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HQ 957679




May 25, 1995

CLA-2 R:C:M 957679 LTO

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8479.89.90

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
110 South 4th Street
Room 154
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401

RE: Protest 3501-93-100381; Turret Slitter Rewinder Machine; heading 8441; EN 84.41; Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a); chapter 84, note 7; principal use

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding Protest 3501-93-100381, which concerns the classification of the model TS 350 Turret Slitter Rewinder Machine, manufactured by Atlas Converting Equipment, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The subject merchandise was entered on February 22, 1993, and the entry was liquidated on June 4, 1993. The protest was timely filed on August 12, 1993.

FACTS:

The subject article is the model TS 350 Turret Slitter Rewinder Machine ("TS 350"). The protestant states that the TS 350 is used to unwind and cut large rolls of paper and plastic films into narrower widths and rewind the cut material into rolls. A sales brochure submitted by the protestant indicates that the TS 350 is capable of cutting plastic film, paper and "laminates," and can be used for "other applications" as well. The brochure does not elaborate on what types of laminates or other materials may be cut. However, the protestant has submitted samples of paper/plastic and paper/metal foil laminates. Presumably, the TS 350 can be used to cut - 2 -
plastic/metal foil or other laminates which do not contain any paper.

The merchandise was entered under subheading 8441.10.00, HTSUS, which provides for paper cutting machinery. The machine was classified upon liquidation under subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUS, which provides for other machines having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere.

ISSUE:

Whether the TS 350 is classifiable as a paper cutting machine under subheading 8441.10.00, HTSUS, or as a machine having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere, under subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1 states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes . . . ."

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the Customs Co-operation Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, and therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

The headings under consideration are as follows:

8441 Other machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard, including cutting machines of all kinds . . .

8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter . . .

EN 84.41, pg. 1232, states that heading 8441, HTSUS, "covers all machinery used for cutting, and . . . all machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard after it has been manufactured, ranging from machines for cutting into the widths required or into sheets of commercial sizes to those for the - 3 -
manufacture of various made up articles [emphasis in original]." The note further states that the heading covers "[w]inders (slitter-winders), for unwinding reels of paper, slitting the paper into bands (slits) of the required width and rewinding it [emphasis in original]."

The TS 350 is similar to the "winders" or "slitter-winders" described in EN 84.41, except that the TS 350 can be used to wind and slit materials other than paper. A brochure submitted by the protestant states that the TS 350 is an "[a]utomatic turreting slitter for a wide variety of flexible packaging materials [emphasis added]." Another brochure states that the TS 350 is "suitable for most films, papers and laminates . . . ." On the other hand, the SR 1000 slitter winder machine, another Atlas product, is described as a device that is particularly "[s]uitable for paper and paper laminates with uneven material thickness."

EN 84.41 further notes that "some machines described above (such as cutting, folding or bag-making machines) may also be suitable for use in making up certain plastics or thin sheet metal. Such machines remain in this heading provided they are of a type normally used for making up paper or paperboard [emphasis in original]." The file contains no evidence indicating that the TS 350 is "of a type normally used for making up paper or paperboard." nor a machine that belongs to a class or kind of machines that are principally used for "making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard." See Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a), HTSUS. The TS 350 appears to be a machine used for a variety of applications, which merely includes the cutting of paper. Accordingly, the TS 350 cannot be classified under heading 8441, HTSUS.

Note 7 to chapter 84, HTSUS, provides that "[a] machine which is used for more than one purpose is, for the purposes of classification, to be treated as if its principal purpose were its sole purpose." The note further provides that "a machine the principal purpose of which is not described in any heading or for which no one purpose is the principal purpose is, unless the context otherwise requires, to be classified in heading 8479." It is our opinion that the TS 350 is a machine "for which no one purpose is the principal purpose," and it is therefore classifiable under heading 8479, HTSUS. Specifically, the TS 350 is classifiable under subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUS, which provides for other machines having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere.

HOLDING:

The TS 350 Turret Slitter Rewinder Machine is classifiable under subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUS.

The protest should be DENIED. In accordance with section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to the mailing of the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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