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HQ 952725





DECEMBER 30, 1992

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 952725 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.80, HTSUS

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

RE: T-304 Penta Washer Head Bolt; Subheading 7318.15.20; Screw; American National Standards Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ANSI/ASME) B18.2.1; PRD 3001-92-100614

Dear Sir:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3001-92-100614, dated July 15, 1992, filed on behalf of Action Threaded Products, Inc., against your action in liquidating an entry of threaded fasteners from South Korea.

FACTS:

The article in issue is a tamper resistent fastener designed for use in holding doors or panels in the housing of an electrical power transformer. A sample fastener submitted with this protest measures 2 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter. It is threaded along the bottom 3/4 of its shank, has a flat point with a chamfered circumference, and an unslotted 5-sided or penta washer head. After the fastener is formed, the diameter of the unthreaded portion of the shank below the head is reduced in a separate procedure to accommodate a spring on its body. The spring is intended to hold the fastener in place on the door or panel of the housing before and during assembly.

In its application, the fastener is inserted into a threaded hole inside the transformer housing. In some cases, a nut may be fixed in place inside the housing to serve as the threaded hole. The specially prepared point makes it easier for the assembler to find the threaded hole which is not visible to him because it is enclosed within the housing.

The protestant maintains 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 - 2 -
the United States (HTSUS), represents the proper classification. He contends that these fasteners are ordered, bought and sold, and used by all concerned parties as bolts. He contends further that they meet the criteria in American National Standards Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ANSI/ASME) B18.2.1 for bolts, but does not specify in what respect.

The concerned import specialist determined that the sample had the design characteristics of a screw in ANSI/ASME B18.2.1 and liquidated the entry under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, a provision for other screws having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more.

ISSUE:

Whether threaded fasteners represented by the submitted sample have design characteristics of bolts or screws.

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 covered by a particular industry standard. We therefore look to ANSI/ASME 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 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. It regards as a screw an[y] 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 four primary criteria and nine supplementary criteria for consideration in distinguishing bolts from screws. This specification states that any fastener which - 3 -
satisfies one of the primary criteria shall be identified accordingly and no further examination need be made.

An examination of the submitted sample indicates the following. It has a penta or 5-sided head, each side being oblique to the sides opposite it so that a specially formed wrench must be used to torque the head. This is a tamper resistent feature not found on the more common six sided hex head fastener which can be torqued by a standard wrench. The specially prepared point is a design feature making it easier to engage the permanently affixed nut or other threaded hole which is inside the housing and not visible to the assembler. The tapered shank enables the fastener to accommodate a spring on its body. The spring holds the fastener in place on the door or panel before and during assembly.

The design features of the submitted sample indicate it is intended to mate with a preformed internal thread and to be tightened or released by torquing the head. These are design features 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 6 mm 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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