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HQ 965528




August 14, 2002

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 965528 GOB

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9032.82.00

Debbie Aiu
Regulatory Operations Manager
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
395 Page Mill Road
MS A2-04A
Palo Alto, CA 94303-0870

RE: 3070 In Circuit Test Outsource Series; Testing of Semiconductor Devices

Dear Ms. Aiu:

This is in reply to your letter of February 20, 2002, on behalf of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (“Agilent”), to the Director, National Commodity Specialist Division, Customs, New York, requesting a binding classification ruling under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) with respect to the Agilent 3070 In Circuit Test Outsource Series (“3070 In Circuit Test”).

FACTS:

You describe the 3070 In Circuit Test as follows:

The 3070 In Circuit Test is a specialized system for creating, debugging and running tests in electronic manufacturing environments, both in the development and the production areas. It is built for end-to-end test environments, combining the Control XTP Card (controls the test process between the computer that contains the test program and the cards that interface with the device under test) with automatic program generation tools coded into the system software.

The term “In Circuit Test’ describes the testing of individual electronic elements already mounted on a printed circuit board, as opposed to conducting testing of the individual components before they are mounted. The purpose of this type of testing is to establish whether each element is functional, not whether an entire board performs its intended function. Although the testing is conducted on a populated printed circuit board, the aspect that is being tested is that the connections of the component elements on the board are not shorted or open, and the verification that the individual components are correct.

The Outsource Series is a high-end ICT heavily focused on semiconductor testing. The typical printed circuit boards tested by these systems have most of their cost in semiconductor components. The advanced software that constitutes the key value is dedicated to identifying incorrect or faulty semiconductors.

The Outsource Series consists of three systems: Development System, Production System, and the Pay-Per-Use System. These are three bundled configurations created for three different purposes. The Development System includes all applications for end-to-end tests, including development and production. The Production System includes run-time-only version of the same applications. The Pay-Per-Use system allows the activation of test capabilities only as needed, and users pay only for what they actually need . . . The pay-per-use consists of the user charging against a ‘credit card’ (similar concept to a fixed value phone card) in the form of an IC-based device that is inserted into the ICT and enables the system to operate at higher frequencies, increased number of nodes or activate an optional software features for the time period necessary to run the testing on the printed circuit board. When the higher level of performance is invoked, the ‘credit card’ gets charged accordingly.

The system package includes:
a) semiconductor testing features b) passive component features c) combined semiconductor and passive testing clusters d) efficiency or programming features – no bearing on active or passive

ISSUE:

What is the classification under the HTSUS of the Agilent 3070 In Circuit Test Outsource Series?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI’s”). 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 GRI’s may then be applied.

GRI 6 provides in pertinent part that: “For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any other related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.”

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“EN’s”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the EN’s provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80.

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:

9030 Oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers and other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities, excluding meters of heading 9028; instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting alpha, beta, gamma, X-ray, cosmic, or other ionizing radiations; parts and accessories thereof:

Other instruments and apparatus:

9030.82.00 For measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices:

9030.89.00 Other

The 3070 In Circuit Test is an instrument or apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities, as provided for in heading 9030, HTSUS. The crucial inquiry is whether it is an instrument or apparatus for measuring or checking semiconductor devices. If it is an instrument or apparatus for measuring or checking semiconductor devices, it is classified in subheading 9030.82.00, HTSUS. If not, it is classified in subheading 9030.89.00, HTSUS.

You claim that the 3070 In Circuit Test is classified in subheading 9030.82.00, HTSUS. You state that it has been designed to meet the following semiconductor standards: IEEE 1149.1 – a boundary scan for digital semiconductors; JESD 71 – STAPL, a technique of programming flash memory semiconductor devices; IEEE 1532 – a standard for programming PDL; IEEE 1149.4 – a boundary scan technique for active analog semiconductors; IEEE 1149.6 – a test technique for differential and AC coupled digital semiconductors; and SEMI S2 – a semiconductor industry equipment standard for safety.

You state that semiconductor devices may be defined to include boards populated with semiconductor chips. Further, you believe that the scope of the subheading, instruments or apparatus for “measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices,” includes apparatus that test both passive and active elements on such a populated circuit board. While semiconductor elements are generally active elements, their interconnections include passive pathways, and the devices containing such combinations are commercially known as semiconductor devices.

In practice the 3070 In Circuit Test is essentially for the testing of semiconductor devices. It is a high-end test system where the sophistication resides in the heavy slant on complex semiconductor programming and testing. The number of tests dedicated exclusively to semiconductors exceeds the number of tests dedicated to passive components; more importantly, while passive elements are “singles” in nature, each semiconductor device contains many thousands of individual gates on which the tests are performed. As opposed to passive components which are much more accessible to the testing, many semiconductor devices require indirect testing techniques. The testing of semiconductor devices is more complex than the testing of passive components in that semiconductor devices have a sequencing requirement where specific inputs have to be presented to the device in a predetermined order for the testing to be meaningful.

The Chapter 90 Legal Notes and the relevant EN do not define or describe the scope of the terms at issue. The Computer Glossary by Alan Freedman (6th ed.; 1993) defines “semiconductor device” as: “Elementary component, such as a transistor, or a larger unit of electronic equipment comprised of chips.” We interpret the subheading at issue to encompass this definition, and specifically, that semiconductor devices include boards that contain semiconductor chips interconnected by, or incorporating, passive elements.

In NY E81071 dated May 12, 1999, Customs classified the “Test Point 125” and “Test Point 130” automatic test systems in subheading 9030.82.00, HTSUS. Those systems were described as follows: “. . . used to test printed circuit board assemblies. They do so by actually testing the individual semiconductor devices mounted on a printed circuit board. The range of test applications include in-circuit, functional and telecommunications.”

After a consideration of the file, we find that you have satisfactorily established that the 3070 In Circuit Test is an instrument or apparatus for measuring or checking semiconductor devices. Accordingly, at GRI 1 and GRI 6, it is classified in subheading 9030.82.00, HTSUS, as: “Oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers and other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities, excluding meters of heading 9028 . . . : . . . Other instruments and apparatus: For measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices.”

This determination is consistent with NY E81071, described above.

HOLDING:

At GRI 1 and GRI 6, the 3070 In Circuit Test is classified in subheading 9030.82.00, HTSUS, as: “Oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers and other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities, excluding meters of heading 9028 . . . : . . . Other instruments and apparatus: For measuring or checking semiconductor wafers or devices.”

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Acting Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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