HQ 952942
APRIL 27 1993
CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 952942 JAS
District Director of Customs
1000 Second Avenue, Suite 2200
Seattle, WA 98104-1049
RE: PRD 3001-92-100622: Motorized Trolley; Motor-Driven Wheels,
Bearings and Bracket Assembly; Mechanism Used With Electric
Chain Hoist in Material Handling, 8428.90.00; Parts of
Handling Machinery, 8428.39.00; Accessory; Machines and
Appliances Having Individual Functions
Dear District Director:
This is our decision on Application for Further Review of
Protest No. 3001-92-100622, dated June 23, 1992, filed by counsel
on behalf of Ingersoll-Rand Corp., against your action in
liquidating multiple entries of motorized trolleys from Japan.
The entries under protest were dated December 24, 1991, February
4 and 19, and March 9, 1992, and were liquidated on April 24, May
8 and May 15, 1992. This protest was timely filed on July 23,
1992.
FACTS:
The article in issue is a mechanical device used with a
hoist to move goods and materials in the horizontal plane. It is
a motor-driven assembly consisting of wheels, bearings and a
bracket. The wheels are designed to run on an I-beam comprising
part of an overhead track. Thus, a load attached to the hoist
can be lifted vertically and then moved horizontally along the
length of the track.
The motorized trolley was entered under the provision for
other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery, in
subheading 8428.90.00, HTSUS. The concerned import specialist
determined that the trolley is not part of the hoist, and that
the two units are separate and distinct articles that function
independently of each other. He further determined that the
hoist can be and often is used without the trolley and that the
trolley merely enhances the ability of the hoist to lift by - 2 -
permitting horizontal movement. The entry was liquidated under
subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUS, as other machines and mechanical
appliances having individual functions, not specified or included
elsewhere in [chapter 84].
In submissions dated July 22, 1992, and April 22, 1993,
counsel supports the entered classification on the basis that the
motorized trolley performs a handling function along a vertical
plane; while it does not directly contact the material being
handled, it transports the hoist together with any materials
suspended from the hoist. He claims an alternative
classification as parts of handling machinery on the basis that
the motorized trolley and hoist, together with the chain and hook
and control device, comprise a material handling system, and that
the trolley and hoist are components that perform complimentary
functions of vertical and horizontal movement; that the trolley
is dedicated for use with the hoist based on their respective
load bearing capabilities, and without physical joinder to the
suspended trolley, it could not function as a hoist. Submitted
literature purports to evince commercial recognition of the
trolley and hoist as a single entity. Finally, certain HTS
Explanatory Notes list trolleys for overhead transporters as
being within the scope of heading 8431.
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8428.90.00 Other lifting, handling, loading or
unloading machinery.........2 percent
* * * * * * * *
8431.39.00 Other parts suitable for use solely or
principally with the machinery of
headings 8425 to 8430.......2 percent
* * * * * * * *
8479.89.90 Other machines and mechanical appliances
having individual functions, not specified
or included elsewhere in [chapter 84].....
3.7 percent
ISSUE:
Whether the motorized trolley is handling machinery of
heading 8428, a part of handling machinery, or a good of heading
8479.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the - 3 -
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 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, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the Customs Cooperation
Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized System.
While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and
therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the
scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus
useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under
the System. Customs believes the notes should always be
consulted. See T.D. 89-80.
Concerning the claim under subheading 8428.90.00, the
provision covers a wide range of machinery for the mechanical
handling of materials and goods. Among these are lifting
machines usually based on pulley, winch or jacking systems, and
that often include large proportions of static structural
steelwork. In its condition as imported, the motorized trolley
in issue is not lifting, loading or unloading machinery, nor does
it "handle" materials or goods. In the narrowest and most
literal sense it performs a handling function only when used in
conjunction with a hoist.
Concerning the claim under subheading 8431.39.00, a part of
an article, for tariff purposes, is a thing necessary to the
completion of that article. It is an integral, constituent or
component part, without which the article to which it is joined
could not function as such article. An accessory, on the other
hand, is something that is not essential in itself but adds to
the effectiveness of something else. In each case, the nature,
function, and purpose of an article must be examined in relation
to the article to which it is attached or which it is designed to
serve. In our opinion, the motorized trolley merely augments the
use of the hoist or makes it more versatile, but is not necessary
to its completion or proper functioning. The hoist is fully
capable of operating independently of the trolley, even when the
two are used together. Submitted literature depicts the hook
mounted hoist, the motorized trolley hoist, the plain trolley
hoist and the geared trolley hoist. Clearly, the hoist is
advertised as a separate commercial entity and is often bought
and sold that way. The reference in the ENs to trolleys as goods
of heading 8431 is inconclusive. The notes group trolleys with
crabs, buckets and skips for overhead transporters. Crabs and
skips are mechanized material transporting devices while buckets
are the working members of mechanical shovels and loaders that
hold materials and goods being moved from place to place. By
design and function, the motorized trolley is not analogous to
these articles. In our opinion, the motorized trolley does not - 4 -
qualify as a part; rather, it is an accessory for tariff
purposes.
Heading 8479 covers machinery that is not otherwise excluded
from chapter 84 by a legal note, and is not specified or included
in any other chapter. Machinery of heading 8479 is distinguished
from parts that are classified in accordance with the general
provisions governing parts by the fact that it has individual
functions.
Relevant ENs, at p. 1314, indicate that a mechanical device
which cannot perform its function unless mounted on another
machine or appliance, or is incorporated in a more complex entity
is deemed to have an "individual function" for heading 8479
purposes if this function is distinct from that performed by the
machine on which it is to be mounted or in which it is to be
incorporated, and the function does not play an integral and
inseparable part in the operation of such machine or appliance.
The motorized trolley in issue permits a load that has been
lifted vertically to be moved horizontally. Its function,
therefore, is distinct from that of the hoist and it does not
play an integral and inseparable part in the operation of the
hoist. We conclude that the motorized trolley is a good of
heading 8479.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the motorized trolley is
provided for in heading 8479. It is classifiable in subheading
8479.89.90, HTSUS, as other machines and mechanical appliances
having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere
in [chapter 84].
The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision
should be attached to the Customs Form 19, and forwarded to
protestant, through counsel, as part of the notice of action on
the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director