HQ 951387 - Sewing Machine, Model 14U; Industrial or Commercial Sewing Machine; Item 672.14, TSUS; Household-Type Sewing Machine; 672.16, TSUS; Chainstitch, Overedge Stitch, Overlock Stitch; PRD 2002-91-000507 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 951387

NOVEMBER 3, 1992

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 951387 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 672.16, TSUS

District Area Director of Customs
423 Canal Street, Suite 224
New Orleans, LA 70130-2341

RE: Sewing Machine, Model 14U; Industrial or Commercial Sewing Machine; Item 672.14, TSUS; Household-Type Sewing Machine; 672.16, TSUS; Chainstitch, Overedge Stitch, Overlock Stitch; PRD 2002-91-000507

Dear Sir:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 2002-91-000507, dated May 6, 1991, filed in connection with your action in liquidating an entry of Singer Nikko model 14U overedge sewing machines from Japan. At counsel's request, a meeting was held at Headquarters on July 1, 1992. Additional arguments confirming that meeting were submitted by letter dated August 5, 1992.

FACTS:

The machines in issue have the following characteristics: they weigh approximately 20 lbs.; they are capable of between 1300 to 1500 stitches per minute (spm); they operate with three to five threads and one spool; they perform two basic stitches, the chainstitch and the overedge or overlock stitch; they can produce rolled hems, pin tucks, and braids; machines the subject of this protest are warranted for household (non-commercial) use only.

Counsel for protestant maintains the model 14U is classifiable under the provision for sewing machines specially designed for industrial or commercial use, in item 672.14, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS). The following claims are made in support of this classification. While the 14U has more recently been targeted for the home sewer market, it was originally designed by the Singer Nikko Industrial Products Group for an artisan class of seamstresses or tailors, persons who sew for profit. It produces durable, professionally finished seams - 2 -
which are indispensable to the professional sewer, thus making it a commercial, though not necessarily an industrial machine. It offers a more limited range of functions than a conventional home sewing machine. It uses an industrial-type needle and operates at faster speeds than the conventional home sewing machine which operates at 800 spm. It lacks a bobbin thread supplier necessary to construct a lock stitch. Among the characteristics of such a stitch is its inability to unravel and its lesser elasticity. These are said to be characteristics of a non-commercial type sewing machine. Finally, a warranty used by Singer during the period of time in question excludes damage incurred from commercial use. A submitted Estimate and Repair Report, purports to prove that work was done on the 14U both under and outside the warranty. However, the submitted document is blank.

You determined that the model 14U possesses design features characteristic of a household-type machine and liquidated the entry under the provision for other sewing machines and parts thereof, in item 672.16, TSUS.

ISSUE:

Whether the Singer Nikko model 14U overedge sewing machine has been shown to be specially designed for industrial or commercial use.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

In comparing item 672.14 with item 672.16, TSUS, in terms of specificity, it must first be determined whether the former provision even encompasses the model 14U machines. General Interpretative Rule 10 (c)(ii), TSUS. The test in this regard is not the class of persons who use these machines; rather, it is whether they have particular design features characteristic of industrial or commercial use.

The record establishes that the 14U has maximum operating speeds of between 1300 to 1500 spm, well within the speed range commonly associated with sewing machines of the household type. Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 24 (1980), p. 634. The machines in issue weigh approximately 20 lbs. each, with motor, which is well under the maximum 35 lb. weight typical of household-type sewing machine heads (complete sewing machines minus motor). Counsel concedes the 14U performs an overlock stitch but claims this is not a true lock stitch because it will unravel. Sewing samples were submitted purporting to establish this. The common meaning of the term lockstitch imposes no such requirement.

In HQ 087488, dated November 30, 1990, aff'd. by HQ 089283, dated August 13, 1991, on the identical machines under the HTSUS, the following definitions were cited: - 3 -
lockstitch, a sewing machine stitch in which two threads are locked together at small intervals.

The Random House Dictionary Of The English Language, Unabridged, 1983
lockstitch, a stitch, as by a sewing machine, in which two threads are interlocked at short intervals.

Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd Ed., 1983

Singer's more restrictive definition of the term lockstitch imposes the requirement that it be incapable of unraveling. This is a definition fashioned by a single company and cannot supersede the previously cited longstanding and highly credible authoritative lexicons as reflecting common meaning.

In addition, the Singer Sewing Reference Library publication More Sewing for the Home, Cy DeCosse Incorporated (1987), created in cooperation with the Singer Education Department, states at p. 32:

Overlocked or serged seams are timesaving and practical for home decorating because the seam is stitched and overedged at the same time. The overlock machine is a supplement to a conventional sewing machine (Emphasis original).

The same publication describes a rolled edge sewn with a three-thread overlock stitch as being durable and neat on lightweight fabrics. It therefore appears that the protestant itself regards the overlock or overedge stitches as common household-type stitches.

Finally, at the time of the entry under protest 14U series was sold with a consumer warranty which included a statement that the machine was warranted only for household (non-commercial) use. Protestant maintains that the language has no meaningful application because it was never enforced. Protestant claims that as a practical matter Singer never inquires as to the actual use of the machine. While not conclusive, the record establishes that the warranty was in effect with respect to the 14U since at least June of 1986, over 2 years before the protested entry. We can only observe that such a warranty would be an inducement for any household user of this machine.

The evidence of record does not support the conclusion that the sewing machines in issue were specially designed for industrial or commercial use. - 4 -

HOLDING:

The Singer model 14U sewing machines in issue are classifiable in item 672.16, TSUS, 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 counsel, as part of the notice of action on the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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