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NY 885589





May 18, 1993

CLA-2-84:S:N:N1:103 885589

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8428.90.0090; 8428.39.0000; 8431.39.0010

Ms. Pam Brown
Cargo U.K., Inc.
4790 Aviation Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30349

RE: The tariff classification of slaughterhouse equipment from Holland

Dear Ms. Brown:

In your letter dated April 22, 1993 on behalf of Stork RMS, Inc. you requested a tariff classification ruling.

You submitted several brochures depicting equipment used in slaughterhouses for processing beef and pork. The specific articles you inquired about are:

1. A steel lifting platform, consisting of a column-type frame in which a pneumatic cylinder moves a work platform up and down. The platform contains an anti-skid floor and safety handrails. A foot-operated valve is used to control the vertical movement of the platform, allowing a worker to adjust the platform's height as he performs various slaughtering and grading operations.

2. An electrohydraulic jib, consisting of a base and a hinged swivel arm. It is used to load carcasses, quarters of beef, sides of pork, and similar heavy meat products into refrigerated trucks, or to unload them from the trucks. Movement of the jib arm is controlled by a worker using a control handle located at the end of the arm. The jib is capable of holding 200 to 300 kilograms.

3. A tube rail system, an unassembled overhead conveyor system for use in the cold storage, cutting, or shipping areas of a slaughterhouse. The system consists of individual tubular rails, 1.5 inches or two inches in diameter, which are suspended from steel U-beams by means of brackets, manual and pneumatic track switches, and a number of "hooks" which can be manually pulled along the rails to facilitate movement of carcasses through the plant. During a telephone conversation, your client stated that the individual rails and switches are welded together after importation to form the desired overhead conveyor configuration and that each importation will consist of the components needed for a complete system.

4. Overhead conveyor "hooks", which are actually C-shaped trolley-like articles to which meat hooks or shackles are attached. These articles are available in two versions: rolling or sliding. The roller type contains a concave spherical roller and bearing, thus enabling it to roll smoothly along the tube rail. The sliding type do not contain a roller and, as their name implies, simply slide along the overhead tubular rail. The bottom of each unit contains a hole into which a standard meat hook, shackle, gambrel, etc. can be inserted; a knob-like projection on the hook holds it in place. These articles are made of heat-treated aluminum.

The applicable subheading for the lifting platform and electrohydraulic jib will be 8428.90.0090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery: other machinery: other: other. The rate of duty will be 2 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for a complete tube rail system, imported in a single shipment, will be 8428.39.0000, HTS, which provides for other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery: other continuous-action elevators and conveyors, for goods or materials: other. The rate of duty will be 2 percent ad valorem.

Finally, the applicable subheading for the tube rail system "hooks" described above, imported separately, will be 8431.39.0010, HTS, which provides for parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of heading 8428: other: of elevators and conveyors. The rate of duty will again be 2 percent ad valorem.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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