CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 962644 AML
Mr. Dan Grieszmer
Hillman Fastener
10590 Hamilton Avenue
P.O. Box 31012
Cincinnati, OH 45231-0012
Re: Hangar bolts and dowel screws; studs; other threaded articles.
Dear Mr. Greiszmer:
This is in regard to your letter of March 2, 1999, directed to the Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, requesting classification of a hangar bolt and a dowel screw pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your letter was forwarded to this office for response. Samples of the hangar bolt were provided for our examination. We regret the delay in responding.
FACTS:
The items are described as a hangar bolt and a dowel screw made of base metal (low carbon steel). Each is a singular rod which is threaded at both ends. One end of the hangar bolt has a wood screw thread and the other end is threaded with a machine screw thread for receiving a nut. The center portion of the article is unthreaded. The end with wood screw thread is driven into a ceiling or wall and another article, i.e., a nut, hook or other article with machine screwed threads is fastened to the protruding end. The dowel screw is a singular rod which has right hand, wood screw threads on one end and left hand wood screw threads on the other. Driving action implants the ends simultaneously, joining two articles. You state that the articles will be used in furniture applications to join and/or fasten two objects.
ISSUE:
Whether the articles should be classified under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, as a bolt; subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as a stud; subheading 7318.15.60, HTSUS, as a screw; or 7318.19.00, HTSUS, as an other threaded article?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of imported merchandise is accomplished pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Classification under the HTSUS is guided by the General Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized System (GRI's). GRI 1, HTSUS, 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[.]”
The HTSUS heading and subheadings under consideration are as follows:
7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks,
rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including
spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or
steel:
Threaded articles:
7318.15 Other screws and bolts, whether or
not with their nuts or washers:
7318.15.20 Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment
* * *
7318.15.50 Studs.
7318.15.60 Other.
* * *
7318.19.00 Other.
When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See, T.D. 89-90, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
In the absence of a recognized industry standard, Customs traditionally classifies fasteners in accordance with their primary design characteristics. This classification criteria is reinforced by an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specifications which establish a recommended procedure for determining the identity of externally threaded fasteners. See HQ 951362, dated June 24, 1992. ANSI describes bolts and screws as follows:
[a] bolt is an externally threaded fastener designed for insertion through holes in assembled parts, and is normally intended to be tightened or released by torquing a nut.
A screw is an externally threaded fastener capable of being inserted into holes in assembled parts, of mating with a preformed internal thread or forming its own thread, and of being tightened or released by torquing the head.
A bolt is designed for assembly with a nut. A screw has features in its design which makes it capable of being used in a tapped or other preformed hole in the work. Because of the basic design, it is possible to use certain types of screws in combination with a nut. Any externally threaded fastener which has a majority of the design characteristics which assist its proper use in a tapped or other preformed hole is a screw, regardless of how it is used in its service application.
ANSI/ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) B 18.2.1 (1981).
A stud, on the other hand, is a type of bolt, but is distinguished from a bolt by its intended service application. Studs are normally short rods or pins threaded on one or both ends, sometimes with heads on one end to allow them to be fixed in place resulting in a protuberance to which other articles may be suspended or attached by a nut or other means. While not necessarily encompassing the entire universe of fasteners that may be studs, Customs regards as studs articles that are within this definition, as cited in Fastening Devices, Inc. v. United States, 40 Cust. Ct. 345, C.D. 2004 (1958). See also, in regard to fasteners under consideration, EN 73.18 and S.I. Stud, Inc. v. United States, 17 CIT 661, aff’d, 24 F.3rd 1394 (1994); and Hafele America Co., Ltd. v. United States, 870 F. Supp. 352, 18 CIT 1096 (1994)(in which the Court of International Trade adopted the ANSI definition of “screws” for classification purposes).
The subject items do not meet the above definition of a bolt because they are not designed to be tightened or loosened by torquing a nut, or necessarily to be used with a nut. The dowel screw cannot be classified as a screw because, although it forms its own thread, joining two objects, it is not tightened or released by torquing the head. The dowel screw is idiosyncratic and will be classified as an other threaded article. The hangar bolt qualifies as a stud, since it is capable of housing or supporting another object designed to be fastened to the protruding end.
See also, HQs 962616 and 963159 issued on this date for similar rulings.
HOLDING:
The hangar bolt is classified under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, which provides for studs.
The dowel screw is classified under subheading 7318.19.00, HTSUS, which provides for other threaded articles.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division