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HQ 951474


July 1, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 951474 NLP

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9401.90.40

Mr. Steven Sauer
Grand Basket Co., Inc.
53-06 Grand Avenue
Maspeth, NY 11378

RE: Wicker/rattan rocking chairs; wood runners; parts of chairs; General Explanatory Notes to Chapter 94; Explanatory Note 94.01; HRL 053757

Dear Mr. Sauer:

This is in response to your letter dated March 18, 1992, in which you requested the tariff classification of wood runners for wicker/rattan chairs under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Photographs of the chairs and runners were submitted for our review.

FACTS:

The articles at issue are wood runners for wicker/rattan rocking chairs. The first photograph depicts two wooden runners affixed to the prepared legs of a wicker/rattan chair. These runners actually make the item a rocking chair. The second photograph shows a wicker/rattan chair with the legs prepared for runners. The runners are unattached and are shown with corresponding holes pre-drilled to receive the legs of the chair. The wood runners will be imported separately from the chairs to which they will be attached.

ISSUE:

Are the wood runners classified in subheading 9401.90.40, HTSUS, which provides for seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof: parts: of wood?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter
notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI's may be applied, taken in order.

Heading 9401, HTSUS, provides for the following:

Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof.

In understanding the language of the HTS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HCDCS) Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The HCDCS Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive, are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The HCDCS General Explanatory Notes to Chapter 94 state, on page 1575, the following regarding parts of this chapter:

This Chapter only covers parts, whether or not in the rough, of the goods of headings 94.01 to 94.03 and 94.05, when identifiable by their shape or other specific features as parts designed solely or principally for an article of those headings. They are classified in this Chapter when not more specifically covered elsewhere.

HCDCS Explanatory Note 94.01 provides the following on page 1576:
PARTS

The heading also covers identifiable parts of chairs or other seats, such as backs, bottoms and armrests (whether or not upholstered with straw or cane, stuffed or spring), and spiral springs assembled for seat upholstery.

Wicker/rattan rocking chairs are classified in heading 9401, HTSUS. The subject wooden runners are identifiable parts of these chairs. They have pre-drilled holes that will allow them to receive the legs of the chair and they will serve as the part that makes the chair a rocker. In addition, these runners are not more specifically classified elsewhere. Therefore, the runners are considered parts of chairs and are classified in heading 9401, HTSUS.

Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 053757 dated October 6, 1977, dealt with the classification of furniture parts under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS). The merchandise at issue in HRL 053757 consisted of various wooden rocker and chair parts; including seats, crowns, runners, spindles, legs and cross-bars. The importer proposed to import these parts in separate containers with 10 seats in one container and the requisite number of parts to complete these chairs in another container. The separate containers were shipped on different vessels. Under these circumstances, Customs held that the imported parts were not considered complete, but unassembled chairs. Accordingly, the parts were classified under the provision for parts of furniture, in item 727.40, TSUS.

Congress has indicated that earlier tariff rulings must not be disregarded in applying the HTSUS. The conference report to the 1988 Omnibus Trade Bill, states that "on a case-by-case basis prior decisions should be considered instructive in interpreting the HTS[USA], particularly where the nomenclature previously interpreted in those decisions remains unchanged and no dissimilar interpretation is required by the text of the HTS[USA]." H. Rep. No. 100-576, 100th Cong., 2D Sess. 548, 550 (1988).

The subject nomenclature in the TSUS and HTSUS are essentially the same and both HRL 053757 and this case deal with the classification of runners imported separately from the chairs to which they will be attached. Therefore, as the runners at issue are constructed of wood and are imported separately from the wicker/rattan chairs, they will be classified as seat parts made of wood in subheading 9401.90.40, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

Wood runners that are imported separately from the wicker/rattan chairs to which they will be attached are classified in subheading 9401.90.40, HTSUS, which provides for seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof: parts: of wood. The rate of duty is 5.3 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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