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HQ 951801




SEPTEMBER 2, 1992

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 951801 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.80, HTSUS

District Director of Customs
1000 Second Ave., Suite 2200
Seattle, WA 98104

RE: Hex Collar Bolt; Subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS; Hex Flange Screw; Subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS; Threaded Fastener With Hex Flange Head and Washer Face; Industrial Fastener Institute (IFI) Standard 111; American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard B 18.2.1; PRD 3001-92-100275

Dear Sir:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3001-92-100275, dated March 18, 1992. It was filed on behalf of Sammi Corporation to contest your action in liquidating an entry of threaded fasteners from South Korea.

FACTS:

A submitted sample is a threaded fastener of steel measuring 1 3/4 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter with fully threaded 1 1/4 inch long shank and a point with bevelled or chamfered circumference. It has an unslotted six sided (hex) washer head which is a washer head upon which a hexagon head is formed.

The merchandise was entered under the provision for bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment, in subheading 7318.15.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Protestant contends that the fastener in issue is bought, sold and used as a hex collar bolt. He states the article meets industry criteria for bolts but does not indicate how.

You liquidated the entry under the provision for other screws having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm or more, in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, on the basis that the fastener conforms to a recognized industry standard for screws. - 2 -

ISSUE:

Whether the fastener in issue has 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 traditionally classifies fasteners in accordance with the majority of their design characteristics. Whenever possible, we apply industrial fastener industry standards to identify a fastener. However, when there is no industry standard available to cover a particular fastener, Customs relies on a more general American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specification which establishes a recommended procedure for determining the identity of an externally threaded fastener. This is the case here.

The fasteners in issue are not standard hex flange screws of the type described by Industrial Fastener Institute (IFI) 111 (1986), although there are some similarities. We therefore look to ANSI specification B 18.2.1 (1981) which establishes a recommended procedure for determining the identity of an externally threaded fastener as a bolt or as a screw. This standard regards a bolt as an externally threaded fastener designed for insertion through holes in assembled parts, and is normally intended to be tightened or released by torquing a nut. It regards as a screw as any externally threaded fastener capable of being inserted into 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. Specification B 18.2.1 provides five primary criteria and nine supplementary criteria for consideration in distinguishing bolts from screws. This specification states that any fastener which satisfies one of the primary criteria shall be identified accordingly and no further examination need be made.

The submitted sample does not clearly meet any of the primary criteria. We must resort, then, to the secondary criteria. First, drawings normally verify a controlled fillet (the concave junction of the head and shank) radius on a screw by verifying maximum and minimum limits. A controlled fillet assures solid seating of the head. There are no drawings in the protest file. However, a visual inspection indicates the sample - 3 -
has a controlled underhead fillet. Second, the flange of the sample provides an underhead bearing surface that is smooth and flat. This minimizes frictional resistance during tightening and prevents scoring of the surface against which the head is turned. The washer-like flange is the functional equivalent of a washer face which Customs has traditionally regarded as a characteristic of screws. Third, the sample fastener appears to have closely controlled head angularity, that is, the angle created at the junction of the underhead bearing surface and the shank should be square or nearly square. Controlled head angularity is characteristic of a screw. Fourth, the sample fastener has a particularly straight shank to permit ready engagement with an internal thread. Fifth, the sample fastener is fully threaded to develop the full strength of the fastener in tapped holes in various materials. This is characteristic of a screw. Sixth, the end of the shank of the sample fastener has a chamfered edge and a small indentation in the middle. This is a specially prepared point which is characteristic of screws. Seventh, the threads of the sample fastener appear to be concentric with the body axis. This is a characteristic of a screw which facilitates assembly into a tapped hole.

The submitted sample meets seven (7) of the nine (9) supplementary criteria specified in ANSI B 18.2.1 as characteristic of screws.

HOLDING:

Under the authority of GRI 1, fasteners represented by the submitted sample are provided for in heading 7318 as screws of iron or steel. They are classifiable in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, as other screws having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm or more.

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

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division


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