CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 953765 LTO
Ms. Sara Veloz
Rudolph Miles & Sons
Customhouse Brokers
P.O. Box 11057
El Paso, Texas 79983-1057
RE: Sending Unit; variable resistors; EN 85.33; rheostats;
potentiometers
Dear Ms. Veloz:
This is in response to your letters of March 15, and April
30, 1993, to the Area Director of Customs, New York Seaport, on
behalf of Outboard Marine Corporation, requesting the
classification of a sending unit under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your letters were
referred to this office for a response.
FACTS:
The article in question is a sending unit, which acts as an
electrical sensor that indicates the position of an outboard
motor relative to the transom of a boat. In the operation of a
speed boat, it is necessary to have the outboard engine in a
vertical position. As the boat changes speed or in changing
water conditions, the angular position of the engine must be
adjusted.
The sender unit utilizes a simple circuit to impress a 50
Milliampere current through a rheostat to a voltmeter. The unit
is attached to the stern of the boat. The arm of this unit is
spring-loaded and follows the movement of the tiltable portion of
the outboard motor. The cable end of the unit is connected to a
gauge which is called a "trim gauge." The gauge is located in
the boat's dashboard, and it advises the boat operator of the
position of the motor. As the engine tilt is adjusted, the
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rheostat rotates, thus changing the resistance in the circuit.
The tilt gauge, a voltmeter, senses this change in voltage and
displays the output as the angular position of the engine. While
the unit in question includes both a rheostat and potentiometer,
you state that the rheostat is its main component.
ISSUE:
Whether the sending unit is classifiable under subheading
8533.40.00, HTSUS, which provides for other variable resistors,
including rheostats and potentiometers.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS
govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1
states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes . . . ." Heading 8533,
HTSUS, provides for electrical resistors, including rheostats and
potentiometers.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the Customs Co-operation
Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized System.
While not legally binding, the ENs provide a commentary on the
scope of each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally
indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings.
EN 85.33, pg. 1385, states that heading 8533, HTSUS,
describes resistors as "conductors whose function is to provide a
given electrical resistance in a circuit (e.g., to limit the
current flowing) . . . . Certain resistors may be fitted with a
number of terminals allowing the whole or part to be included in
the circuit." EN 85.33, pg. 1386, further provides that the
heading covers rheostats and potentiometers, both of which are
components of the unit in question. Rheostats are described as
"variable resistors with a sliding contact or other means
enabling the value of resistance in the circuit to be varied at
will." Potentiometers "consist of a fixed resistor between two
contacts and a sliding tapping which can make contact on any
point of the resistor."
You state that the sending unit acts as an electrical sensor
that indicates the position of an outboard motor relative to the
transom of a boat. As the boat's engine tilt is adjusted, the
unit's rheostat rotates, thus changing the resistance in the
circuit. The tilt gauge senses this change in voltage and
displays the output as the angular position of the engine. Based
on your description of the unit's function, it is our opinion
that the sending unit is classifiable under heading 8533, HTSUS.
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HOLDING:
The sending unit is classifiable under subheading
8533.40.00, HTSUS, which provides for "[e]lectrical resistors
(including rheostats and potentiometers), other than heading
resistors . . . [o]ther variable resistors, including rheostats
and potentiometers." The corresponding rate of duty for articles
of this subheading is 6% ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director