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HQ 089376


September 11, 1991

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089376 AJS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8534.00.00

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
300 South Ferry Street
Terminal Island
Room 2017
San Pedro, CA 90731

RE: Pre-Entry Classification PC 849595; Resistor network; Heading 8533; Chapter 85, note 4; EN 85.34; H. Conf. Rep. No. 576; printed circuit; McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology; EN 85.33; resistor.

Dear District Director:

This is in reference to your memorandum of May 6, 1991, which appeals the classification of merchandise described as a resistor network within subheading 8534.00.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).

FACTS:

The subject resistor network is composed of printed conductors on a ceramic substrate with dimensions of approximately 1" x 3". The bottom edge possesses gold plated finger contacts for insertion into a connector. In addition, the device contains resistors which form a network that is applied by a printing process.

ISSUE:

Whether the resistor network is properly classifiable within heading 8533, HTSUSA, which provides for electrical resistors; or classifiable within heading 8534, HTSUSA, which provides for printed circuits.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 8534.00.00, HTSUSA, provides for printed circuits. For the purposes of this heading these devices are "circuits obtained by forming on an insulating base, by any printing process (for example, embossing, plating-up, etching) or by the 'film circuit' technique, conductor elements, contacts or other printed components (for example, inductances, resistors, capacitors ['passive' elements]) alone or interconnected according to a pre-established pattern, other than elements which can produce, rectify, modulate or amplify an electrical signal (for example, semiconductor elements)." Chapter 85, note 4. See also Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) 85.34, p. 1386 (1991). The subject resistor network satisfies this description. It is a ceramic circuit substrate with printed conductors, and resistors that forms a network which was applied by a printing process. Accordingly, the subject resistor networks are properly classifiable within this subheading.

This conclusion is also supported by the Explanatory Notes to heading 85.34. They state that this heading also covers thin- or thick-film circuits consisting solely of passive elements. ENs 85.34. The subject resistor network satisfies this description. It is a thick or thin-film circuit consisting solely of resistors (i.e., passive elements). While the Explanatory Notes are not dispositive, they provide a commentary on the scope of each heading and offer guidance for interpretation of the HTSUSA. H. Conf. Rep. No. 576, 100th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 549, reprinted in 1988 U.S. CODE CONG. & ADMIN. NEWS p. 1582. We find the above note instructive for determining that the subject resistor network is classifiable as a printed circuit.

This conclusion is additionally supported by the common and commercial meaning of the term "printed circuit". Resistor networks are described as types of both thick-film and thin-film printed circuits. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 14, p. 272 (1987). This language lends further support for the classification of the subject resistor network as a printed circuit.

Heading 8533, HTSUSA, provides for electrical resistors. These are described as conductors whose function is to provide a given electrical resistance in a circuit (e.g., to limit the current flowing). ENs 85.33, p. 1385 (1991). They vary greatly in size and shape, and in the materials of which they are made. They may be made of metals (in the form of bars, shapes or wire, often coiled in bobbins) or of carbon in the form of rods, or of carbon, silicon carbide, metal or metal oxide film. Certain
resistors may be fitted with a number of terminals allowing the whole or part to be included in the circuit. The subject article is a resistor network made by a printing process described in Chapter 85, note 4. The above ENs do not describe these types of articles as electrical resistors. We find this instructive for determining that resistor networks made by a printing process are not classifiable within heading 8533, HTSUSA.

This conclusion is also supported by the common and commercial meaning of the term "resistor". McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 15, p. 380-81 (1987). No reference is made to resistor networks produced by a printing process as a type of resistor. This language lends additional support for the preclusion of the subject resistor network from classification within heading 8533, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

The subject resistor network is properly classifiable within subheading 8534.00.00, HTSUSA, which provides for printed circuits. Pre-Entry Classification PC 849595 is affirmed.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division


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