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NY F84570




April 14, 2000

CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:104 F84570

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8402.11.0000; 8402.90.0090; 7308.90.9590

Mr. John F. McManus
ITOCHU International Inc.
335 Madison Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017

RE: The tariff classification of a watertube steam generating boiler imported in 3 shipments from Japan, Korea and Thailand

Dear Mr. McManus:

In your letter dated March 17, 2000 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

You indicate that the merchandise to be imported is a watertube steam generating boiler with a steam production capacity in excess of 45 tons per hour. The machine will be imported in non-assembled condition in three separate shipments, on different vessels, on different days. Shipment #1 will be parts and components made in Japan, #2 parts and components from Korea, and #3, parts and components from Thailand.

The Korean goods will consist of two steam drums (one intermediate pressure drum and one low pressure drum); the Thai goods will consist, primarily, of non-pressurized parts which make up the external structure of the boiler; Japanese components will consist of one high pressure steam drum, the blowdown fan, the deaerator, all tube modules, all pressurized piping, valves, expansion joints, and instrumentation. The duct burner will be manufactured in the U.S.

The Thai components for the external structure of the boiler include stairways, ladders, platforms, handrails, inlet and outlet ducts, casing panels, structural steel and insulation.

You believe that shipment #1 from Japan is an incomplete steam-generating boiler properly classified under HTS subheading 8402.11.0000 while the other two shipments are classified under HTS subheading 8402.90.0060.

General Rule of Interpretation 2.(a) states that “Any 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 article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled." We agree that shipment #1 constitutes an incomplete steam-generating boiler entered unassembled.

The applicable subheading for the unassembled Japanese components, shipment #1 as described above, will be 8402.11.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for steam or other vapor generating boilers: watertube boilers with a steam production exceeding 45 t per hour. The rate of duty will be 5.2 percent.

The applicable subheading for the two steam drums from Korea will be 8402.90.0090, HTS, which provides for parts of steam or other vapor generating boilers. The rate of duty will be 4.3 percent.

The steel stairways, ladders, platforms and handrails will be classified under HTS subheading 7308.90.9590, which provides for structures and parts of structures of iron or steel: other: other: other.

The balance of the components from Thailand we are unable to classify without additional information:

Have the structural steel or the casing panels been subjected to any metal cutting or forming operations or processed in any other manner? Are the ducts and the stacks capable of uses other than as part of the steam generating boiler? If not, do they have any special features limiting their use?

For the insulation of ceramic fiber and mineral wool, the following information is required:

Is it encased in or attached to any of the other items (such as the casing panels or structural steel) imported with it from Thailand? Provide sample of material.
Provide precise chemical composition of each component. What is the function of the fiber? What is the function of the mineral wool? Which is more important/significant to the article’s function? Has the insulation as a whole been fired to the point where it becomes a ceramic article? If so, at what temperatures has it been fired? Has the ceramic fiber alone been fired to the point where it becomes a ceramic article? If so, at what temperature has it been fired?

When this information is available, you may wish to consider resubmission of this part of your request.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Robert Losche at 212-637-7038.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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