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HQ 965417




July 29, 2002

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 965417 BJB

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8537.10.90

Ms. Barbara Y. Wierbicki

Tompkins & Davidson, LLP

1515 Broadway

New York, NY 10036-8901

RE: Remote Control/Wristwatch

Dear Ms. Wierbicki:

This is in response to your letter, on behalf of Avon Products, Inc. (“Avon”), dated December 12, 2001, to the Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, requesting the classification of a remote control/wristwatch with wrist band, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your letter, attachments, and sample were referred to this office for reply. We regret the delay in responding.

FACTS:

The Avon remote control/watch and wristband are imported together and advertised for retail sale. The remote control/watch is comprised of a non-jeweled, quartz analogue operated watch with a mechanical movement and a series of television/video cassette player-recorder (“VCR”) remote control functions. The article incorporates analogue timekeeping components, including hour and minute needles, and a printed watch face together with remote control functions.

There are remote control function buttons for television, VCR, and cable boxes. Additional function buttons include those for: on/off, mute/sound, channel, and volume controls. The remote control device also includes an infrared control and lens with an effective range of 15 feet. The remote control is compatible, and can be programmed to operate, with televisions and VCRs of approximately 266 different manufacturers.

ISSUE:

Is the remote control/watch classifiable in heading 8537, HTSUS, which provides for “[b]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517[,]” or in heading 9102, HTSUS, as “[w]rist watches, pocket watches and other watches including stop watches, other than those of heading 9101”?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied.

In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The Explanatory Notes (ENs), although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

The remote control/watch consists of a remote control device and a wristwatch combined together. Heading 8537, HTSUS, provides for “[b]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517[.]”

Heading 9102, HTSUS, provides for “[w]rist watches, pocket watches and other watches, including stop watches, other than those of heading 9101[.]” As the remote control/watch is prima facie classifiable in more than one heading, it is necessary to resort to GRI 2. GRI 2(a) does not apply. GRI 2(b), provides in pertinent part that, “[t]he classification of goods consisting of more than one material or substance shall be according to the principles of Rule 3.”

GRI 3 provides, “when, by application of Rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:

The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods.

Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.”

Customs position on the classification of television and VCR remote control devices similar to the subject remote control component was addressed in Headquarters Ruling (“HQ”) 959320, dated June 26, 1997. In that ruling, Customs determined that a hand-held remote control device, for television and computers, was classifiable under subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS, which provides for “[b]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000V: Other.” Accordingly, we incorporate the relevant LAW AND ANALYSIS section of HQ 959320 into this decision as it is dispositive of the classification of the subject remote control component. See also HQ 964559, dated July 16, 2001.

The courts have also addressed the classification of hand-held remote control devices for televisions and stereos. In Universal Electronics, Inc. v. United States, (CAFC Slip Op. 96-1345, April 24, 1997), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision of the Court of International Trade (Slip Op. 96-48, March 7, 1996), to classify hand-held remote controls for televisions and stereos as other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8536 or 8537, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, under subheading 8537.10.00, HTSUS (predecessor to subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS). Like the remote control device in Universal, the present component operates by a user pushing a specified button on the device to complete an electrical circuit. Via a micro-controller the remote control then sends an infrared signal to a micro-controller on the television, VCR, or control box, which in turn sends the necessary amount of electricity to effect the command change.

The remote control component is, therefore prima facie, classifiable under heading 8537, which provides, in pertinent part, for “[b]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity[.]”

The wristwatch component does not have a “case of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal” as provided for wrist watches classifiable under heading 9101, HTSUS. Therefore, it is, prima facie, classifiable under heading 9102, which provides, in pertinent part, for wrist watches “other than those of heading 9101[.]” As noted above, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the components contained in a composite good, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods. Headings 8537, and 9102, HTSUS, each refer to part only of the components of the remote control/watch. Accordingly, no heading provides a specific description of the merchandise, and it is necessary to apply GRI 3(b).

GRI 3(b), supra., provides that composite goods are classifiable as if they consisted of the component which gives them their “essential character.” EN VIII to GRI 3(b), provides that the “factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods.” It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight, or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.”

Applying the GRI 3(b) EN criteria, the essential character of the remote control/watch is imparted by the remote control. The remote control device is the good’s predominant feature. It is central in achieving the good’s main purpose, to have a highly portable and readily accessible remote control for a combination of television, VCR, and cable box entertainment. The watch serves to support the use of the remote control, by reminding the user what time it is, emphasizing the importance of turning on the television or cable via the remote control at the appointed program hour.

Moreover, the watch mechanism and plastic watch band themselves, though functional, are not expensively made. The remote control appears to constitute the bulk of the good in both value and weight, although these factors alone, are not definitive to a determination of the article’s essential character. See HQ 954476, dated October 1, 1993; and HQ 955034, dated October 3, 1993.

Significantly, the marketing of the remote control/watch focuses on its remote control features. Avon, and several other companies that currently sell a similar product, have named and advertise it as a “remote control watch,” not the obverse. Marketing focuses on the remote control’s programmable compatibility with over 250 national and international brands of televisions and VCRs, and the relief of always knowing where the remote control is, thereby supporting the central purpose of the good as a remote control device.

It is, therefore, classifiable under subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS, which provides for “[b]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000V: Other.”

HOLDING:

At GRI 3(b), the Avon remote control/watch is classifiable in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS, which provides for “[b]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000V: Other.”

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Acting Director
Commercial Rulings Division


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