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HQ 966936





January 22, 2004

CLA2 RR:CR:GC 966936 AML

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF Nos.: 8302.30.30

Mr. John P. Smirnow
Katten, Muchin, Zavis and Rosenman
525 West Monroe Street, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60661-3693

RE: HQ 966036; “plate”; component part of automobile seat adjuster assemblies

Dear Mr. Smirnow:

This is in supplemental reference to Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 966036, dated October 14, 2003, issued to you on behalf of Imasen Bucyrus Technology, Inc. (“IB Tech”), concerning the classification of various component parts of automotive seat adjuster assemblies under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Although your request also concerned a request for classification of an article referred to as a “plate,” the article was not classified in HQ 966036. This letter sets forth the classification of the plate. In rendering this ruling, we considered the original and supplemental information contained in the file for HQ 966036.

FACTS:

Customs described the plate in New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) H88184 as follows:

2. The second item, “PLATE”, is a single stamped piece of base metal with three pre-drilled holes. It is placed on the bottom of a lower slide rail of the Full Seat Device, and is used as a support and distance spacer when attaching the Foot to the Full Seat Device . . . The Plate is specifically designed to fit within the lower slide rail, with its pre-drilled holes aligning with holes in the slide rails and Foot.

The Plate functions to support and protect the lower rail in the Full Seat Device from damage which may occur from attachment to the Foot. It prevents the slide rail from bending, which would prevent the seat from sliding forward or reverse. You state that the Plate is used solely with the automobile seat models for which it is designed.

We concluded in NY H88184 that the plate was classified under subheading 8708.29.5060, HTSUS, which provides for parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705: other parts and accessories of bodies (including cabs): other: otherother.

In your submission, you averred that the plate serves absolutely no mounting function. You quoted from NY H88184 the pertinent language describing the article’s form and function as set forth above. Additionally, you stated that, unlike the foot (which was classified in HQ 966036 under heading 8302, HTSUS), the plate performs a significant utilitarian function in that it enhances the structural integrity of the motor vehicle seat assembly.

We clarified during a telephone conference that the plate, like all of the articles in HQ 966036, is imported separately from any other article. That is, you stated specifically in response to our questions that GRI 2 was neither relied upon nor implicated in this matter because all of the subject articles are imported in individual lots by container and shipment.

ISSUE:

Whether, in its condition as imported, the plates are classified as base metal parts of general use under heading 8302, HTSUS; as parts or accessories for motor vehicles under heading 8708, HTSUS; or as other parts of seats of a kind used for motor vehicles under heading 9401, HTSUS?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of imported merchandise is accomplished pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Classification under the HTSUS is guided by the General Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized System (“GRIs”). GRI 1, HTSUS, states in part that “for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes[.]”

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:

8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat- pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with
mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof: 8302.30 Other mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles; and parts thereof: 8302.30.30 Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc: 8302.30.60 Other.
Other mountings, fittings and similar articles, and parts thereof: 8302.42 Other, suitable for furniture:
8302.42.30 Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc. 8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705:
Other parts and accessories of bodies (including cabs): 8708.29 Other:
8708.29.50 Other.

9401 Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof:
9401.90 Parts:
9401.90.10 Of seats of a kind used for motor vehicles.

When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-90, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

An article is to be classified according to its condition as imported. See XTC Products, Inc. v. United States, 771 F.Supp. 401, 405 (1991). See also United States v. Citroen, 223 U.S. 407 (1911). As noted in the “facts” section above, although you contend that the articles are designed solely to comprise, when assembled, an automotive seat adjuster, we must consider the plates individually in their condition as imported.

The exclusionary note in Note 2(b), Section XVII, HTSUS, set forth below, provides that if the articles are classifiable as parts of general use of base metal, classification as a part or accessory in heading 8708 is precluded. “Parts of general use” are defined, for purposes of the entire HTSUS, in Note 2, Section XV, HTSUS, as including, among other things, base metal or plastic articles of heading 8302, HTSUS. Heading 8302 includes, among other things, base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for coachwork or the like.

Note 2 to Section XVII, which includes Chapter 87, provides, in pertinent part, that:

2. The expressions "parts" and "parts and accessories" do not apply to the following articles, whether or not they are identifiable as for the goods
of this section:
(b) Parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV) or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39)[.]

Similarly, Note 1(d) to Chapter 94, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part, that:

1. This chapter does not cover:
(d) Parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV), or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39)[.]

The general ENs to Section XV provide, in pertinent part, that:

C) PARTS OF ARTICLES

In general, identifiable parts of articles are classified as such parts in their appropriate headings in the Nomenclature.

However, parts of general use (as defined in Note 2 to this Section) presented separately are not considered as parts of articles, but are classified in the headings of this Section appropriate to them. This would apply, for example, in the case of bolts specialised for central heating radiators or springs specialised for motor cars. The bolts would be classified in heading 73.18 (as bolts) and not in heading 73.22 (as parts of central heating radiators). The springs would be classified in heading 73.20 (as springs) and not in heading 87.08 (as parts of motor vehicles).

The ENs to Section XV, which includes Chapter 83, provide, in pertinent part, that:

1. This section does not cover:
(g) Assembled railway or tramway track (heading 8608) or other articles of Section XVII (vehicles, ships and boats, aircraft)[emphasis added]. 2. Throughout the Nomenclature, the expression "parts of general use" means: (c) Articles of heading 83.01, 83.02, 83.08 or 83.10 and frames and mirrors, of base metal, of heading 83.06.

The ENs to heading 8302, HTSUS, provide, in pertinent part, that:

This heading covers general purpose classes of base metal accessory fittings and mountings, such as are used largely on . . . coachwork, etc. Goods within such general classes remain in this heading even if they are designed for particular uses (e.g., door handles or hinges for automobiles). The heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs.

The heading covers:
(C) Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor vehicles (e.g., motor cars, lorries or motor coaches), not being parts or accessories of Section XVII [bold emphasis in original]. For example: made up ornamental beading strips; foot rests; grip bars, rails and handles; fittings for blinds (rods, brackets, fastening fittings, spring mechanisms, etc.); interior luggage racks; window opening mechanisms; specialised ash trays; tail-board fastening fittings.

EN 87.08, provides, in part:

This heading covers parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 87.01 to 87.05 provided the parts and accessories fulfill both the following conditions [emphasis in original]:

(i) They must be identifiable as being suitable for use solely or principally with the above-mentioned vehicles; and (ii) They must not be excluded by the provisions of the Notes to Section XVII (see the corresponding General Explanatory Note).

Parts and accessories of this heading include: (B) Parts of bodies and associated accessories, for example floor boards . . .

In view of these very clear provisions, if a good is a base metal mounting or fitting described by heading 8302, it must be classified in heading 8302, regardless of whether it is suitable for use with a motor vehicle.

The common characteristic of these articles (parts of general use as contemplated by Note 2 to Section XV) and those classifiable under heading 8302, HTSUS, is that they are articles of base metal (or plastic) which provide
the function of attaching, fixing (in place), fitting, connecting, protecting, separating, binding, or stabilizing two separate articles together, or one to (or from) the other. We find that the plate is ejusdem generis with the articles set forth above (and as described in Note 2 to Section XV). The Court of International Trade (CIT) has stated that the canon of construction ejusdem generis, which means literally, of the same class or kind, teaches that “where particular words of description are followed by general terms, the latter will be regarded as referring to things of a like class with those particularly described.” NisshoIwai American Corp. v. United States (Nissho), 10 CIT 154, 156 (1986). The CIT further stated that “[a]s applicable to customs classification cases, ejusdem generis requires that the imported merchandise possess the essential characteristics or purposes that unite the articles enumerated eo nomine in order to be classified under the general terms.” Nissho, p. 157. Heading 8302 provides for “mountings, fittings and similar articles (emphasis added)[.]” Thus we find the plate, which you describe as a stamped metal plate with three pre-drilled holes, is used as a support and distance spacer that functions to reinforce and protect the lower rail from damage which may occur from attachment to the foot is prima facie classifiable under heading 8302, HTSUS.

The plates are constructed of base metal and the argument presented is that the articles do not perform a mounting function. However, we found in NY H88184 that they are placed on the bottom of a lower slide rail of the full seat device, and are used as a support and distance spacer when attaching the foot to the full seat device. Your submission reiterates these functions. While we are cognizant that the ENs to heading 8302, HTSUS, provide that “the heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article,” we must conclude that in their condition as imported, the plates are properly classified under heading 8302, HTSUS. The evidence presented is that the plate is a single stamped piece of base metal with three pre-drilled holes. Structurally speaking, the plates are, in their condition as imported, quite similar to the foot classified under heading 8302, HTSUS, in HQ 966036 and functionally to the pipe comp that was classified under heading 8302, HTSUS, in HQ 966001. These functions are akin to those of other base metal parts of general use classified under heading 8302, HTSUS. See HQ 962974, dated March 10, 2000, in which we stated in regard to heading 8302, HTSUS:

Parts of general use as contemplated by the section notes and heading 8302, HTSUS, are defined by reference to “the articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310” (Note 2 to Section XV). Examples of those articles, provided in the referenced headings, include:

1. “padlocks and locks . . . of base metal; clasps and frames incorporating locks . . .” (heading 8301).

2. “base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles . . . [emphasis added]” (heading 8302).

3. “clasps, frames with clasps, buckles, buckle clasps, hooks, eyes, eyelets and the like and parts thereof, of base metal . . .” (heading 8308)

4. “sign plates, name plates, address plates and similar plates, numbers, letters and other symbols, and parts thereof, of base metal . . .” (heading 8310).

The common characteristic of these articles is that they are articles of base metal, which, with the exception of those in heading 8310, provide the function of attaching, fixing (in place), fitting, connecting, binding, or stabilizing two separate articles together, or one to the other.

The plates stabilize, reinforce and protect the lower slide rail. Therefore we find that they are described in heading 8302, HTSUS. We are not satisfied that they form an essential part of the structure of the seat adjusters. Classification under heading 8708 or 9401, HTSUS, is therefore precluded.

HOLDING:

The base metal plate is classified under subheading 8302.30.30, HTSUS, which provides for base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for . . . coachwork . . . and base metal parts thereof: other mountings, fittings and similar articles . . . suitable for motor vehicles; and parts thereof: of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director

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