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HQ 955337

January 5, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 955337 DWS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.50

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
111 W. Huron Street, Room 603
Buffalo, NY 14202-2378

RE: Protest No. 0901-93-101326; Knurled Neck Stake Bolts; HQ 951995; 7318.15.20

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding the request for further review of Protest No. 0901-93-101326 concerning your action in classifying and assessing duty on knurled neck stake bolts under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of flat-head steel knurled neck stake bolts (model no. C-A6366 P-716), which measure 10mm x 1.5mm x 25.4 mm. The bolt, threaded on one end, is fed through a close tolerance hole, and then struck on the head. The sizing ring, under the head, is forced through the hole and the projections permanently deform the mating surface. The elastic property of the mating steel causes it to lock onto the projections and neck of the bolt. This locking action serves two functions: to prevent the bolt from falling out of the mating part before assembly, and from rotating during the tightening process.

The merchandise was entered under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, as other bolts. The entry was liquidated on July 2, 1993, under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs. The protest was timely filed on July 19, 1993.

The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

7318.15.20: . . . bolts . . . of iron or steel: [t]hreaded articles: [o]ther . . . bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: [b]olts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment.

The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable under this provision is 0.7 percent ad valorem.

7318.15.50: [t]hreaded articles: [o]ther . . . bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: [s]tuds.

The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable under this provision is 4.7 percent ad valorem.

ISSUE:

Whether the knurled neck stake bolts are classifiable under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, as other bolts, or under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs.

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.

In HQ 951995, dated September 15, 1992, knurl bolts similar to the subject bolts were held to be classifiable under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS. In that ruling, we stated that:

[c]ustoms traditionally classifies fasteners in accordance with their primary design characteristics. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specification B18.2.1 establishes a recommended procedure for determining the identity of an externally threaded fastener as a bolt or a screw. This specification regards as a bolt an externally threaded fastener designed for insertion through holes in assembled parts which, because of head design or other feature, is prevented from being turned during assembly, and which can be tightened or released only by torquing a nut.

A stud, on the other hand, is a type of bolt, but is distinguished from a bolt by its intended service application. Studs are normally short rods or pins threaded on one or both ends, sometimes with heads on one end to allow them to be fixed in place resulting in a protuberance to which other articles may be suspended or attached by a nut or other means.

It is our understanding that the subject bolts, threaded and with heads on one end, are designed to be fixed in place to provide a threaded protuberance to which other things can be attached by means of nuts or otherwise. Therefore, in accordance with HQ 951995, the subject bolts are classifiable under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The knurled neck stake bolts are classifiable under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs. Goods classifiable under this provision, upon compliance with sections 10.301 - 10.311, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.301 - 10.311), are dutiable at 1.8 percent ad valorem under the U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement.

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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