CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H113636 EG
Ms. Lucia Buckman
Customs Compliance Auditor
Associated Merchandising Corporation
500 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10018
RE: Revocation of New York Ruling Letters (NY) I80281, NY J83831 and NY
K87024: Classification of Automatic Pet Feeders
Dear Ms. Buckman:
This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) I80281, dated April 16, 2002, issued to you concerning the tariff classification of a product identified as the “Battery Operated Automatic Pet Feeder” (automatic pet feeder) from China under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the subject article in heading 8543, HTSUS, which provides for electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in Chapter 85. We have reviewed NY I80281 and find it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY I80281 and two other rulings with substantially similar merchandise: NY J83831, dated May 23, 2003 and issued to Radio Systems Corporation, as well as NY K87024, dated July 1, 2004 and issued to JC Penny.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice of the proposed revocation was published on June 22, 2011, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 45, No. 26. CBP received no comments in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The subject article is the automatic pet feeder. NY I80281 describes the automatic pet feeder as a battery operated feeding dish for pets. It can be programmed to open every 8, 12, or 24-hour feeding cycle. A signal from a printed circuit board (PCB) directs the electric motor, via a system of gears, to rotate the plastic dish underneath of the pet feeder’s cover. One of the plastic dish’s full trays of pet food will rotate to the open portion of the cover. This rotation exposes the pet food and the prerecorded voice message will be played to let the pet know that it is meal time. The dish, which contains three large food trays, will remain open until the next programmed feeding time. At the next meal time, the dish will cycle to the next filled food tray.
ISSUE:
Is the automatic pet feeder classified as an electrical machine not specified or included elsewhere under heading 8543, HTSUS, or as an electromechanical domestic appliance of heading 8509, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined 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, the remaining GRI’s 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
8509 Electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor[s], other than vacuum cleaners of heading 8505; parts thereof . . .
* * *
8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof . . .
* * *
Note 4 to Section XVI, which includes Chapter 85, provides that:
Where 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.
* * *
Note 3 to Chapter 85 provides, in pertinent part, that:
Heading 8509 covers only the following electromechanical machines of the kind commonly used for domestic purposes:
(a) Floor polishers, food grinders and mixers, and fruit or vegetable juice extractors, of any weight;
(b) Other machines provided the weight of such machines does not exceed 20 kg, exclusive of extra interchangeable parts or detachable auxiliary devices…
* * *
The Explanatory Note to Heading 8509 (EN 85.09) states, in pertinent part:
This heading covers a number of domestic appliances in which an electric motor is incorporated. The term “domestic appliances” in this heading means appliances normally used in the household. These appliances are identifiable, according to type, by one or more characteristic features such as overall dimensions, design, capacity, volume. The yardstick for judging these characteristics is that the appliances in question must not operate at a level in excess of household requirements.
* * *
Applying GRI 1, the first issue is whether NY I80281 properly classified the automatic pet feeder as an electrical machine not specified or included elsewhere in Chapter 85. Heading 8543, HTSUS, is a catch-all basket provision for electrical machines which are not classified elsewhere in Chapter 85 because it contains the phrase: “not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter.” See I.B.M. v. United States, 152 F.3d 1332, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 1998). Therefore, if the automatic pet feeder can be classified elsewhere in Chapter 85, it cannot be classified in the basket provision of heading 8543, HTSUS.
Heading 8509, HTSUS, covers electromechanical domestic appliances with self-contained electric motors. Note 3 to Chapter 85 states that heading 8509, HTSUS, only includes machines used for domestic purposes. Moreover, Note 3(b) states that except for a few appliances listed in Note 3(a), the machines classified under heading 8509, HTSUS, cannot weigh more than 20 kg (44 lbs) exclusive of interchangeable parts or accessories. EN 85.09 explains this weight requirement as limiting articles classified under heading 8509, HTSUS, to household appliances. Heavier appliances could have industrial or commercial purposes rather than domestic purposes.
The automatic pet feeder weighs less than 20 kg (44 lbs). This low weight indicates that the automatic pet feeder is designed for use in the home, as opposed to use in a kennel or another commercial setting. As such, the automatic pet feeder is classifiable as a household appliance.
Note 4 to Section XVI states that a machine which has different components which contribute to a defined function must be classified under the heading which covers that function. The automatic pet feeder has both electrical and mechanical components. An electronic PCB controls the timer for feedings, as well as the pre-recorded voice which alerts pets to meal time. A system of gears rotates the dish to the cover’s opening. All of the automatic pet feeder’s components contribute to its defined function as a household appliance which feeds household pets. For all of the aforementioned reasons, the automatic pet feeder is properly classified under heading 8509, HTSUS, as an electromechanical domestic appliance with a self-contained electric motor.
The automatic pet feeder is a domestic appliance under heading 8509, HTSUS. This determination is consistent with NY R04367, dated July 17, 2006, which classified a substantially similar article under heading 8509, HTSUS. Since the automatic pet feeder is properly classified under heading 8509, HTSUS, it cannot be classified in the basket provision of heading 8543, HTSUS. Under the same analysis, the substantially similar automatic pet feeders described in NY J83831 and NY K87024 are also classified under heading 8509, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the automatic pet feeders in NY I80281, NY J83831, NY and K87024 are classifiable under heading 8509, HTSUS. Specifically, they are classifiable under subheading 8509.80.50, HTSUS, which provides for “Electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor, other than vacuum cleaners of heading 8508; parts thereof: other appliances: other…” The column one, general rate of duty is 4.2% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY I80281, dated April 16, 2002, NY J83831, dated May 23, 2003 and NY K87024, dated July 1, 2004 are hereby revoked.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division