458 F.2d 146 | C.C.P.A. | 1972
This is an appeal by appellant-importer from the decision and judgment of the United States Customs Court, First Division,
The pertinent provisions of the tariff schedules are:
Classified under:
Tariff Schedules of the United States: Schedule 7, Pant 1, Subpart A:
Footwear of leather (except footwear with uppers of fibers) :
$ }£ >j£ # # }¡í $
Other:
Item 700.40 For other persons_20% ad val.
Claimed under:
Tariff Schedules of the United States: Schedule 7, Part 1, Sub-part A:
Footwear of leather (except footwear with uppers of fibers) :
* * i'fi * * J[¡ *
Item 700.30 Footwear with molded soles laced to uppers-10% ad val.
The single issue in this case is whether the Customs Court erred in holding that appellant had not proven that the soles of the imported
Appellant contends that this process is a lacing process within the ordinary meaning of the term “laced” because the “laces” are inserted by themeselves, unattached to any needle or other tool, through pre-punched holes and then drawn together to tighten the opposite edges of the article being 'laced so as to hold the edges of the sole and upper in place. It is appellant’s position that the process used is similar to the common practice of lacing up a pair of shoes by inserting the ends of the shoelace, with a plastic or metal tip, through prepunched holes and then drawing them together.
The Customs Court held that appellant had not sustained its dual burden in proving that the assigned classification is erroneous and that the shoes in question should have been classified as claimed. While that court recognized that appellee need not affirmatively establish that appellant’s process is something other than lacing, it agreed with appellee that the process is really one of handsewing and cannot be considered lacing.
We affirm. Without specifically holding that appellant’s attachment process is handsewing, we think it more nearly resembles handsewing than lacing. Appellant contends that it cannot be considered sewing since no needle, sewing awl, or other instrument is used to force the thread through the material. As we see it, however, the stiff bristle leader attached to the thread is such an instrument; at least it is more nearly analogous to a needle than it is to the plastic or metal tip of a shoelace. It is the bristle leader which forces its way through the aligned, pre-punched holes in the leather. The thread, being attached to the end of the bristle, is then drawn after it in the same way that thread is pulled through material by a needle.
As such, we see no reversible error in the Customs Court’s holding that appellant’s attachment process is not one of lacing and that
Appellant having failed to satisfactorily establish that the soles of the imported women’s golf shoes are “laced” to the uppers as required by item 100.30, the judgment of the Customs Court sustaining the ■classification of the involved goods under item 700.40 is affimed.
Worley, C. J., took no part in the decision of this case.
65 Cust. Ct. 681, C.D. 4158 (1970).
Prepared by the National Shoe Manufacturers Association, Inc., in April 1963. It is stated in the foreword that the pamphlet is a “dictionary of simple footwear construction definitions” for “non-technical people.”