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HQ 951003




OCTOBER 15, 1992

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 951003 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.80, HTSUS

District Director of Customs
610 South Canal Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607

RE: GR 8.2 Boron Hex Flange Grain Bin Bolt; Hex Flange Screw; ANSI/ASME B18.2.1; PRD 3901-89-001526

Dear Sir:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3901-89-001526, dated November 16, 1989, filed by counsel representing Fullco Industries, Inc. The merchandise is certain threaded fasteners referred to as hex flange grain bin bolts, from Japan. A meeting with protestant and his counsel was held in our office on June 5, 1992. A supplementary brief, dated June 30, 1992, was submitted confirming that meeting.

FACTS:

The articles in issue come in one of four standard sizes: 3/8 inch-16 x 1 inch, 5/16 inch-18 x 3/4 inch, 5/16 inch-18 x 1 inch, and 5/16 inch-18 x 1 1/4 inch. Samples of each fastener were submitted. All have flat points, fully threaded shanks, and hex flange heads, which are circular flanges upon which a hexagonal (six flat sides with flat top) head is formed. All have an undercut bearing surface that accommodates rubber or plastic washers press fitted over the shank.

These fasteners were entered under the provision for other bolts of iron or steel, in subheading 7318.15.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Protestant maintains that these fasteners are bought, sold, and regarded commercially as bolts. The claim is that they are designed for and used in the construction of agricultural grain bins. In use, these fasteners are said to be inserted through drilled holes in corrugated sidewall panels to attach the panels to the grain bin frame. Protestant claims they do not mate with an internal thread in a tapped or other preformed hole. These fasteners are designed to engage a nut on the inside and are typically - 2 -
tightened by torquing the nut rather than the head. The grain bin siding panels are so thin as to preclude assembly with a screw. In addition, the fasteners have specially designed heads to accommodate rubber or vinyl washers which seal the drilled hole to create a watertight assembly. Protestant cites the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) to support the bolt classification and also claims these fasteners conform to recognized industry criteria for bolts.

Your office determined that the fasteners conformed to the technical specifications of a hex flange screw. Accordingly, the entries were liquidated under the provision for other screws having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more, in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS.

ISSUE:

Whether the threaded fasteners under protest have the majority of design characteristics of a bolt or a screw.

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.

Customs is of the opinion that the most objectively verifiable standard for differentiating one type of threaded fastener from another is by dimensional standards specified by or on behalf of the industry in which these fasteners are used. However, when there is no industry standard available to cover a particular fastener, Customs relies on a more general specification which establishes a recommended procedure for determining the identity of an externally threaded fastener. In cases where a particular fastener does not fall squarely within a recognized standard, we will classify it according to the standard to which it most closely conforms or in accordance with the majority of its design characteristics.

The recommended procedure for differentiating bolts from screws is set forth in American National Standards Institute/ American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ANSI/ASME) standard B18.2.1 (1981). This standard regards as a bolt an[y] externally threaded fastener designed for insertion through holes in assembled parts, and [which] is normally intended to be tightened or released by torquing a nut. The standard regards as a screw an[y] externally threaded fastener capable of being inserted into - 3 -
holes in assembled parts, of mating with a preformed internal thread or forming its own thread, and of being tightened or released by torquing the head.

The heading 7318 ENs protestant cites at p. 1028 indicate that bolts are designed to engage with a nut and usually have a part of their shank unthreaded, whereas screws for metal are usually screwed into a hole tapped in the material to be fastened and are therefore generally threaded throughout their length. The submitted samples all have matching nuts but are also fully threaded. The ENs are therefore inconclusive in resolving the issue before us.

ANSI/ASME standard B18.2.1 specifies primary and supplementary criteria to be applied in determining whether a particular threaded fastener is a bolt or a screw. This specification states that any fastener satisfying one of the primary criteria shall be identified accordingly, and no further examination need be made.

Protestant maintains that the fasteners in issue meet two of the primary criteria for bolts specified in ANSI/ASME standard B18.2.1 and also several of the supplementary criteria specified in that standard. We will discuss each of these criteria in turn.

First, in accordance with primary criteria 5.1 counsel claims that the presence of the washer precludes the fastener from being turned during assembly lest the washer be malformed or destroyed. This requires that the fastener be tightened or released only by torquing the nut. Second, in accordance with primary criteria 5.3 the instant fasteners must be assembled with a nut to perform their intended service, which is to assemble grain bins and similar agricultural structures.

As to these primary criteria, it is our opinion that while it is possible to use these particular fasteners with a nut, they are not necessarily designed for use with a nut. Standard B18.2.1 states that because of basic design, it is possible to use certain types of screws in combination with a nut. The standard states further that any externally threaded fastener which has the majority of design characteristics which assist its proper use in a tapped or other preformed hole is a screw, regardless of how it is used in its service application.

An erection manual for assembling grain bins and other storage bins provided by the concerned National Import Specialist indicates that grain bin bolts of this type are used with flexible washers to provide a watertight seal when the head of the fastener is outside the bin. In such cases, the fastener is tightened not by the head but, as counsel claims, by torquing a nut. However, the manual also depicts such fasteners used - 4 -
entirely inside the bin. They are shown assembled with nuts but the washers, if present, are not visible. When used inside a grain bin a washer would be superfluous because a watertight seal is not required. The fact that these fasteners can be and often are used without washers simply means that they are not prevented from being turned during assembly. It does not necessarily mean they are designed for use with a nut. We conclude that there is insufficient evidence that the instant fasteners meet any of the primary criteria under ANSI/ASME standard B18.2.1. We must therefore look to the supplementary criteria.

First, protestant maintains that these fasteners do not have a controlled fillet radius as required under supplementary criteria 6.1. The claim is that one of protestant's customers may require a controlled under head fillet radius while another customer may not, leading counsel to conclude that the fillet radius is not universally controlled. We are informed that a controlled radius prevents leakage when this fastener is used with a neoprene washer to form a self-sealing screw. More importantly, submitted drawings specify maximum head/body fillet radius requirements. The fillet radius is therefore controlled.

Second, protestant maintains that as demonstrated at the June 5 meeting, the under head bearing surface of these fasteners is neither smooth nor flat, as required by supplementary criteria 6.2; rather, it is significantly undercut to accommodate the rubber or plastic washer. A fastener's bearing surface is the supporting or locating surface under the head with respect to the part which it fastens or mates. An examination of the submitted samples reveals that each has a circumference on the under head that is both smooth and flat. The undercut portion of the bearing surface is inside this circumference. It is clear that when used without the washer this circumference is the fastener's supporting surface.

Third, protestant claims that because of the undercut bearing surface the samples do not have closely controlled angularity or squareness as supplementary criteria 6.3 requires of screws. Angularity is the angle created at the junction of the underhead bearing surface and the shank. In our opinion, the smooth and flat circumference previously discussed creates an angle between the bearing surface and shank that has the visual appearance of being square. However, we agree that angularity is not controlled in the drawings.

Fourth, supplementary criteria 6.4 requires that the body of a screw be closely controlled in accuracy of size and roundness. Protestant admits that its drawings specify body size but not roundness and concludes from this that roundness is not closely controlled or specified. We believe this criteria is irrelevant here because the "body" of a threaded fastener is the unthreaded portion of the shank. These fasteners are all fully threaded. It - 5 -
is noteworthy in this regard that supplementary criteria 6.7 indicates full thread length is a characteristic of screws that allows development of their full strength in tapped holes.

Fifth, supplementary criteria 6.5 requires that a screw be particularly straight to permit ready engagement with an internal thread. A visual examination of the submitted samples reveals no bow, camber or other deviation from straightness. Once again, however, straightness is not a factor specified in the drawings.

Sixth, supplementary criteria 6.6 states that the threads of a screw should be concentric with the body axis within close limits to permit assembly into a tapped hole. The first thread on each fastener closest to the point is eccentric to the second thread. This gives the visual impression that all threads do not share a common axis. However, the drawings specify maximum and minimum pitch diameters as well as maximum and minimum major diameters. This specification necessarily limits the amount of variation of thread concentricity. As the pitch diameter varies so, too, will the thread concentricity vary.

Seventh, supplementary criteria 6.8 states that a screw should have a chamfered or other specially prepared point to facilitate entry into the hole. The submitted drawings specifically identify what is referred to as a header point for these fasteners. These are chamfered points normally produced during the heading operation. Protestant maintains that not all of its fasteners have header points and concludes from this that such points are obviously not a significant design feature. We can only note that each of the samples counsel provided us at the June 5 meeting had a point having the visual appearance of a chamfer.

Finally, supplementary criteria 6.9 indicates that the length of a screw should be closely toleranced to prevent bottoming of the fastener in a tapped hole. The length of the fasteners in issue, plus or minus, is specified in the drawings. HOLDING:

The fasteners in issue here have the majority of design characteristics of a screw. They are provided for in heading 7318. Actual classification is in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, a provision for other screws having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more.

The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19, and mailed to the - 6 -
protestant, through counsel, as part of the notice of action on the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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