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HQ 962974




March 10, 2000

CLA2 RR:CR:GC 962974 AML

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8302.30.30

Robert J. Resetar, Customs Manager
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
980 Hammond Drive
Suite 1000
Atlanta, GA 30328

RE: Motor vehicle license plate bracket

Dear Mr. Resetar:

In a letter to the Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, dated June 8, 1999, you requested a binding classification ruling of a motor vehicle license plate bracket under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your request has been forwarded to this office for reply. Schematic drawings were provided for examination. We regret the delay in responding.

FACTS:

You describe the article as follows:

The license plate bracket is constructed of three flat, steel bars welded together in an “H” pattern. The purpose of the bracket is to attach the license plate to the front bumper panel (fig. #1). There are six screw holes in the bracket. Two of the holes are used to attach the bracket to the bumper panel. Two screws (fig. #30) pass through holes on either side of the bracket, through two spacers (fig. #27), through the bumper panel and into two plastic expanding fasteners located on the inside of the bumper panel. Figure #28 is not applicable since it is for a European version vehicle. The remaining four holes are used to attach the license plate to the bracket via the use of four screws (fig. #25), washers (fig. #24), and plastic expanding fasteners.

ISSUE:

Whether the license plate bracket is classifiable as base metal parts of general use under heading 8302, HTSUS; or as parts or accessories for motor vehicles under subheading 8708, HTSUS; or as other parts and accessories of motor vehicles: other, under subheading 8708, HTSUS?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of imported merchandise is accomplished pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Classification under the HTSUS is guided by the General Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized System (GRIs). GRI 1, HTSUS, 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[.]”

The HTSUS subheadings under consideration are as follows: 8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat- pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof:

8302.30 Other mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles; and parts thereof:

8302.30.30 Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc:

8302.30.60 Other.

8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705:

8708.10 Bumpers and parts thereof:

8708.10.30 Bumpers:

8708.29.50 Other.

8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705:

Other parts and accessories:

8708.99 Other:
Other:

Other:
8708.99.80 Other.

When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the

HTSUS. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See, T.D. 89-90, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

Note 2 to Section XVII, which includes Chapter 87, provides, in pertinent part, that: 2. The expressions "parts" and "parts and accessories" do not apply to he following articles, whether or not they are identifiable as for the goods of this section: (b) Parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV) or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39)[.]

Note 2 to Section XV, which includes Chapter 83, provides, in pertinent part, that: 1. This section does not cover:

(g) Assembled railway or tramway track (heading 8608) or other articles of section XVII (vehicles, ships and boats, aircraft)[emphasis added].

2. Throughout the tariff schedule, the expression "parts of general use" means:

(c) Articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310 and frames and mirrors, of base metal, of heading 8306.

The ENs to heading 8302, HTSUS, provide, in pertinent part, that:

This heading covers general-purpose classes of base metal accessory fittings and mountings, such as are used largely on . . . coachwork, etc. Goods within such general classes remain in this heading even if they are designed for particular uses (e.g., door handles or hinges for automobiles). The heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs.

The heading covers:
(C) Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles (e.g., motor cars, lorries or motor coaches), not being parts or accessories of Section XVII. For example: made up ornamental beading strips; foot rests; grip bars, rails and handles; fittings for blinds (rods, brackets, fastening fittings, spring mechanisms, etc.); interior luggage
racks; window opening mechanisms; specialised ash trays; tail-board fastening fittings.

Note 87.08, Chapter 87, provides, in part:

This heading covers parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 87.01 to 87.05 provided the parts and accessories fulfill both the following conditions (emphasis in original):

(i) They must be identifiable as being suitable for use solely or principally with the above-mentioned vehicles;
and (ii) They must not be excluded by the provisions of the Notes to Section XVII (see the corresponding General Explanatory Note).

Parts and accessories of this heading include:

(B) Parts of bodies and associated accessories, for example . . . number-plate brackets; bumpers and over-riders, etc.

The issue to be decided is whether the license plate bracket should be classified as a part or accessory of motor vehicles in heading 8708, HTSUS, or a “part of general use.” Because of the exclusionary note in Note 2(b), Section XVII, HTSUS, if the bracket is classifiable as a part of general use of base metal or a similar good of plastic, classification as a part or accessory in heading 8708 is precluded. “Parts of general use” are defined, for purposes of the entire HTSUS, in Note 2, Section XV, HTSUS, as including, among other things, articles of heading 8302, HTSUS. Heading 8302 includes, among other things, base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for coachwork or the like.

As stated above, Note 2(b), Section XVII, provides that “parts” and “parts and accessories” do not apply to “[p]arts of general use, as defined in [N]ote 2 to section XV, of base metal..., or similar goods of plastics...” regardless of whether they are identifiable as for the goods of Section XVII. The expression “parts of general use” is defined in Note 2, Section XV, to mean “[t]hroughout the tariff schedule,” inter alia, “[a]rticles of heading ... 8302....” Heading 8302 includes, among other things, “[b]ase metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for ... doors, ... coachwork ... or the like.” In view of these very clear statutory provisions, if a good is a base metal mounting and fitting described by heading 8302, it must be classified in heading 8302, regardless of whether it is suitable for use with a motor vehicle.

Customs recognizes that the EN to heading 8708 specifically enumerates that number-plate brackets are included as parts and accessories of a motor vehicle. We reiterate that GRI 1 states that “provided such headings or notes do not otherwise require,” “classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes [emphasis added].” The above-referenced notes to Sections XV and XVII, which are legally dispositive, preclude classification of parts of general use in heading 8708, HTSUS. We also reiterate that the ENs for the heading are not legally binding, but are guidance in interpreting tariff provisions. See, Solvay Fluorides, Inc. v. United States, CIT Slip. Op. 00-18, February 17, 2000 (citing Mita Copystar America v. United States, 21 F.3d 1079, 1082 (Fed. Cir. 1994); Lynteq, Inc. v. United States, 976 F.2d 693, 699 (Fed. Cir. 1992); H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 100-576, 100th Congress., 2nd Sess. 549 (1988), reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1547, 1582).

Parts of general use as contemplated by the section notes and heading 8302, HTSUS, are defined by reference to “the articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310” (Note 2 to Section XV). Examples of those articles, provided in the referenced headings, include:

1. “padlocks and locks . . . of base metal; clasps and frames incorporating locks . . .” (heading 8301).

2. “base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles . . . [emphasis added]” (heading 8302).

3. “clasps, frames with clasps, buckles, buckle clasps, hooks, eyes, eyelets and the like and parts thereof, of base metal . . .” (heading 8308)

4. “sign plates, name plates, address plates and similar plates, numbers, letters and other symbols, and parts thereof, of base metal . . .” (heading 8310).

The common characteristic of these articles is that they are articles of base metal, which, with the exception of those in heading 8310, provide the function of attaching, fixing (in place), fitting, connecting, binding, or stabilizing two separate articles together, or one to the other. We find that the license plate brackets are ejusdem generis with the articles set forth above (and as described in Note 2 to Section XV). The Court of International Trade (CIT) has stated that the canon of construction ejusdem generis, which means literally, of the same class or kind, teaches that “where particular words of description are followed by general terms, the latter will be regarded as referring to things of a like class with those particularly described.” NisshoIwai American Corp. v. United States (Nissho), 10 CIT 154, 156 (1986). The CIT further stated that “[a]s applicable to customs classification cases, ejusdem generis requires that the imported merchandise possess the essential characteristics or purposes that unite the articles enumerated eo nomine in order to be classified under the general terms.” Nissho, p. 157. Heading 8302 provides for “mountings, fittings and similar articles[.]” Accordingly, as the subject articles are license plate brackets upon which motor vehicle license plates will be secured to the bumper of the vehicle, they are sufficiently similar to the articles enumerated above to be considered parts of
general use. Therefore, pursuant to the above-cited chapter notes, the license plate brackets are classifiable in heading 8302, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The base metal license plate brackets are classifiable under subheading 8302.30.30, HTSUS, as other base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles; and parts thereof, of iron or steel.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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