HQ 0954820 - Protest No. 1703-93-100104: "Linerflex" Flexographic Printing Press; Various Parts; Main Printing Head; U.S. v. Baldt Anchor, Chain & Forge Division of Boston Metals Co.; GRI 2(a); Complete and Unassembled Article; Unfinished Article; Explanatory Note 3(b)(VIII); 8443.30.00 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 954820
December 13, 1993

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954820 DWS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8443

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
1 East Bay Street, Room 104
Savannah, GA 31401

RE: Protest No. 1703-93-100104: "Linerflex" Flexographic Printing Press; Various Parts; Main Printing Head; U.S. v. Baldt Anchor, Chain & Forge Division of Boston Metals Co.; GRI 2(a); Complete and Unassembled Article; Unfinished Article; Explanatory Note 3(b)(VIII); 8443.30.00

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding the request for further review of Protest No. 1703-93-100104 concerning your action in classifying and assessing duty on various parts of a "Linerflex" flexographic printing press under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of various parts for a "Linerflex" flexographic printing press. The parts which are the subject of this protest, valued at $3,255,000, arrived at the port of Savannah on December 27, 1992, on the M/V Bonn Express. The main printing head to the machine, which was intended to shipped with the rest of the parts on the M/V Bonn Express, arrived at the port of Savannah, Georgia, on January 3, 1993, on the M/V Nurnberg Atlantic. The main printing head is valued at $1,107,638. At the time of entry, it was assigned a different entry number and is not the subject of this protest. It is claimed that the main printing head was to be included in the same shipment as the other parts on the M/V Bonn Express, however, due to various occurrences, this was not possible.

The merchandise was entered under subheading 8443.30.00, HTSUS, as flexographic printing machinery. The entry was liquidated on April 23, 1993, under the various subheadings of the HTSUS which specifically describe the parts. The protest was timely filed on July 20, 1993.

Besides the various subheadings of the HTSUS which specifically describe the flexographic printing press parts, the remaining subheading under consideration is as follows:

8443.30.00: [f]lexographic printing machinery.

The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable under this provision is 3.3 percent ad valorem.

ISSUE:

Whether the shipment of the various parts of the flexographic printing press, and the shipment of the main printing head, each shipment having been entered on different dates, constitute a complete and unassembled flexographic printing press under the HTSUS.

Whether the shipment of the various parts, excluding the shipment of the main printing head, constitutes an unfinished flexographic printing press.

Whether the various parts are classifiable under subheading 8443.30.00, HTSUS, as flexographic printing machinery, or under the various HTSUS subheadings which specifically describe the parts.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

It is well settled that articles which are not imported together are precluded from being an entirety. U.S. v. Baldt Anchor, Chain & Forge Division of Boston Metals Co., 59 CCPA 122, C.A.D. 1051, 429 F.2d 1403 (1972).

The term "entirety", which was used in the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), is embodied in GRI 2(a) of the HTSUS. GRI 2(a) states that:

[a]ny reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.

The shipment of the various parts and the shipment of the main printing head do not together constitute a complete and unassembled flexographic printing press. The two shipments arrived at the port of Savannah on two different dates, and, under Baldt Anchor, they cannot together constitute a complete printing press as if the shipments were entered at the same time. The fact that the main printing head was intended to be included in the subject shipment is irrelevant as to the classification of the subject parts. See HQ 081999, dated December 10, 1990.

It is also our position that, under GRI 2(a), the shipment of the various parts, without the main printing head, does not constitute an unfinished flexographic printing press. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The 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). Explanatory Note 3(b)(VIII) (p. 4) states that:

[t]he factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.

The essential character of the printing press is not imparted by the shipment of the various parts, but by the main printing head. Without the main printing head, it would be impossible for the printing press to function as intended. Therefore, the main printing head plays the primary role in relation to the use of the printing press.

Consequently, because the shipment of the various parts does not constitute an unfinished printing press, the parts together are not classifiable under subheading 8443.30.00, HTSUS. They are, however, classifiable under the subheadings of the HTSUS which specifically describe the parts.

HOLDING:

The various parts of the flexographic printing press are classifiable under the subheadings of the HTSUS which specifically describe the parts.

The protest should be denied in full. In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Lexis, Freedom of Information Act, and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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See also:

Tariff No.: 8443.30.00 - Flexographic printing machinery