiring Consular Certif-
Gates to be attached to invoices of goods imported
from foreign countries requires that the certi-
ficate to the invoice shall contain the market
value of the goods and of all charges thereon"
This believe is all the legislation on the subject.
The law requires an entry of the invoice
price and the costs and charges which together
constitute the value as per invoice in the
form Of inward entry, Sec $50. Our statutes do
not precisely define the costs and charges +"
upon which duties are to be assessed, and we
must look elsewhere for assistance in interpret
ing them In the first place. usage. 1t has been
the practice, believe. ever since there has been
system of duties here, say for more than twen-
ty-five years. to include in the costs and char
res To be added to the price, and together form
the basis Of an advalorem duty, all expenses on
the goods up 20 the time Of actual expectation
from the foreign country, such as inland freight
as from London or Birmingham to Liverpool. and
labor and carriage in the port Of shipment A
usage of such length and frequency and undis
puted, must be held as binding unless plainly
contrary to statute. Secondly, this interpreta-
ton corresponds with the customs systems of
other countries generally. By United States
statutes, which is the only one now at my hand,
the dutiable value Of imports is established to be
the price in the principal markets Of the interior
country where purchased to which is to be added
all costs and charges including transportation and
other expenses to the frontier of the foreign
country, or to the port Of shipment when ex-
ported direct from such country also including in
every case a charge for shipping commissions at
usual rates. whether appearing on the account or
not. This last item has also been charged here
for several years.
In view of these considerations we conclude
that when our statute requires "costs and
charges to be entered for duties it must be
taken to mean all such up to the time when the
merchandise is exported from the country where
it is purchased.
This view is strengthened by the phraseology Of
the Act of 1864 above cited, which has for its
object the more perfect ascertainment of the
value of imported goods. 1t relates to " invoices
of goods imported into this country from any
port &c, the equivalent expression to which
would be, goods exported from the port of the
foreign country. In the present case the goods
we're not exported from the United States from
the port Of New York, bat from the port Of San
Francisco, and the charges of transportation to
the port of export must be included among the
dutiable charges
In this respect find myself unable to concur
with your predecessor in Office as intimated in
letter to the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce,
that goods might be purchased in New York and
the certificate Of the Hawaiian Consul at that
port being obtained upon them for their market
value there and charges thereon in that place,
they may be thence transported to this Kingdom
in any way the owner please, without addition for
the purpose of duty, of further charges accruing
subsequent to the certificate and previous to act
ual export from the United States.
Such being the law upon this subject the
question occurs, is it within your discretionary
power to remit duty on such charge as the
present? see no provision for such case-it
is obligatory. If there ara any commercial rea-
sons why at the present day, the charge for in
ternal transportation should be excepted from
the advalorem value of goods, it will be for the
Legislature so to provide. remain, Sir,
Your obedent serv't,
A. FRANCIS JUDD,
Attorney General of the Kingdom.