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HQ 953667




May 12, 1993

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 953667 DWS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8445.13.00

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
200 East Bay Street
Charleston, SC 29401-2611

RE: IA 17/93; Drawframe Kits; Unfinished Textile Drawing Machines; GRI 2(a); Explanatory Notes 2(a)(V) and (VII)

Dear District Director:

This is in response to your memorandum of February 26, 1993 (CLA-1-DD:C EYG), relating to a request for internal advice initiated by counsel for Rieter Corporation, concerning the tariff classification of drawframe kits under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of drawframe kits. Each kit contains parts which, once imported into the U.S., will be assembled into a textile drawing machine. The parts include the motor, scanner, switch board, controls, monitors, meters, printed circuits, indicators, drafting assembly, sliver guide, tension levers, gears, belts, rollers, etc. These parts represent 77 percent of the value of a finished drawing machine. Fabricated metal sheet parts, used in the housing of the drawing machine, certain electrical components, and common fasteners will be added to complete the assembly of the drawing machine once the kit is imported into the U.S.

The subheading under consideration is as follows:

8445.13.00: [m]achines for preparing textile fibers: [d]rawing or roving machines.

The general, column one rate of duty is 4.2 percent ad valorem.

ISSUE:

Whether, under GRI 2(a), the drawframe kit imparts the essential character of a finished textile drawing machine? If so, whether the kit is classifiable under subheading 8445.13.00, HTSUS, as an unfinished drawing machine?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

GRI 2(a) states that:

[a]ny reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.

In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive, are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). Explanatory Note 2(a)(V) (p. 2) states that:

[t]he second part of Rule 2(a) provides that complete or finished articles presented unassembled or disassembled are to be classified in the same heading as the assembled article. When goods are so presented, it is usually for reasons such as requirements or convenience of packing, handling or transport.

Explanatory Note 2(a)(VII) (p. 2) states that:

[f]or the purposes of this Rule, "articles presented unassembled or disassembled" means articles the components of which are to be assembled either by means of simple fixing devices (screws, nuts, bolts, etc.) or by riveting or welding, for example, provided only simple assembly operations are involved.

Unassembled components of an article which are in excess of the number required for that article when complete are to be classified separately.

It is our position that the drawframe kit imparts the essential character of a finished textile drawing machine. All that is added after importation are parts of the housing, certain electrical components, and common fasteners, all used in the assembly of the machine. We also find that the parts in the kit will be subject to a simple assembly operation once imported into the U.S., and we are satisfied from the information submitted that they are shipped unassembled for convenience in handling and transportation. There is no evidence of any excess unassembled components.

Therefore, the kit is classifiable under subheading 8445.13.00, HTSUS, as a drawing machine.

HOLDING:

Under GRI 2(a), the drawframe kit imparts the essential character of a finished textile drawing machine. The kit is classifiable under subheading 8445.13.00, HTSUS, as a drawing machine.

You should advise the internal advice applicant of this decision.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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