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HQ 953271


March 12, 1993

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 953271 LTO

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8483.10.50

District Area Director
U.S. Customs Service
150 North Royal
Mobile, Alabama 36602

RE: Protest No. 1901-92-100061; transmission shafts for rotary cutter-type mowers; 8433.20.00; 8433.90.50; Section XVI, Note 2(a); Section XVI, Note 4; "condition as imported"

Dear Sir:

This is in reference to Protest No. 1901-92-100061, dated October 21, 1992, which concerns the classification of transmission shafts for rotary cutter-type mowers under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The articles in question are transmission shafts used in the assembly of rotary cutter-type mowers. The articles were classified upon liquidation under subheading 8483.10.50, HTSUS, which provides for other transmission shafts. The protestant contends that the articles in question are classifiable under either subheading 8433.20.00, HTSUS, which provides for other mowers, including cutter bars for tractor mounting, or, alternatively, under subheading 8433.90.50, HTSUS, which provides for parts of other mowers, harvesting machines and threshing machines.

ISSUE:

Whether the transmission shafts for rotary cutter-type mowers are classifiable as other transmission shafts under subheading 8483.10.50, HTSUS, or as parts of mowers under subheading 8433.90.50, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1 states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes . . . ."

The headings at issue are as follows:

8433 Harvesting or threshing machinery, including straw or fodder balers; grass or hay mowers; machines for cleaning, sorting or grading eggs, fruit or other agricultural produce, other than machinery of heading 8437; parts thereof

8483 Transmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks . . .

The protestant contends that the articles in question are classifiable as other mowers, including cutter bars for tractor mounting under subheading 8433.20.00, HTSUS, or, alternatively, as other parts of mowers, harvesting machines and threshing machines under subheading 8433.90.50, HTSUS. This claim is based upon the protestant's interpretation of note 4 to section XVI and GRI 3(a). The protestant's reliance on note 4 to section XVI and GRI 3(a) is misplaced.

Recently, the U.S. Court of International Trade reiterated that "[i]t is well established that an imported article is to be classified according to its condition as imported . . . ." XTC Products, Inc. v. United States, 771 F.Supp. 401, 405 (1991). See also, United States v. Citroen, 223 U.S. 407 (1911). Therefore, at the outset, it is necessary to recognize that the imported article is the transmission shaft, not the finished mower.

Note 4 to section XVI states that "[w]here a machine . . . consists of individual components . . . intended to contribute together to a clearly defined function covered by one of the headings in chapter 84 or chapter 85, then the whole falls to be classified in the heading appropriate to that function." Inasmuch as the merchandise in question is the shaft, the functional unit note, as it applies to the mower, is irrelevant to the instant case. The transmission shafts, which are not mowers, are not covered by the terms of subheading 8433.20.00, HTSUS, and cannot be classified under that provision.

Alternatively, the protestant claims that the shafts are classifiable as other parts of mowers under subheading 8433.90.50, HTSUS. Note 2 to section XVI governs the classification of parts of machines within chapters 84 and 85. Note 2(a) to section XVI states that "[p]arts which are goods included in any of the headings of Chapters 84 and 85 . . . are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings [underlining added]." Inasmuch as the shafts are "goods included" in a heading of chapter 84, they cannot be classified as parts under heading 8433, HTSUS.

The protestant states that most of the imported shafts will be used to manufacture rotary cutter-type mowers, while some may be used for replacement part purposes. Citing dictionary definitions for "parts" and "components," the protestant argues that the shafts which are imported as components, rather than as replacement parts, should be classified under heading 8433, HTSUS.

In their imported condition, the transmission shafts, whether for use as replacement parts or to manufacture mowers, are named articles provided for under heading 8483, HTSUS. Specifically, the shafts are classifiable as other transmission shafts under subheading 8483.10.50, HTSUS.

Finally, as shown above, the shafts are not classifiable as mowers or as parts of mowers under heading 8433, HTSUS. Because GRI 3 applies only when goods are classifiable under two or more headings, GRI 3(a) cannot apply.

HOLDING:

The transmission shafts are classifiable under subheading 8483.10.50, HTSUS, which provides for "[t]ransmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks . . . [t]ransmission shafts . . . [o]ther transmission shafts and cranks." The corresponding rate of duty for articles of this subheading is 4% ad valorem.

Accordingly, the protest should be denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and provided to the protestant as part of the notice of action on the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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