CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 963219nel
Port Director
U.S. Customs
6 World Trade Center
Room 761
New York, NY 10048-0945
RE: Protest 1001-99-104130; gas manifold assembly
Dear Port Director:
This is our decision on Protest 1001-99-104130, timely filed by Lucent Technologies (Protestant) on August 19, 1999, against your classification decision regarding merchandise described as a rebuilt gas system for a metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) reactor and four Epison controls, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The entry dated June 11, 1998, was liquidated May 21, 1999.
FACTS:
The merchandise is described as a gas manifold system to be used as part of an epitaxial growth apparatus. (Epitaxial growth is an oriented crystal growth between two crystalline solid surfaces in which the surface of one crystal offers suitable positions for deposition of a second crystal. Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 9th edition, 1977.) This gas system is used to meter and blend gases which are then injected into the growth reactor to feed a seed crystal.
The manifold system is said to control the gas flow by determining the heat loss of a heated filament due to the gas flow, then adjusting the flow to a preset value by taking into account the flows and pressure of the constituent gases. The gas streams, which come from external gas cylinders, are combined by simply flowing together and are then injected into the growth chamber.
The manifold assembly is further described as containing at least 100 valves, which are all solenoid and pneumatic with the exception of one hand operated valve used for maintenance. The manifold system is said to contain precision stainless steel pipe work as well as electronic and computer controls, which operate the valves to adjust the gas flow to a preset value and to inject the gases into the growth reactor. The gas manifold system is connected to the reactor by pipes and other plumbing and wires.
Protestant states that the manifold system was rebuilt in and imported from the United Kingdom specifically for use with an existing MOVPE reactor and that both pieces of equipment are unusable without the other. Therefore, Protestant entered the merchandise as a part of the MOVPE reactor, classified under subheading 8479.90.9300, of the 1998 HTSUS. Customs classified the merchandise as valves falling under subheading 8481.80.9050, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Whether the specialized gas manifold assembly falls within the common meaning of “valves” and is classified under heading 8481, HTSUS, or is a “part” of an epitaxy reactor and is classified under heading 8479, HTSUS.
LAW & ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) taken in their appropriate order provide a framework for classification of merchandise under the HTSUS. The majority of imported goods are classified by application of GRI 1; that is, according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, then the remaining GRIs may be applied.
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. Though not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127-28 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The merchandise under protest is a gas manifold system designed for connection to a MOVPE reactor for crystal growth. The manifold provides a means to control the introduction of gases essential to the deposition process. The four Epison controls, mounted on the gas system by the manufacturer, allow the gas system to automatically blend gases.
The following headings and legal notes are relevant to the classification of the gas manifold assembly:
8479.90: Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Parts.
8481.80: Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances, for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves; parts thereof: Other appliances.
Section XVI Note 2 states: Subject to note 1 to section XVI, note 1 to chapter 84 and to note 1 to chapter 85, parts of machines (not being parts of the articles of heading 8484, 8544, 8545, 8546 or 8547) are to be classified according to the following rules:
Parts which are goods included in any of the headings of chapters 84 and 85 (other than headings 8409, 8431, 8448, 8466, 8473, 8485, 8503, 8522, 8529, 8538 and 8548) are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings;
Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine, or with a number of machines of the same heading (including a machine of heading 8479 or 8543) are to be classified with the machines of that kind or in heading 8409, 8431, 8448, 8466, 8473, 8503, 8522, 8529 or 8538 as appropriate. However, parts which are equally suitable for use principally with the goods of headings 8517 and 8525 to 8528 are to be classified in heading 8517.
Subject to certain exceptions that are not relevant here, goods that are identifiable as parts of machines or apparatus of Chapter 84 or Chapter 85, HTSUS, are classifiable in accordance with Section XVI, Note 2, HTSUS. See Nidec Corporation v. United States, 861 F. Supp. 136, aff’d. 68 F.3d 1333 (1995). Parts, which are goods included in any of the headings of Chapters 84 and 85, HTSUS, are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings. Section XVI, Note 2(a), HTSUS. Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular machine, or with a number of machines of the same heading, are to be classified with the machines of that kind. Section XVI, Note 2(b), HTSUS.
We must first determine whether the gas manifold assembly is a part included in any of the headings of Chapters 84 and 85, HTSUS. If the manifold falls within the common meaning of “valves,” it must be classified under heading 8481, HTSUS, the eo nomine provision for valves. A valve is any of various devices that regulate the flow of gases, liquids, or loose materials through structures, such as piping, or through apertures by opening, closing, or obstructing ports or passageways. American Heritage Dictionary, 1982.
Heading 8481, HTSUS, covers taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances, used on or in pipes, tanks, vats or the like to regulate the flow (for supply, discharge, etc.), of fluids (liquid, viscous or gaseous), or, in certain cases, of solids (e.g., sand). This heading includes such devices designed to regulate the pressure of the flow velocity of a liquid or a gas. See EN 84.81. This EN describes the gas manifold system, used to “meter and blend gases which are then injected into the growth reactor.”
The appliances of heading 8481, HTSUS, regulate the flow by opening or closing an aperture (e.g., gate, disc, ball, plug, needle or diaphragm). They may be operated by hand (by means of a key, wheel, press button, etc.), or by a motor, solenoid, clock movement, etc., or by an automatic device such as a spring, counterweight, float lever, thermostatic element or pressure capsule. Taps, valves, etc., incorporating such mechanisms or devices remain classified in this heading. See EN 84.81. The gas manifold system consists of valves that control the metering and blending of gases, which are solenoid, pneumatic and hand operated. This system is described by EN 84.81.
Taps, valves, etc., remain classified in heading 8481, HTSUS, even if incorporating other accessory features. See EN 84.81. The pipe work, electronic and computer controls incorporated in the gas manifold system do not disqualify it from classification under heading 8481, HTSUS.
Although the gas manifold assembly is specifically designed to work as part of a specific machine, it is a part which in itself constitutes an article covered by a heading of Section XVI and will be in all cases classified in its own appropriate heading. See Nidec at 1336. See also EN 84.81, which states that [t]aps, cocks, valves, etc., remain in heading 8481 even if specialized for uses on a particular machine or apparatus.
The gas manifold assembly is said to consist of 100 valves, which regulate the flow of liquids into and out of the MOVPE reactor. These are complete valves that function outside the reactor. As such, this manifold does not meet the exception stated in EN 84.81 that certain machinery parts which incorporate a complete valve, or which regulate the flow of a fluid inside a machine although not forming a complete valve in themselves, are classified as parts of the relative machines.
Heading 8481 includes mixing taps and valves, with two or more inlets and a mixing chamber. The heading also covers thermostatically controlled mixing valves incorporating an adjustable tension thermostatic element, which actuates the plugs or stoppers regulating the admission of fluids at different temperatures into the mixing chamber. See EN 84.81 (11). The manifold system is said to control the gas flow by determining the heat loss of a heated filament due to the gas flow, then adjusting the flow to a preset value by taking into account the flows and pressure of the constituent gases. Again, the manifold is described by the EN for heading 8481.
The gas manifold assembly, while perhaps complex in design, is simply an assembly of valves, actuators and control devices designed to combine the flow of gas streams from external gas cylinders and regulate the introduction of those gas streams into the MOVPE reactor. The gas manifold assembly is an article of heading 8481, HTSUS. Since this part is classified in heading 8481, HTSUS, by Section XVI, Note 2(a), we do not go on to Note 2(b).
HOLDING:
Protest 1001-99-104130 should be DENIED. The specialized gas manifold assembly falls within the common meaning of “valves” and is classified under subheading 8481.80.9050, HTSUS, which provides for: Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances, for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves; parts thereof: Other appliances: Other: Other: Other.
In accordance with Section 3(A)(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, Notice of Action, 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 of the World Wide Web at www.customs.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division