CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084623 HP

5903.10.1000; 5903.10.2090; 5903.90.2500

Mr. William J. Marston
President
U.S. Carriage International, Inc.
11938 Waveland Avenue
Franklin Park, IL 60131

RE: Classification of conveyor belting items

Dear Mr. Marston:

This is in reply to your letter of April 11, 1989, concerning the tariff classification of conveyor belting, produced in the Netherlands, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). Please reference your importer Ammeraal, Inc.

FACTS:

The merchandise at issue consists of nine styles of open link conveyor belting (bulk), described by you as follows. You state that all samples are to be used as conveyor belts in such applications as weighing belts at airports and treadmill machines, except for type F1500, which is used as an accessory to a belt system to increase friction between the drive mechanism and the belt. All covering plastics are visible to the naked eye.

NORMAL BELT BELT IMPORTED THICKENESS FABRIC % OF COVER PERCENT STYLE WIDTH(IN) (INCHES) MATERIAL WEIGHT MATERIAL OF WEIGHT ================================================================= 2LM029 78 0.079 2 Ply 23.7 Green 76.3, Polyester PVC 1 side coated

2MX038 78 0.118 2 ply 16.9 Grey PVC 83.1, Polyester 1 side coated

2MX146 78 0.098 2 ply 26.9 White 73.1, Polyester PVC & PU 2 sides coated, chief weight PU

2LM071 78 0.079 2 ply 23.7 Matt 76.3, Polyester Black PVC 1 side coated

2AM50- 72 0.098 2 ply 19.5 Black PVC 73.5, 72A22 Polyester 1 side Cotton coated

1GM087 74 0.026 1 ply 37.0 White PU 63.0, Polyester 1 side coated

2M087 76 0.063 2 ply 43.5 White PU 56.5, Polyester 1 side coated

2AM093 78 0.059 2 ply 42.8 Yellow PU 57.2, Polyester 2 sides coated

F1500 77 0.067 1 ply 23.5 White PVC 76.5, Cotton 1 side coated

ISSUE:

What is the classification of the instant merchandise under the HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Heading 5910, HTSUSA, provides for transmission or conveyor belts or belting, of textile material, whether or not reinforced with any material, including plastics. Heading 5903, HTSUSA, provides for textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics. The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUSA govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1 states, in pertinent part:

... classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes ....

Goods which cannot be classified in accordance with GRI 1 are to be classified in accordance with subsequent GRI's, taken in order.

Note 1(h) to Section XI, HTSUSA, generally excludes woven, knitted or crocheted fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, of Chapter 39, from classification within Section XI. Headings 5903 and 5910, however, expressly provide for fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics.

Note 2 to Chapter 59, HTSUSA, provides, in pertinent part:

Heading 5903 applies to: (a) Textile fabrics, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, ... other than:

* * *

(3) Products in which the textile fabric is either completely embedded in plastics or entirely coated or covered on both sides with such material ... (Chapter 39); * * *.

Reading Chapter Note 2 and Section Note 1(h) together serves to include articles which would otherwise be excluded from consideration in Section XI. Therefore, where fabrics meet the requirements of headings 5903 or 5910 (whose applicable Chapter Note serves a similar purpose), they are not considered coated fabrics of Chapter 39.

Belt Styles Over Three Millimeters In Width

Note 6 to Chapter 59, HTSUSA, states that:

Heading 5910 does not apply to:

(a) Transmission or conveyor belting, of textile material, of a thickness of less than 3 mm [0.117 inches]; * * *

As Belt Style 2MX038 is the only sample with a thickness not less than 3 mm, all other Belt Styles described above are precluded from classification within heading 5910, HTSUSA.

All Other Belt Styles

Heading 5911, HTSUSA, provides for textile products and articles for technical uses. The Explanatory Notes to the HTSUSA constitute the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. The Explanatory Note to this heading states that textile fabrics in the piece or cut to length, which "have the character" of products of heading 5910, are not classifiable in heading 5911. In addition, the Explanatory Notes to heading 5910, state:

In accordance with Chapter Note 6, belting of a thickness of less than 3 mm is excluded; this remains classified in Chapters 50 to 55, as narrow woven fabrics (heading 58.06), as braids (heading 58.08), etc.

This is persuasive that merchandise which is excluded from heading 5910 because it does not meet the 3 mm requirement is not intended to be classifiable in heading 5911, HTSUSA.

Belt Styles Coated On One Side With Plastics

The Explanatory Notes to heading 5903, HTSUSA, state:

This heading covers textile fabrics which have been impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics (e.g., polyvinyl chloride).

Such products are classified here whatever their weight per m2 and whatever the nature of the plastic component (compact or cellular), provided:

* * *

(3) That the textile fabric is not completely embedded in, nor coated or covered on both sides with, plastics.

In accordance with Chapter 59 Note 2, and the above-cited Explanatory Note, the Belt Styles coated on one side are classified under heading 5903.

Belt Styles Coated on Both Sides With Plastics

The Explanatory Notes to heading 5903, HTSUSA, supra, go on to state that "[p]roducts not meeting the requirements of subparagraph ... (3) above ..." are considered articles of plastics, and usually fall in Chapter 39. As these Belt Styles are coated on both sides with a visible application of plastics, classification in Chapter 39 is appropriate.

Heading 3921, HTSUSA, provides for other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics. Heading 3926 provides for, inter alia, other articles of plastics. GRI 3(a) provides, when goods are, prima facie, classifiable in two or more headings, that the "... heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description."

General Note 7 to the HTSUSA defines "headings" as referring "to the article descriptions and tariff provisions appearing in the schedule at the first hierarchical level...." In addition, Explanatory Note 39.26(7) states that heading 3926 provides for "[t]ransmission, conveyor or elevator belts, endless, or cut to length and joined end to end, or fitted with fasteners." Emphasis added. This note refers only to completed articles, not material lengths, the condition in which the instant merchandise is being imported. In comparison, the Explanatory Notes to heading 4010 (belts of rubber) distinguishes between "belting in the length (for subsequent cutting to length) as well as belts already cut to length (whether or not joined end to end or fitted with fasteners)...."

As the articles described in heading 3921 more specifically describe the instant merchandise than those articles referred to in heading 3926, and as the language of the Explanatory Note to heading 3926 operates to exclude merchandise being imported on rolls to be cut to length, Belt Styles coated on both sides with plastics are classifiable under heading 3921, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

As a result of the foregoing, the instant merchandise is classified as follows: Belt Style 2MX038 under subheading 5910.00.1000, HTSUSA, as transmission or conveyor belts or belting, of textile material, whether or not reinforced with metal or other material, of man-made fibers. The applicable rate of duty is 8 percent ad valorem.

Belt Styles 2LM029, 2LM071, and 2AM5072A22 under subheading 5903.10.2090, HTSUSA, as textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, other than those of heading 5902, with polyvinyl chloride, of man-made fibers, other, over 70 percent by weight of rubber or plastics, other. The applicable rate of duty is 4.2 percent ad valorem.

Belt Style F1500 under subheading 5903.10.1000, HTSUSA, as textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, other than those of heading 5902, with polyvinyl chloride, of cotton. The applicable rate of duty is 5.3 percent ad valorem.

Belt Styles 1GM087 and 2M087 under subheading 5903.90.2500, HTSUSA, textile category 229, as textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, other than those of heading 5902, with polyurethane, of man-made fibers, other, other. The applicable rate of duty is 8.5 percent ad valorem.

Belt Style 2M146 under subheading 3921.13.1100, HTSUSA, as other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, cellular, of polyurethanes, combined with textile materials, products with textile components in which man-made fibers predominate by weight over any other single textile fiber, over 70 percent by weight of plastics. The applicable rate of duty is 4.2 percent ad valorem.

Belt Style 2AM093 under subheading 3921.13.1500, HTSUSA, textile category 229, as other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, cellular, of polyurethanes, combined with textile materials, products with textile components in which man-made fibers predominate by weight over any other single textile fiber, other. The applicable rate of duty is 8.5 percent ad valorem.

In the future, the Customs Service will not entertain requests for rulings involving more than five articles or styles of articles.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact your local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to determine the current applicability of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,


John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division