HQ 0221338 - Substitution same condition drawback; fungibility of halogen light bulbs; 19 USC 1313(j)(2); 19 CFR 141.2(l) - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 221338

May 30, 1991

DRA-4 CO:R:C:E 221338 C

CATEGORY: DRAWBACK

Gerald L. Roth
BULBMAN
630 Sunshine Lane
P. O. Box 2918
Reno, Nevada 89505

RE: Substitution same condition drawback; fungibility of halogen light bulbs; 19 USC 1313(j)(2); 19 CFR 141.2(l)

Dear Mr. Roth:

This responds to your March 16, 1989 and February 13, 1990 letters regarding a fungibility request for light bulbs/lamps. We submitted your request to our Office of Laboratories and Scientific Services for review. By memorandum of April 4, 1991, that office indicated that the specifications for the domestically and foreign produced DYS/DYV/BHC/120v-600w lamps are sufficient to demonstrate fungibility. No determination for the DDM/19v-80w lamp could be made because there were no specifications to review.

You submitted copies of GE (General Electric) projection lamp specifications (p. 7 of your submission) and copies of tungsten halogen lamp specifications (p. 9 of your submission), the latter apparently being specifications for lamps produced by foreign manufacturers. On each list, the GE list and the foreign manufacturer list, there is listed the ANSI (the American National Standards Institute) code DYS/DYV/BHC. On the GE list, there are 11 columns of specifications (not counting the one for "application"). On the foreign manufacturer list, there are 13 columns (same exception). The following specifications, found on both lists, appear to be the most significant: watts or amps; volts; filament design (or type); average life hours; approximate lumens; approximate color temperature. On the basis of these specifications, a comparison of these lamps, suitable for a fungibility determination, can be made. For the domestic and foreign produced DYS/DYV/BHC/ lamps, the foregoing specifications are identical. The Office of Laboratory and Scientific Services advised that fungibility for these bulbs has been sufficiently established.

However, the DDM/19v-80w lamp is not listed on either of these specifications lists. The only information on the DDM lamp is found on page six of your submission. After the DDM code, there are four columns, each containing a number. The meaning of these columns and numbers is unclear. Because there are no specifications to permit a comparison of the domestic and foreign lamps, a fungibility determination for the DDM lamps could not be made. If the specifications lists included specifications for the DDM lamp, and if these specifications, like those for the DYS/DYV/BHC lamps, were identical, it is likely that fungibility would be established. The establishment of fungibility - that is, the burden of proving fungibility - is the obligation of the drawback applicant.

On the basis of the information you submitted, we cannot conclude that domestic and foreign bulbs/lamps with the same ANSI code are fungible. We would want to see more evidence before making that kind of broad fungibility determination. The specifications for one lamp, the DYS/DYV/BHC, are not enough. It would be helpful to submit a statement from the ANSI on that subject, with supporting evidence.

Your submission indicated that ANSI codes, in many cases, have corresponding, or equivalent, IEC codes. On the information submitted, we cannot hold that bulbs/lamps with ANSI codes and equivalent IEC codes are fungible. Without sufficient evidence to establish that proposition, it cannot be endorsed.

In summary, we conclude that the domestic and foreign DYS/DYV/BHC/120v-600w lamps you submitted as samples are fungible. The information submitted regarding the DDM/19v-80w lamp is not sufficient to permit a fungibility determination. Likewise, the information submitted is not sufficient to permit us to hold that all bulbs/lamps with the same ANSI code are fungible, or that bulbs/lamps with ANSI and equivalent IEC codes are fungible. The burden for establishing fungibility is on the drawback applicant.

Please feel free to submit additional information relative to this matter. If you have any additional questions, please contact this office (202/566-5856).

Sincerely,

William G. Rosoff

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