A vessel arrived at a port of the United States from a foreign
port on the 30th of June, 1883, and was entered at the custom house
on that day. A custom house inspector took charge of it, and the
vessel remained with unbroken hatches until after the following 1st
of July. field, - that the goods on board, being in the custody and
under the control of officers of the customs, were in "a public
store," or "bonded warehouse" within the meaning of those terms as
used in § 10 of the Act of March 3, 1883, 22 Stat. 488, 525,
and were subject to the duty imposed by the provisions of that
act.
The Court stated the case as follows:
In 1883, the plaintiffs were merchants in the City of
Philadelphia, and during that year they imported from Leghorn,
Italy, by the bark
Pellegra Madre, 155 cases of salad
olive oil and ten cases of lamp olive oil. The bark arrived at the
port of Philadelphia on Saturday, the 30th of June, 1883, and was
entered at the custom house of that port between the hours of one
and two in the afternoon. It was not practicable on that day after
that time to remove the cases from the vessel into any public store
or bonded warehouse, and the next day, July 1st, 1883, was Sunday.
On the 7th of July, the cases were entered in bond at the custom
house, and on the same day the plaintiffs made a withdrawal entry
for the goods, and offered to pay the defendant, who was at the
time collector of the port, duty thereon at the rate of 25 percent
ad valorem as provided by § 6 of the Act of Congress
of March 3, 1883, 22 Stat. 494, c. 121, but the defendant refused
to permit the withdrawal entry, or to accept the duty at that rate,
and exacted duty on the 155 cases of salad olive oil, gauging 645
63/100 gallons at the rate of one dollar per gallon, and on the ten
cases of lamp olive oil, gauging one hundred gallons at the rate
of
Page 125 U. S. 526
25 cents per gallon, the whole making the sum of $670.63, which
was paid by the plaintiffs within ten days after liquidation of the
entry, under protest, they claiming that the oil was only subject
to duty at the rate of 25 percent
ad valorem. The
difference between the amount of duties exacted and paid and the
amount which the plaintiffs claimed were leviable upon the goods
was four hundred and thirty-five dollars and sixty-two cents
($435.62). From the decision of the collector the plaintiffs
appealed to the Secretary of the Treasury, who approved the
decision, and thereupon they brought this action in the Court of
Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to
recover the alleged excess of duties exacted. On petition of the
collector, the action was removed to the circuit court of the
United States, where issue was joined and the action tried,
resulting in a special verdict finding the several facts stated
above and also that from the time of the arrival and entry of the
bark in the port of Philadelphia, June 30, 1883, until after
payment of the duty exacted, July 7th, the "vessel remained with
unbroken hatches, and with a custom house inspector in charge of
the same."
Upon the special verdict, the court rendered judgment for the
plaintiffs for the amount claimed, with interest, and to review
this judgment the case is brought here on writ of error.
In his general circular to collectors of customs of May 19th,
1883, the Secretary of the Treasury, in giving construction to
§ 10 of the Act of March 3d 1883, said
"that all goods imported before said act takes effect, and which
are entered in bond on or before that date, and for which permits
to land, designating the warehouse, have been issued, and which
have not then been delivered on payment of duties, are to be
regarded as subject to duty under said act. This rule will prevail
whether the goods are actually within the walls of a bonded
warehouse on that day, or on the dock, or on shipboard in port, or
undergoing transportation in bond, either after appraisal or under
the immediate transportation act. "
Page 125 U. S. 527
MR. JUSTICE FIELD, after stating the facts as above, delivered
the opinion of the Court.
The duties exacted by the collector and paid by the importers,
who were plaintiffs below, were imposed by a clause in § 2504,
Title 33, Revised Statutes, 2d ed. p. 478. As the vessel in which
the goods were brought arrived at the port of Philadelphia and were
entered at the custom house on the 30th of June, 1883, they would
be deemed imported on that day, so as to be subject to the duties
thus prescribed, were it not for provisions in the Act of March 3,
1883, and the custody taken of the vessel and goods by an officer
of the custom house on the day of its arrival in port, and kept by
him until after the 1st of July following. That act declared that
on and after the 1st day of July, 1883, certain designated sections
should be a substitute for title 33 of the Revised Statutes. 22
Stat. 489. One of these sections provides that the duties on all
preparations known as "expressed oils," not specifically enumerated
or provided for in the act, shall be 25 percent
ad
valorem. Olive oils, both salad and lamp, are expressed oils
within the meaning of this section, and are not specifically
enumerated or provided for elsewhere in the act. Section 10 of the
act declares
"That all imported goods, wares, and merchandise which may be in
the public stores or bonded warehouses on the day and year when
this act shall go into effect, except as otherwise provided in this
act, shall be subjected to no other duty upon the entry thereof for
consumption than if the same were imported respectively after that
day, and all goods, wares, and merchandise remaining in bonded
warehouses on the day and year this act shall take effect, and upon
which the duties shall have been paid, shall be entitled to a
refund of the difference between the amount of duties paid and the
amount of duties said goods, wares, and merchandise would be
subject to if the same were imported respectively after that
date."
22 Stat. 525, c. 121.
The plain meaning of this section is that, though goods are
imported before the act takes effect, yet if they are kept
until
Page 125 U. S. 528
after that period in a public store or bonded warehouse -- that
is, in the custody and under the control of officers of the
customs, they shall be subjected only to the duties thereafter
leviable when they are entered for consumption. If, previously to
such entry, duties have been paid on goods imported before the act
took effect which are afterwards kept in a public store or bonded
warehouse -- that is, in the custody and control of officers of the
government -- the importer is entitled to a refund of the
difference between the amount paid and the amount which would be
leviable if they were imported after the act took effect. In other
words, goods imported before the act took effect, if kept in the
custody and control of the government, are to be charged with
duties according to the law in force when they are entered for
consumption -- that is, when passed over to the control of the
importer or owner. The place in which the goods are thus kept is
not the essential fact, but the custody of the government, and the
consequent exclusion of control over them by the owner, which calls
for the suspension of previous duties. There is manifest justice in
the rule that goods thus withheld from the control of the owner or
importer shall be subject only to such duties as are leviable by
the law when he is at liberty to take possession of them.
Ordinarily, goods in the custody and control of officers of the
customs are placed in a public store or bonded warehouse, and thus
the designation of the goods as thus placed is, in the legislation
of Congress, in effect a designation, and no more, of their being
in such custody. But goods on board of a ship, in charge of a
custom house officer, preliminary to their removal to a public
store or a bonded warehouse and during the time necessary for that
purpose, are in like custody, and so are, within the spirit and
intent of the law, subject only to such duties as are leviable when
the goods are freed from such custody. So far as the government is
concerned, they are in the same position as if technically in a
public store or bonded warehouse. When in either of those places,
they cannot be removed without a permit from the collector. When on
shipboard, in charge of a custom house inspector, they are in the
same condition, and cannot be removed without a like
Page 125 U. S. 529
permit. By statute, collectors are required to put one or more
inspectors on board of every vessel immediately on her coming
within a collection district, and no merchandise can be unloaded or
removed from the vessel without a permit in writing from the
collector. Rev.Stat. §§ 2875, 2876.
The Act of Congress of March 28, 1854, which is now embraced in
§ 2971 of the Revised Statutes, in providing for the deposit
of goods in public stores and bonded warehouses, declares that "any
goods remaining in public store or bonded warehouse beyond three
years shall be regarded as abandoned to the government," and, in
the construction of this clause, the Treasury Department has
decided that the period limited for their remaining in a public
store or a bonded warehouse includes the time on shipboard after
the arrival of the ship in port. Treasury Regulations of 1857,
article 438.
We are therefore of opinion that within the spirit and intent of
the tenth section of the Act of March 3, 1883, the goods were not
chargeable with duties while on board the bark in custody of an
officer of the customs at any greater rate than they would have
been chargeable if in custody of such officer in a public store or
bonded warehouse of the government, and that therefore duties were
only leviable on the goods by the act which went into effect on the
1st of July, 1883. The intent of the legislature is to be followed
even if not strictly within the letter of the statute. It follows
that the construction placed upon the section by the Secretary of
the Treasury in his circular of May 19, 1883, to collectors of
customs, is correct so far as it recognizes as subject to duties
under it goods imported before the act took effect, whether
"actually within the walls of a bonded warehouse on that day, or
on the dock, or on shipboard in port, or undergoing transportation
in bond, either after appraisal or under the immediate
transportation act,"
but is incorrect so far as it limits the application of the rule
to goods, imported before the act took effect,
"which are entered in bond on or before that date, and for which
permits to land, designating the warehouse, have been issued, and
which have not then been delivered on payment of duties."
If goods thus imported can be
Page 125 U. S. 530
brought within the provisions of the tenth section in any case
when not actually in a public store or bonded warehouse, they
should be deemed within those provisions when, by reason of the
custody of officers of the customs, it is impracticable to remove
them from the vessel, whether they are at the time entered in bond
or not.
Judgment affirmed.
