CLA-2 R:C:M 957719 RFA
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
33 New Montgomery Street
Post Office Box 2450
San Francisco, CA 94126
RE: Protest No. 2809-94-101505; Computer Slot Boards;
Backplanes; Expansion Slots for ADP Units; Accessories of
ADP units; Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs); Electrical
Apparatus for Making Connections to Electrical Circuits;
Legal Note 4 to chapter 85; Headings 8473, 8534, 8536; HQs
953712 and 087704; NYs 877073, 878069, and 880138
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding Protest No. 2809-94-101505, which concerns the classification of ISA Riser slot
boards under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS).
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is the ISA Riser slot boards, model
PZ250DB ("Riser slot boards"), which consists of capacitors,
resistors, and slot boards mounted on a printed circuit board.
The Riser slot boards plug into motherboards of automatic data
processing (ADP) units to provide slots for expansion boards
(memory, fax/modem, game cards, etc.), which are inserted to
upgrade system performance or add capability. According to the
information provided, the capacitors and resistors were produced
by methods other than a printing process or "film circuit"
technique.
The merchandise was entered under subheading 8473.30.50,
HTSUS, as parts of ADP units. The entry was liquidated on
August 12, 1994, under subheading 8534.00.00, HTSUS, as printed
circuits. The protest was timely filed on November 10, 1994.
Classification of the merchandise under subheading
8536.69.00, HTSUS, as printed circuit connectors is also under
consideration.
The subheadings under consideration are as follows:
8473.30.50: Parts and accessories . . . suitable for use
solely or principally with machines of
headings 8469 to 8472: [p]arts and
accessories of the machines of heading 8471:
[n]ot incorporating a cathode ray tube:
[o]ther: [o]ther. . . .
Goods classifiable under this provision have a general,
column one rate of duty of free.
8534.00.00 Printed circuits . . . .
Goods classifiable under this provision have a general,
column one rate of duty of 5.3 percent ad valorem.
8536.69.00 Electrical apparatus for switching or
protecting electrical circuits, or for making
connections to or in electrical circuits (for
example, switches, relays, fuses, surge
suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders,
junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding
1,000 V: [l]amp-holders, plugs and sockets:
[o]ther. . . .
Goods classifiable under this provision have a general,
column one rate of duty of 5.3 percent ad valorem.
ISSUE:
Whether the Riser slot boards are classifiable as printed
circuits, or as electrical apparatus for making connections to or
in electrical circuits, or as parts and accessories of ADP units,
under the HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI
1 provides that classification shall be determined according to
the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter
notes.
To classify the merchandise under heading 8534, HTSUS, it
must meet the criteria of Legal Note 4 to chapter 85, HTSUS,
which provides that:
For the purposes of heading 8534 "printed
circuits" are circuits obtained by forming on an
insulating base, by any printing process (for example,
embossing, plating-up, etching) or by the "film
circuit" technique, conductor elements, contacts or
other printed components (for example, inductances,
resistors, capacitors) alone or interconnected
according to a pre-established pattern, other than
elements which can produce, rectify, modulate or
amplify an electrical signal (for example,
semiconductor elements).
The term "printed circuits" does not cover
circuits combined with elements other than those
obtained during the printing process. Printed circuits
may, however, be fitted with non-printed connecting
elements.
Thin- or thick-film circuits comprising passive
and active elements obtained during the same
technological process are to be classified in heading
8542.
According to the information provided, the capacitors and
resistors attached to the printed circuit were produced by
methods other than a printing process or "film circuit"
technique. Based upon this information, we conclude that the
Riser slot board does not meet the definition of a "printed
circuit" as described in Legal Note 4 to chapter 85, HTSUS.
Classification of the Riser slot board under heading 8536,
HTSUS, as electrical connectors, was also suggested. We note
that the classification of slot boards and backplanes has been
addressed by Customs on several occasions. "Backplane" is
defined as a "[p]rinted circuit board, or device, containing
slots, or sockets, for plugging in boards or cables." See The
Computer Glossary, p. 32, by Alan Freedman. Industrial node
chassis comprised of a 6-slot passive backplane or a 12-slot
passive backplane, a power supply, a fan, and a rugged housing
for one or more disk drives have been classified under subheading
8473.30.40, HTSUS, as parts and accessories of the machines of
heading 8471, HTSUS. See HQ 953712 (April 16, 1993); NY 877073
(August 7, 1992). Customs also classified slot board computer
cards incorporating central processing unit (CPU)
microprocessors, as well as an on-board keyboard connectors,
real-time clock/calendars, and battery interfaces under
subheading 8471.91.00, HTSUS, as digital processing units. See NY
877073.
However, Customs determined that passive backplane boards
without a CPU or other discrete components merely operates as a
connector between other boards inside of an industrial chassis,
allowing signals to travel from one board to another. These
boards were classified under subheading 8537.10.00, HTSUS, which
provides for boards, equipped with two or more apparatus of
headings 8535 or 8536, HTSUS, for the electric control or the
distribution of electricity. See NY 880138 (November 19, 1992).
The Riser slot board consists of a printed circuit,
capacitors and resistors (discrete components), and slots for
expansion boards. According to the above-cited rulings and the
descriptions of headings 8536 and 8537, HTSUS, we believe that
only the slot components, when entered separately, are provided
for under heading 8536, HTSUS. Because the Riser slot boards
contain discrete components, classification under either heading
8536 or 8537, HTSUS, is precluded.
The Riser slot board is designed to upgrade a computer's
performance and/or add to its capability. In HQ 087704, dated
September 27, 1990, Customs considered the classification of
"accessories" under the HTSUS, and stated as follows:
The term "accessory" is not defined in either the
tariff schedule or the Explanatory Notes. An accessory
is generally an article which is not necessary to
enable the goods with which it is used to fulfill their
intended function. An accessory must be identifiable
as being intended solely or principally for use with a
specific article. Accessories are of secondary
importance, not essential in and of themselves. They
must, however, somehow contribute to the effectiveness
of the principal article (e.g., facilitate the use or
handling of the principal article, widen the range of
its uses, or improve its operation).
The Riser slot board meets the definition of an accessory to
an ADP unit, because it is intended solely or principally for use
with a computer and contributes to the effectiveness of the
computer by widening its range of uses (i.e., fax/modem, memory,
game cards, etc.). Based upon the holdings in HQ 953712 and NY
877073, we find that the Riser slot boards are classifiable under
heading 8473, HTSUS, as accessories of ADP units.
HOLDING:
For the foregoing reasons, the Riser slot boards are
classifiable under subheading 8473.30.50, HTSUS, which provides
that: "Parts and accessories . . . suitable for use solely or
principally with machines of headings 8469 to 8472: [p]arts and
accessories of the machines of heading 8471: [n]ot incorporating
a cathode ray tube: [o]ther: [o]ther. . . . "
The protest should be GRANTED. 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