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HQ 954932

November 12, 1993

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954932 DWS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.29.00

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
300 S. Ferry Street, Room 1001
Terminal Island, CA 90731

RE: Protest No. 2704-93-102446; Hitch Pins; Section XVI, Note 2(a); Explanatory Note 73.18(D); Section XVI, Note 1(g); Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c); Subchapter XVII, U.S. note 2(ij); 8432.90.00; 9817.00.50

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding the request for further review of Protest No. 2704-93-102446 concerning your action in classifying and assessing duty on hitch pins under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of hitch pins, which are unthreaded steel pins with a flange at one end of the pin. They are cross- drilled to receive a retaining cotter pin. It is claimed that the pins are used to attach various agricultural implements such as trailers, plows, and weeders to tractors. The towed implement will have a forked tongue with holes that slip over the tractor's drawbar and is held by the hitch pin. The hitch pin is then held in place by a lynch pin, a presto pin, or an integrally attached swing lock.

The merchandise was entered under subheading 8432.90.00, HTSUS, as parts of agricultural machinery, and subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, as implements to be used for agricultural purposes. The entry was liquidated on July 2, 1993, under subheading 7318.29.00, HTSUS, as other non-threaded articles. The protest was timely filed on July 23, 1993.

The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

8432.90.00: [a]gricultural, horticultural or forestry machinery for soil preparation or cultivation . . . ; parts thereof: [p]arts.

Goods classifiable under this provision receive duty-free treatment.

9817.00.50: [m]achinery, equipment and implements to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.

Goods classifiable under this provision receive duty-free treatment.

7318.29.00: [s]crews, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: [n]on-threaded articles: [o]ther.

ISSUE:

Whether the hitch pins are classifiable under subheading 8432.90.00, HTSUS, as parts of agricultural machinery, and subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, as implements to be used for agricultural purposes, or under subheading 7318.29.00, HTSUS, as other non-threaded articles.

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.

Section XV, note 2(a), HTSUS, states that:

[t]hroughout the tariff schedule, the expression "parts of general use" means:

(a) Articles of heading 7307, 7312, 7315, 7317 or 7318 and similar articles of base metals.

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). In part, Explanatory Note 73.18(D) (p. 1029) states:

(D) COTTER-PINS AND COTTERS

Cotter-pins, usually of bifurcated form, are used for fitting in holes in spindles, shafts, bolts, etc., to prevent objects mounted thereon from moving along them.

Cotters and taper pins are used for similar purposes but are usually larger and more solid; they may be designed, like cotter-pins, to pass through holes (in which case they are often wedge-shaped), or for fitting into grooves or slots cut round the shaft, spindle, etc., in which case they may be of various shapes such as horseshoe or conical. . .

Based upon the above description given in Explanatory Note 73.18, it is our position that the subject hitch pins are similar in kind to cotter-pins and cotters and are parts of general use classifiable under subheading 7318.29.00, HTSUS. The importer has provided no evidence demonstrating that the hitch pins cannot be used with vehicles or machinery which are not involved in agricultural pursuits, nor are we aware of any such evidence.

Section XVI, note 1(g), HTSUS, states that:

[t]his section does not cover:

(g) Parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV), or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39).

Because the hitch pins are parts of general use of base metal, under section XVI, note 1(g), HTSUS, they are precluded from classification under chapter 84, HTSUS.

Also, additional U.S. rule of interpretation 1(c), HTSUS, states that:

[i]n the absence of special language or content which otherwise requires -

(c) a provision for parts of an article covers products solely or principally used as a part of such articles but a provision for "parts" or "parts and accessories" shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory.

The hitch pins are described under heading 7318, HTSUS, as similar articles to cotter-pins and cotters. Therefore, even if the hitch pins are described as parts under heading 8432, HTSUS, under additional U.S. rule of interpretation 1(c), HTSUS, heading 7318, HTSUS, prevails in the classification of the merchandise because it is a specific provision.

The protestant claims that the hitch pins are actually used to attach a tractor to agricultural implements, and, therefore, they are classifiable under subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, an actual use provision.

Subchapter XVII, U.S. note 2(ij), HTSUS, states that:

[t]he provisions of headings 9817.00.50 and 9817.00.60 do not apply to:

(ij) articles provided for in chapter 73 (except subheadings 7308.10, 7308.20, 7308.40 and 7308.90, subheadings 7315.81 through 7315.89, subheadings 7319.20, 7319.30, 7325.10, 7325.91, 7326.11 and 7326.19).

Consequently, because the hitch pins are classifiable under subheading 7318.29.00, HTSUS, they are precluded from classification under subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, regardless of whether the hitch pins are actually used for agricultural purposes.

HOLDING:

The hitch pins are classifiable under subheading 7318.29.00, HTSUS, as other non-threaded articles.

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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