CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 957102 DWS
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
200 East Bay Street, Room 121
Charleston, SC 29401
RE: Protest 1601-94-100144; Dry Cleaning and Laundry Equipment;
Extractor Press; Batch System Dryer; Shuttle Conveyor; Call-
Off Control; Section XVI, Note 4; Functional Unit; NY 884323;
8450.20.00
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding Protest 1601-94-
100144 concerning your action in classifying and assessing duty
on dry cleaning and laundry equipment under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of dry cleaning and laundry
equipment which is comprised of an extractor press (model no. EP
843), a batch system dryer (model no. 258.100 D-SPS), a call-off
control (model no. TYP 6/1), and a shuttle conveyor (model no.
HFB 26/10/6). The subject entry does not include a batch washer.
In the U.S., the subject equipment will be added to a batch
washer to form a complete washing system.
The merchandise was entered under subheading 8450.20.00,
HTSUS, as a household- or laundry-type washing machine, of a dry
linen capacity exceeding 10 kg. The entry was liquidated on
April 1, 1994, under the following HTSUS provisions: the
extractor press was classified under subheading 8450.20.00,
HTSUS; the shuttle conveyor was classified under subheading
8428.33.00, HTSUS, as an other continuous-action, belt-type
conveyor; the batch system dryer was classified under subheading
8451.29.00, HTSUS, as an other drying machine; and the call-off
control was classified under subheading 8537.10.00, HTSUS (1993),
as a programmable controller. The protest was timely filed on
June 29, 1994.
As noted, the call-off control was liquidated under a 1993
HTSUS provision. Because the protest was filed in 1994, the
call-off control should have been classifiable under subheading
8537.10.90, HTSUS (the 1994 substitute for subheading 8537.10.00,
HTSUS), as a programmable controller.
The subheadings under consideration are as follows:
8450.20.00: [h]ousehold- or laundry-type washing machines,
including machines which both wash and dry;
parts thereof: [m]achines, each of a dry linen
capacity exceeding 10 kg.
The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
under this provision is 2.8 percent ad valorem.
8451.29.00: [m]achinery (other than machines of heading
8450) for washing, cleaning, wringing, drying,
ironing, pressing (including fusing presses),
bleaching, dyeing, dressing, finishing, coating
or impregnating textile yarns, fabrics or made
up textile articles and machines for applying
the paste to the base fabric or other support
used in the manufacture of floor coverings such
as linoleum; . . . : [d]rying machines: [o]ther.
The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
under this provision is 5.1 percent ad valorem.
8451.30.00: . . . : [i]roning machines and presses
(including fusing presses).
The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
under this provision is 3.9 percent ad valorem.
8428.33.00: [o]ther lifting, handling, loading or unloading
machinery (for example, elevators, escalators,
conveyors, teleferics): [o]ther continuous-
action elevators and conveyors, for goods or
materials: [o]ther, belt type.
The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
under this provision is 2 percent ad valorem.
8537.10.90: [b]oards, panels (including numerical control
panels), consoles, desks, cabinets and other
bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of
heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or
the distribution off electricity, including
those incorporating instruments or apparatus
of chapter 90, other than switching apparatus
of heading 8517: [f]or a voltage not exceeding
1,000 V: [o]ther.
The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
under this provision is 5.3 percent ad valorem.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject equipment, imported without a batch
washer, is a functional unit clearly described under subheading
8450.20.00, HTSUS, as a household- or laundry-type washing
machine, of a dry linen capacity exceeding 10 kg.
If not, whether the equipment is individually classifiable
under the HTSUS provisions which specifically describe each
article.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification is determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section
or chapter notes.
The protestant claims that the merchandise constitutes a
functional unit, its function clearly defined by heading 8450,
HTSUS, which provides for washing machines, including machines
which both wash and dry.
Section XVI, note 4, HTSUS, states that:
[w]here a machine (including a combination of machines)
consists of individual components (whether separate or
interconnected by piping, by transmission devices, by
electric cables or by other devices) intended to contribute
together to a clearly defined function covered by one of the
headings in chapter 84 or chapter 85, then the whole falls
to be classified in the heading appropriate to that
function.
It is our position that the merchandise, in its condition as
imported, does not constitute a functional unit. Because the
equipment was imported into the U.S. without a batch washer,
heading 8450, HTSUS, does not clearly define the equipment as it
cannot contribute together to the function of washing.
Because the equipment does not constitute a functional unit,
the various components must be classifiable under the HTSUS
provisions which specifically describe them. Consequently, it is
our position that the batch system dryer is classifiable under
subheading 8451.29.00, HTSUS; the shuttle conveyor is
classifiable under subheading 8428.33.00; and the call-off
control is classifiable under subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS. See
NY 884323, dated April 1, 1993, for a ruling on similar
merchandise.
With regard to the extractor press, it is our position that
it is specifically classifiable under subheading 8451.30.00, as a
press, and not under subheading 8450.20.00, HTSUS, as a washing
machine.
HOLDING:
The extractor press is classifiable under subheading
8451.30.00, HTSUS, as a press. The batch system dryer is
classifiable under 8451.29.00, HTSUS, as an other drying machine.
The call-off control is classifiable under subheading 8537.10.90,
HTSUS, as a programmable controller. With regard to this
merchandise, because the rate of duty under the classification
indicated above is more than and the same as the liquidated rate,
you are instructed to DENY the protest.
The shuttle conveyor is classifiable under subheading
8428.33.00, HTSUS, as an other continuous-action, belt-type
conveyor. With regard to this merchandise, because
reclassification as indicated above will result in a lower rate
than claimed, you are instructed to GRANT the protest.
In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive
099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest
Directive, this decision, together with the Customs Form 19,
should be mailed by your office to the protestant no later than
60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the
entry in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior
to mailing of the decision. Sixty days from the date of the
decision the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps to
make the decision available to Customs personnel via the Customs
Rulings Module in ACS and the public via the Diskette
Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act, and other
public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division