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HQ 950766




MARCH 25, 1992

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 950766 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8462.29.00, HTSUS

District Director of Customs
300 Second Avenue South
P.O. Box 789
Great Falls, Montana 59401

RE: Spin Necker; Necker Flanger; Spin Neck Flanger; Aluminum Can Bending Machine; Headings 8462, 8479; PRD 3307-91-100057

Dear Sir:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3307-91-100057, dated November 12, 1991, filed on behalf of Adolph Coors Company, Golden, Colorado. The merchandise is the MB 160 spin necker.

FACTS:

The machine in question is used to form necks on 12 oz. aluminum beverage cans. In operation, a 2 9/16 inch can body is inserted between a set of rollers which clamp onto the top portion of the can. The can then rotates while the rollers close in around the clamped area causing a slight narrowing at the top which forms the neck or flute. This operation strengthens the neck area to permit attachment of a lid by another machine. The operation reduces the diameter of a finished can to a 2 1/4 inches.

The neck flanger was entered under subheading 8479.89.90, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the provision for other machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in [chapter 84]. You determined that the machine in issue performs a bending function and liquidated the entry under subheading 8462.29.00, HTSUS, other bending machines not numerically controlled. - 2 -

ISSUE:

Whether the MB 160 spin necker is a bending machine of heading 8462.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.

Heading 8479 is restricted, among other things, to merchandise having individual functions not covered more specifically by another heading in the HTSUS by reference to its function, description or type.

Protestant maintains that heading 8462 covers machine tools for working metal by forging, hammering, or die-stamping. However, this heading also covers machines for working metal by bending, folding and straightening, among other processes.

The term bending connotes a turning or forcing from straight to curved or angular; to change an article's curvature by applying tension, or to effect a change of shape. The machine in issue deforms the upper portion of a metal beverage can to form a rib or neck to impart strength and to prepare the can for attachment of a lid. The operation does not involve the removal of any metal. The deforming of metal in this manner to effect a change in shape is a bending operation.

HOLDING:

Under GRI 1, the MB 160 spin necker performs a bending function and is provided for in heading 8462. It is classifiable in subheading 8462.29.00, HTSUS, as liquidated.

The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and forwarded to protestant, through its representative, as part of the notice of action on the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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