CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 960387 HMC
Port Director of Customs
33 New Montgomery Street, #1501
San Francisco, CA 94105
RE: PRD 2809-97-100212; Carnival 2000 Camera System; Subheadings 8473.30.50 and 8525.40.00; Section XVI, Note 1 (m); General Explanatory Note to Chapter 90; Explanatory Note 90.06; Parts and Accessories of the Machines of Heading 8471, Not Incorporating Cathode Ray Tube; Still Image Video Cameras and Other Video Camera Recorders; Parts and Accessories for Cameras.
Dear Port Director:
This is our decision on Protest 2809-97-100212, filed against your classification of the Carnival 2000 Camera Back System (camera system). The entry under protest was liquidated on January 31, 1997, and this protest timely filed on February 7, 1997.
FACTS:
The merchandise under protest is a camera system that consists of a camera back, a camera controller, a power supply, SCSI cable connectors and application software. The camera system is imported in a metal case that includes an instruction booklet. The camera back houses a light sensitive element called an area array Charge Coupled Device (CCD), which acts as a computer-readable electronic film. The CCD surface has millions of tiny light sensitive areas, each of which creates a pixel in the final digital image. The controller is a separate unit that reads the image from the camera back’s CCD and transmits the image to a personal computer (PC). The controller connects to the camera back and a PC by using the cables provided. The Carnival 2000 Software runs on a PC and permits the preview of the photographic image and its editing. Literature provided by the protestant states that the camera back fits directly onto a standard professional camera body the same way a film cassette would. Protestant states in an attachment to the protest that the camera back is designed to fit directly onto any Hasselblad camera.
The merchandise was entered under a provision for parts and accessories of the machines of heading 8471, not incorporating a cathode ray tube, other, under subheading 8473.30.50 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). However, the entry was liquidated under subheading 8525.40.0090, HTSUS, as still image video cameras and other video camera recorders.
The 1996 provisions under consideration are as follows:
8473 Parts and accessories (other than covers, carrying cases and the like) suitable for use solely or principally with machines of headings 8469 to 8472:
8473.30 Parts and accessories of the machines of 8471:
Not incorporating a cathode ray tube:
8473.30.50 Other...Free
* * * *
8524 Records, tapes and other recorded media for sound or other similarly recorded phenomena, including matrices and masters for the production of records, but excluding products of chapter 37:
Discs for laser reading systems:
8524.39.00 Other...4.3%
* * * *
8525 Transmission apparatus for radiotelephony, radiotelegraphy, radiobroadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras; still image video cameras or other video camera recorders:
8525.40.00 Still image video cameras and other video camera recorders...3.4%
* * * *
9006 Photographic (other than cinematographic) cameras; photographic flashlight apparatus and flashbulbs other than discharge lamps of heading 8539; parts and accessories thereof:
Parts and accessories:
9006.91.00 For cameras...5.8%
ISSUE:
Whether the camera system is classifiable as parts and accessories for automatic data processing machines under subheading 8473.30.50, HTSUS, as still image video cameras and other video camera recorders under subheading 8525.40.00, HTSUS, or as parts and accessories for photographic cameras under subheading 9006.91.00, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the 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 camera system is made of different components, including a CD-ROM which incorporates a software for a PC. The system may not be classified according to GRI 1 and is prima facie classifiable under two or more headings (for the various components making up the merchandise). GRI 3(b) states that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. Since the subject goods consist of various items sold together as a set, we must first determine if for tariff purposes the camera system is a set put up for retail sale as defined by GRI 3(b).
The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the 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, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
Explanatory Note (X) to GRI 3(b), at page 5, states that the term “goods put up in sets for retail sale” shall be taken to mean goods which:
(a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings.
(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and
(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on boards).
The camera system qualifies as a set of GRI 3(b). The controller, the camera back, the power supply, the cables and the software are all, prima facie, classifiable in different headings. They are also designed to be used together to carry out the specific activity of digitizing photographs; and, they are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Accordingly, we must determine what component imparts the essential character to the camera system.
In general, essential character has been construed to mean that attribute which strongly marks or serves to distinguish what an article is; that which is indispensable to the structure, core or condition of the article. In addition, EN (VIII) to GRI 3(b), at page 4, states that the factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.
In this instance, the camera back imparts the essential character to the camera system. The camera back contains a CCD chip that fits directly onto a standard professional camera body the same way a film cassette would; and, it is the camera back that performs the main function of capturing the images and converting them into digitized photographs. The camera system is thus classifiable as if consisting only of the camera back with the software classified separately. See HQ 952154, dated November 17, 1992, which separately classified media of retail sets by virtue of Note 6 to Chapter 85.
The only issue left to be resolved is which heading describes the camera back. Protestant takes issue with the classification of the camera back by the Customs port. Protestant contends that the camera back is classifiable in subheading 8473.30.50, HTSUS, as parts and accessories of automatic data processing machines. We note that the merchandise was liquidated under subheading 8525.40.00, HTSUS, and that heading 9006, HTSUS, which provides for photographic cameras, parts and accessories thereof is another heading that may apply to the camera back.
Note 1(m) to Section XVI, which includes Chapters 84 and 85, states in part that “[t]his section does not cover: articles of Chapter 90.” We must thus determine if heading 9006 applies to the camera back.
Chapter 90, note 2, HTSUS, states in part that
(a) Parts and accessories which are goods included in any of the headings of this chapter or of chapter 84, 85 or 91 (other than heading 8485, 8548 or 9033) are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings;
(b) Other parts and accessories, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine, instrument or apparatus, or with a number of machines, instruments or apparatus of the same heading (including a machine, instrument or apparatus of heading 9010, 9013, or 9031) are to be classified with the machines, instruments or apparatus of that kind;
(c) All other parts and accessories are to be classified in heading 9033.
EN 90.06, at page 1588, states that
Subject to the provisions of Notes 1 and 2 to this Chapter (see the General Explanatory Note), this heading also covers parts and accessories of the goods of this heading. Such parts and accessories include: camera bodies; bellows; tripods; ball and socket mounting heads; shutters and diaphragms; shutter (including delayed action) releases; magazines for plates or films; lens hoods.
In this case, we find that the camera back is not a good included in any heading of Chapter 84, 85 or 91. Nevertheless, Note 2(b) to Chapter 90 and EN 90.06 direct us to determine whether the camera backs are parts or accessories suitable for use solely or principally with photographic cameras of heading 9006.
The literature provided states that the camera back fits directly onto a standard professional camera body the same way a film cassette would. The evidence presented also indicates that the subject merchandise is designed to fit directly onto any Hasselblad camera. Furthermore, we note that the camera back is advertised as a “digital camera.” We thus find that the Carnival 2000 camera back is suitable for use solely or principally with photographic cameras of heading 9006. Specifically, the camera back is an accessory of a photographic camera because it contributes to the effectiveness of the camera to which it will be attached. The camera back enhances the camera by digitizing its picture taking function. See HQ 087704, dated September 27, 1990, for a discussion on accessories.
We note Customs rulings, such as HQ 953116, which classified a “MicroImager” digital camera that contained a CCD, as a television camera under subheading 8525.30.00. The camera back subject of this protest is distinguishable from the television or still video cameras of heading 8525 because the camera back is not a separate and distinct commercial entity as the cameras of HQ 953116. The camera back is imported as an attachment for a camera and does not possess picture taking capabilities of its own. We therefore conclude that the Carnival 2000 camera back is classifiable under subheading 9006.91.00, HTSUS, as parts and accessories for cameras.
Having found that the Carnival 2000 Camera System is described in heading 9006, Section XVI, Note 1(m) precludes headings 8473 and 8525 from consideration. The software is classifiable under subheading 8524.39.40, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The Carnival 2000 Camera System is provided for in heading 9006, HTSUS. It is classifiable in subheading 9006.91.00, HTSUS, as parts and accessories for cameras. The 1996 rate of duty is 5.8%. The Carnival 2000 software is classifiable under subheading 8524.39.40, HTSUS, as other discs for laser reading systems, for reproducing representations of instructions, data, sound, and image, recorded in a machine readable binary form, and capable of being manipulated or providing interactivity to a user, by means of an automatic data processing machine; proprietary format recorded discs. The 1996 rate of duty is 4.3%.
This protest should be DENIED (the rate of duty under the classification indicated above is more than the liquidated rate). In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550 065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, you are to mail this decision, together with the Customs Form 19, to the Protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing the decision.
Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to Customs personnel, and to the public on the Customs Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.customs.ustreas.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division