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NY H89990




April 22, 2002

CLA-2-94:RR:NC:SP:230 H89990

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: Various

Ms. Mary Tippett
Viceroy Homes Limited
414 Croft Street East
Port Hope, Ontario
Canada L1A 4H1

RE: The tariff classification of house packages from Canada; applicability of heading 9406, HTSUS.

Dear Ms. Tippett:

In your letter dated March 25, 2002, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The goods in question are individual, residential “house packages” prepared by your firm for delivery to specific customers in the United States. Each package is said to include “the required number of doors, windows, shingles and lumber to assemble one house, complete with floors, exterior and interior walls, and roof.”

Specifically, the following items are said to be included in the typical package: floor structure, consisting of floor joists, beams, sill plates, bracing, subfloor sheathing, glue and screws (the foundation is not included); kiln-dried pre-cut 2x6 spruce walls and headers; roof system of either trusses or rafters and high-grade plywood sheathing engineered to requirements (including framing, insulation, vents, shingles and flashing); pre-hung exterior doors, sliding doors and garage doors with hardware; Viceroy manufactured “superwindows” and other hardware such as screws, nails and hangers.

Your firm prepares each house package based on a set of plans developed to meet the needs of the particular buyer. This might typically be done by modifying “stock” plans. When ready for exportation, the average house package is shipped on one to two transport trucks entered together at the border and delivered to the home site. A complete, weather-tight building can then be erected on the site, according to the plans. In your opinion, these house packages are prefabricated buildings and should be classified in heading 9406, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

Classification of goods under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter notes.

Heading 9406 provides for prefabricated buildings. Note 4 to chapter 94, HTSUS, states:

For the purposes of heading 9406, the expression “prefabricated buildings” means buildings which are finished in the factory or put up as elements, entered together, to be assembled on site, such as housing and worksite accommodation, offices, schools, shops, sheds, garages or similar buildings. (Emphasis added.)

The expression “finished in the factory or put up as elements” refers to structures built in factories. In order to be classified as a prefabricated building of heading 9406, a house package must consist essentially of assembled or unassembled houses built at the factory.

Photos and a packing list corresponding to an actual “Aberdeen” model house package accompanied your submission. These show that despite the presence of trusses, doors and windows, the package is essentially a collection of materials necessary for building a house at the site. For example, the package contains numerous pieces of lumber (e.g., 2x10, 2x6, 2x4, etc.), 4’ x 8’ sheets of plywood, and 12’-long pieces of siding. These are in the form of materials, not prefabricated components. In their imported condition, the materials in the package do not possess or exhibit the essential character of the finished structure.

Consequently, the house packages as described above are not classifiable as prefabricated buildings in heading 9406, HTSUS. Each of the materials and components in the house package is classifiable separately in its applicable subheading.

Some of the merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties and/or countervailing duties. A list of AD/CVD proceedings at the Department of Commerce (DOC) and their product coverage can be obtained from the DOC website at: http://ia.ita.doc.gov, or you may write to them at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Antidumping Compliance, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification rulings issued by Customs.

The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. This ruling is being issued under the assumption that the subject goods, in their condition as imported into the United States, conform to the facts and the description as set forth both in the ruling request and in this ruling. In the event that the facts or merchandise are modified in any way, you should bring this to the attention of Customs and you should resubmit for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. You should also be aware that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by the Customs Service.

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 Paul Garretto at 646-733-3035.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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