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HQ 964413




OCTOBER 16, 2000

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 964413 JAS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7318.19.00

Mr. Walter Zimmer
Omnitrans Corporation, LTD.
111 Broadway
New York, NY 10006

RE: DD 877436 Revoked; Acoustical Lag Screws

Dear Mr. Zimmer:

In DD 877436, which the District (now Port) Director of Customs, Los Angeles, issued to you on September 4, 1992, on behalf of Fastener Specialties, Inc., acoustical lag screws of zinc-plated steel, were held to be classifiable in subheading 7318.12.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as other wood screws.

Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. 03-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed revocation of DD 877436 was published on September 13, 2000, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 34, Number 37. No comments were received in response to that notice.

FACTS:

The screws were said to be available in lengths of 3, 4, and 5 inches. They have tapered points and a steep cutting thread on one half of the fastener, and an unthreaded shank portion in the middle which culminates in a flat, paddle-shaped end with a circular eye cut in the middle. In use, the screws will be twisted into a wooden beam and by attaching a wire through the screweye, will support the framework for a suspended acoustical ceiling.

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:

Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screwsand similar articles of iron or steel:

7318.12.00 Other wood screws

Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers:

7318.15.50 Studs

7318.19.00 Other

ISSUE:

Whether lag eye screws of iron or steel are provided for in heading 7318 as wood screws or as other threaded fasteners.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Under General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), goods are to be classified 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.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under the System. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

In general, screws are externally threaded fasteners 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. The ENs, on p. 1117 state that screws for wood differ from bolts and screws for metal in that they are tapered and pointed, and they have a steeper cutting thread since they have to bite their own way into the material. Further, wood screws almost always have slotted or recessed heads and they are never used with nuts.

Lag eye screws have tapered points and steep cutting threads common to wood screws, but lack slotted or recessed heads. The eye lag screws at issue lack a significant design feature of wood screws. In addition, heads are the means by which screws are normally tightened or released. In this case however, while the paddle-shaped end functions as the means by which this fastener is tightened or released, this end also has an eye, which is also the means by which the T-bar framework is suspended. This fastener has a significant, additional design feature that imparts a function not associated with other screws of subheading 7318.15, HTSUS. See HQ 959570, dated December 20, 1996.

Because these fasteners are designed so that one end is secured in a surface leaving a protuberance to which something else is attached, consideration was given to the provision for “studs” of subheading 731 8.15.50, HTSUS. However, the Courts have held that while the term stud is broadly defined and encompasses a number of articles, normally, the shank of a stud is embedded in a surface, leaving a threaded protuberance exposed to which an attachment might be made with a nut or otherwise. See Fastening Devices. Inc. et al v. United States, 40 Cust. Ct. 345, C.D. 2004 (1958). The eye lag screws do not function in this manner.

Finally, the Courts have held that reference to a “basket” provision such as subheading 731 8.19.00, HTSUS, is proper only when no other provision describes the merchandise more specifically. See Hafele America Co.. Ltd., Slip Op. 94-1 88 (Ct. Int’l Trade, decided December 12, 1994). Such is the case here.

HOLDING:

There being no more specific provision describing this merchandise, we find that under the authority of GRI 1, the steel eye lag screws are provided for in heading 7318. They are classifiable in subheading 7318.19.00, HTSUS.

EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:

DD 877436, dated September 4, 1992, is revoked. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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