Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/137/542/
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 04:25:58+00:00

Document:
The ascertainment and liquidation of duties by a collector of customs, under Rev.Stat. § 2931, is the decision of that officer as to what the duties shall be, made after the measurement, weighing, or gauging of the merchandise, its inspection and appraisal, the determination of its dutiable value, and the taking of such other steps as the law may call for, and, so far from this being required to be delayed until the importer chooses to withdraw his goods for consumption, it may take place at any time after the original entry of the merchandise, and should follow, in the regular course of business, as soon after the entry as is convenient, just as in the case of merchandise entered for immediate consumption.
Westray v. United States, 18 Wall. 322, explained.
The ten days referred to in Rev.Stat. § 2931, within which an importer is allowed to protest against the liquidation of duties begin to run upon their ascertainment and liquidation.
A construction of a doubtful or ambiguous statute by the Executive Department charged with its execution, in order to be binding upon the courts, must be long continued and unbroken.
This was an action at law against the collector of customs for the port of New York, brought to recover duties alleged to have been illegally exacted. Verdict for the plaintiffs, and judgment on the verdict. Defendant sued out this writ of error. The case is stated in the opinion.
This was an action at law by Donald Cameron and Donald E. Cameron, composing the firm of Cameron & Co., importers, against the collector of the port of New York, to recover certain duties alleged to have been illegally exacted on a cargo of sugar and molasses. The only defense that appears to have been pleaded was that the protest of the importers against such exaction of duties had not been made within ten days from the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties, as required by section 2931 of the Revised Statutes. The case was tried before Judge Shipman and a jury, resulting in a verdict and judgment in favor of the importers for the sum of $1,759.84, and the collector thereupon sued out a writ of error.
shall then be subject, or if, after the expiration of one year and within three years from the said date of original importation, they shall be so withdrawn upon the like payment, with ten percentum added upon the amount of such duties and charges, or if at any time within three years from the said date of original importation, they shall be so withdrawn for actual export beyond the limits of the United States, then the above obligation to be void; otherwise, to remain in full force."
On the 4th of August, 1880, the importers withdrew the sugar from warehouse for consumption and paid to the collector the sum of $10,913.55 as the estimated duties thereon and on account of the duties to be afterwards ascertained and liquidated by him. The appraisement of both the sugar and molasses was made on the 6th of August, and on the 20th of August the collector ascertained and liquidated the duties on the whole cargo, as imported, fixing them at $12,157.76, and stamped upon the entry "Liquidated, and notified importer August 20, 1880." What was meant by "liquidated," as thus used, was that the entry had been passed regularly through the various divisions of the collector's office, and the duties thereon had been finally ascertained and fixed by the custom officials. "Notified importer" meant that the fact of the liquidation had been stated on a sheet of paper which was hung up in the custom house for the information of the importer. On the 10th of September, 1880, the importers withdrew the molasses from the warehouse for consumption, and paid to the collector the balance of the duties assessed on the whole cargo, to-wit, $1,244.21, of which $327.50 was the whole amount of the duty on the molasses, and $916.71 was the balance of the duties assessed on the sugar.
On the 15th of September, 1880, the importers protested in writing against the exaction of the duties on the sugar as excessive and illegal, and on the same day appealed from the decision of the collector to the Secretary of the Treasury. On the 22d of January, 1881, the secretary affirmed the collector's decision, and on the 19th of April, 1881, the importers brought this suit to recover the duties claimed in their protest.
"Goods withdrawn for consumption may be taken at average valuation, care being had that on the last withdrawal the entire balance of duties be collected. Should the final withdrawal entry be for export or transportation, and there be any difference between the actual duty and the amount due, to close the sum due on the warehouse entry, the excess, if any, shall be refunded on the last withdrawal for consumption, and the deficiency, if any, collected on amendment to the entry."
of the duties assessed by him as collector, as required by section 2931 of the Revised Statutes. The court denied the defendant's motion and granted that of the plaintiffs. The jury thereupon, under the direction of the court, found a verdict for the plaintiffs for the sum above specified, and judgment having been entered on the verdict, the defendant sued out a writ of error, as before stated.
"On the entry of . . . any merchandise, the decision of the collector of customs at the port of importation and entry, as to the rate and amount of duties to be paid . . . on such merchandise, and the dutiable costs and charges thereon, shall be final and conclusive against all persons interested therein, unless . . . the owner, importer, consignee, or agent of the merchandise . . . shall, within ten days after the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties by the proper officers of the customs, as well in cases of merchandise entered in bond as for consumption, give notice in writing to the collector on each entry, if dissatisfied with his decision, setting forth therein, distinctly and specifically, the grounds of his objection thereto, and shall, within thirty days after the date of such ascertainment and liquidation, appeal therefrom to the Secretary of the Treasury."
Department in force at the time the proceedings in this case took place in the custom house, are relied on as sustaining their view.
"The statute, and the Treasury regulations established under it, require that the duties must be ascertained whenever an entry is made, whether it be for warehousing or for withdrawal. In practice, it is true the liquidation at the time of entry for warehousing is little more than an approximate estimate, and it is mainly for the purpose of determining the amount of the bond to be given. It is made, and the bond is given, before the goods are sent to the warehouse, or even to the appraisers' stores, and before they are weighed, gauged, or measured. But the importer enters them and gives the bond, the amount of which is regulated by the estimated amount of duties. It is due to his inattention, therefore, if he does not know what that estimate is at the time when it is made. Equally true is it that he has ample means of knowledge of the second or correct liquidation -- that made at the time of the withdrawal entry. One of the conditions of his bond is that he pay the amount of duties to be ascertained under the laws then existing or thereafter enacted. He is thus informed that there is to be another liquidation, and that the law requires it to be made at the time when he shall make his withdrawal entry, and when the duties are required to be paid."
a conclusion is not in harmony with the idea and object of the protest. True, as held in Davies v. Miller, 130 U. S. 284, the clause "within ten days after the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties" merely fixes the limit beyond which the notice of protest shall not be given, and not the first point of time at which it may be given -- that is to say, the notice of protest may be given before the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties (as was specifically ruled in that case), but it is not required to be given until some time within ten days after the liquidation.
"The same considerations lead to the conclusion that the circuit court correctly refused to rule that the ten days prescribed by the statute, within which notice of dissatisfaction is required to be given, did not begin to run until notice of the collector's liquidation was given to the plaintiffs in error, or until they had knowledge thereof. The limitation of the right to complain or to appeal commences with the date of the liquidation, whenever that is made. No notice is required, but the importer who makes the entries is under obligation to take notice of the collector's settlement of the amount of duties."
And in the syllabus of the case by the reporter, it is said: "The right of the importer to complain or appeal begins with the date of the liquidation, whenever that is made." These quotations abundantly show, we think, that the question as to when the ascertainment and liquidation should take place was not considered by the court at all further than that it should take place some time after the entry of the merchandise for warehouse.
date of the final withdrawal of the merchandise from the bonded warehouse. On the contrary, we think the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties on merchandise entered in bond for warehouse should follow in the regular course of business as soon after the entry as is convenient, just as in the case of merchandise entered for immediate consumption. The statutory regulations as to the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties are the same in the one instance as in the other. The measurement, weighing, or gauging of the merchandise, the inspection and appraisal of it, and the determination of its dutiable value are required to be proceeded with exactly the same in each instance. After the ascertainment of those facts in relation to the entry, the collector has to decide what the duties are in each case. His decision at that time is the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties, referred to in section 2931, and there would seem to be no good reason for his delaying that decision in the case of merchandise entered in bond for warehouse until the convenience of the importer shall suggest the removal of the merchandise from the warehouse.
"Any merchandise deposited in bond in any public or private bonded warehouse may be withdrawn for consumption within one year from the date of original importation on payment of the duties and charges to which it may be subject by law at the time of such withdrawal, and after the expiration of one year from the date of original importation, and until the expiration of three years from such date, any merchandise in bond may be withdrawn for consumption on payment of the duties assessed on the original entry and charges, and an additional duty of ten percentum of the amount of such duties and charges."
while the merchandise was in the bonded warehouse. Fabbri v. Murphy, 95 U. S. 191; Act March 14, 1866, 14 Stat. 8. c. 17. The first clause of the section means simply that if there has been a change in the rate of duty after the merchandise has been entered in bond, and the withdrawal of the merchandise takes place afterwards and within one year from the date of the importation, the duties to be paid are such as are fixed by the law in force at the date of the withdrawal. The second clause of section 2970 provides that if the merchandise remain in the bonded warehouse more than one year, it may be withdrawn for consumption at any time within three years upon the payment of the duties and charges assessed upon the original entry and ten percentum in addition. The phrase "duties assessed on the original entry," etc., evidently means the duties on the original entry as finally ascertained and liquidated, within the meaning of those terms, as used in section 2931. In either case, if a statute changing the rate of duties goes into effect after the liquidation of the original entry, a reliquidation must necessarily take place. The two clauses of the section differ in one respect only, viz., in a ten percent increase of duties, where the merchandise remains in the warehouse more than one year, and is withdrawn within three years from the date of importation. This construction renders the two sections of the statute harmonious.
Upon a careful examination of the question at issue, we are of opinion that the ascertainment and liquidation of the duties upon merchandise entered in bond for warehouse may take place at any time after the original entry of the merchandise, and that it is not required to be delayed until the importer chooses to withdraw his goods for consumption. The ten days referred to in section 2931, within which the importer is allowed to protest, begin to run upon such ascertainment and liquidation of the duties, and therefore the protest in the case at bar was too late.
repeal a statute; neither is a construction of a statute by a department charged with its execution to be held conclusive and binding upon the courts of the country unless such construction has been continuously in force for a long time. The cases cited go to that extent, and no further. In regard to the law under consideration, the construction of it by the Treasury Department has not been uniform. The construction contended for by defendants in error first arose in 1876, and lasted only until 1885, since which time the construction has been the same as in this decision. There is no such long and uninterrupted acquiescence in a regulation of a department, or departmental construction of a statute, as will bring the case within the rule announced at an early day in this Court, and followed in very many cases, to-wit, that in case of a doubtful and ambiguous law, the contemporaneous construction of those who have been called upon to carry it into effect is entitled to great respect, and should not be disregarded without the most cogent and persuasive reasons. Edwards v. Darby, 12 Wheat. 206; United States v. Hill, 120 U. S. 169, 120 U. S. 182; Robertson v. Downing, 127 U. S. 607, and very many other cases.
The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the case is remanded to that court, with directions to set aside the verdict and grant a new trial.
MR. JUSTICE BREWER dissented from this opinion and judgment on the ground that the practice of the department at the time the proceedings in the custom house took place, and the action of the Secretary of the Treasury in the matter of the protest and appeal, ought to take the case out of what he concedes to be the correct construction of the statute.

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