CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H273716 NCD
Darryl F. Gross
Managing Member
GBK Sports LLC dba FloorballPlanet
6481 Southwest Blvd
Benbrook, TX 76132
RE: Request for classification of floorball rink boards and trolley
Dear Mr. Gross:
This is in response to your electronic ruling request of January 13, 2016, filed on behalf of GBK Sports LLC dba FloorballPlanet (“FloorballPlanet”), requesting a binding ruling as to the classification of floorball rink boards and a trolley under the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTSUS). Your letter was received by the National Commodity Specialist Division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and was forwarded to our office for review. In arriving at the determination set forth below, we have taken into account your ruling request and subsequent electronic communications between FloorballPlanet and our office.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise consists of various straight and curved boards used to form an enclosure for a floorball rink, as well as a trolley designed for the storage and transport of the boards (see Figures 1 and 2). Floorball is a variation of hockey, played on foot rather than skates, in which players of two opposing teams use hockey-style sticks to attempt to knock a plastic ball into a netted goal (see Figure 3). As in hockey, a point is awarded to a given team when the ball crosses the goal-line of the opposing team’s goal, and a given match is won by the team that has accumulated a higher number of points at the expiry of the allotted game time. See The International Floorball Federation, Rules of the Game: Rules and Interpretations (2014) (IFF). To form an enclosure for a circular or ovular floorball rink, the instant floorball rink boards, which are made up entirely of propylene plastic, are placed on the ground adjacent to each other and attached with bungee cords.
The trolley is made up of beams of galvanized steel that form a loose bed and framework for the stacking of the rink boards, as well as four rubberized casters attached to the corners of the frame’s underside. It does not contain a motor or any other self-propulsion mechanism, and is propelled only by hand.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject floorball rink boards and trolleys are classified in heading 3926, HTSUS, as “other” articles of plastics, in heading 8716, HTSUS, as an “other” non-mechanically-powered vehicle, or in heading 9506, HTSUS, as equipment for “other” sports.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes.
GRI 1 provides that classification 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 GRIs may then be applied.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The following provisions of the 2016 HTSUS are under consideration:
3926 Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914:
3926.90 Other:
3926.90.99 Other
8716 Trailers and semi-trailers; other vehicles, not mechanically propelled; and parts thereof:
8716.80 Other vehicles:
8716.80.50 Other
9506 Articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics, athletics, other sports (including table-tennis) or outdoor games, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; swimming pools and wading pools; parts and accessories thereof:
Other:
9506.99 Other:
9506.99.25 Ice-hockey and field-hockey articles and equipment, except balls and skates, and parts and accessories thereof
As a preliminary matter, Note 2(y) to Chapter 39 states: “This chapter does not cover…Articles of chapter 95 (for example, toys games, sports equipment). As such, the subject merchandise cannot be classified in heading 3926, HTSUS, if it is prima facie classifiable in heading 9506, HTSUS.
We accordingly consider heading 9506, HTSUS, which provides, inter alia, for “equipment for…other sports.” EN 95.06 states, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading covers:
Articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics or athletics, e.g., :
Trapeze bars and rings; horizontal and parallel bars; balance beams, vaulting horses; pommel horses; spring boards; climbing ropes and ladders; wall bars; Indian clubs; dumb bells and bar bells; medicine balls; rowing, cycling and other exercising apparatus; chest expanders; hand grips; starting blocks; hurdles; jumping stands and standards; vaulting poles; landing pit pads; javelins, discuses, throwing hammers and putting shots; punch balls (speed bags) and punch bags (punching bags); boxing or wrestling rings; assault course climbing walls.
Requisites for other sports and outdoor games (other than toys presented in sets, or separately, of heading 95.03), e.g.:
Snow skis and other snow ski equipment, (e.g., ski fastenings (ski bindings), ski brakes, ski poles).
Water skis, surf boards, sailboards and other water sport equipment, such as diving stages (platforms), chutes, divers’ flippers and respiratory masks of a kind used without oxygen or compressed air bottles, and simple underwater breathing tubes (generally known as “ snorkels ”) for swimmers or divers.
Golf clubs and other golf equipment, such as golf balls, golf tees.
Articles and equipment for table tennis (ping pong), such as tables (with or without legs), bats (paddles), balls and nets.
Tennis, badminton or similar rackets (e.g., squash rackets), whether or not strung.
Balls, other than golf balls and table tennis balls, such as tennis balls, footballs, rugby balls and similar balls (including bladders and covers for such balls); water polo, basketball and similar valve type balls; cricket balls.
Ice skates and roller skates, including skating boots with skates attached.
Sticks and bats for hockey, cricket, lacrosse, etc.; chistera (jai alai scoops); pucks for ice hockey; curling stones.
Nets for various games (tennis, badminton, volleyball, football, basketball, etc.).
Fencing equipment: fencing foils, sabres and rapiers and their parts (e.g., blades, guards, hilts and buttons or stops), etc.
Archery equipment, such as bows, arrows and targets.
Equipment of a kind used in children’s playgrounds (e.g., swings, slides, see saws and giant strides).
Protective equipment for sports or games, e.g., fencing masks and breast plates, elbow and knee pads, cricket pads, shin-guards, ice hockey pants with built-in guards and pads.
Other articles and equipment, such as requisites for deck tennis, quoits or bowls; skate boards; racket presses; mallets for polo or croquet; boomerangs; ice axes; clay pigeons and clay pigeon projectors; bobsleighs (bobsleds), luges and similar non motorised vehicles for sliding on snow or ice.
The term “sports equipment” is not defined in the HTSUS. Undefined tariff terms are construed in accordance with their common meanings, which may be ascertained by reference to “standard lexicographic and scientific authorities,” as well as the pertinent ENs. GRK Can., Ltd. v. United States, 761 F.3d 1354, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2014). Relying on dictionary definitions of “sports equipment,” the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has held that the term denotes items that are “necessary, useful, or appropriate” for a sport. See LeMans Corp. v. United States, 660 F.3d 1311, 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (citing Bauer Nike Hockey USA, Inc. v. United States, 393 F.3d 1246, 1250-51 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). However, the term does not apply broadly to any article used in conjunction with a sport or physical activity, and, as the court explained in Lemans, use of the exemplars listed in EN 95.06 to clarify the scope of the term is “entirely proper.” See id. at 1320. As the court found in Lemans, the exemplars of EN 95.06 include articles that are entirely separate from the user, held by the user in his or her hand, fastened to a user, or worn by a user for protection. Id. at 1322.
Of those articles that are “separate from a user,” all play integral roles in the particular sports or activities with which they are used, insofar as they enable the implementation of playing rules and/or the accrual of points in competitive matches, or enable the sport or physical activity itself through direct interaction. For example, nets, enumerated in exemplar (7) of EN 95.06, are used to establish the required trajectory of the ball in games like tennis, badminton, and volleyball, and serve as the receptacle for the ball and scoring marker in soccer, basketball, and other contact sports. Similarly, the projectile shooting of archery targets and clay pigeons is the objective of, and scoring mechanism for, archery and clay target shooting, while swings, slides, see saws are directly swung, ridden, and tipped by their users. Nowhere among these exemplars, however, are auxiliary articles that do not contribute directly to the sport or physical activity with which they are associated. Accordingly, CBP has consistently classified courts, fields, and their enclosures, all of which merely demarcate or improve the surface of the playing area without advancing the game played within, outside of heading 9506, HTSUS. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 952267, dated September 23, 1992 (excluding artificial turf used in field sports outside of heading 9506 upon determining that was dissimilar to the exemplars listed in EN 95.06); New York Ruling Letter (NY) N249165, dated February 10, 2014 (classifying sports courts for padel tennis ball in heading 7308, HTSUS); NY F85105, dated April 26, 2000 (classifying “sports enclosures” in heading 4421, HTSUS); and NY 808574, dated April 21, 1995 (classifying enclosure for a multipurpose outdoor playing field in heading 4421, HTSUS).
Here, the subject rink boards, when placed adjacent to each other and secured with bungee cords, form an enclosure for a floorball rink. Our research indicates that the boards, beyond delineating the playing area for floorball matches, do not contribute to the play of the game. See IFF, supra. Unlike the netted goals, they are not used to indicate scoring or establish a required trajectory for the floorball ball, and players need not necessarily make physical contact with the boards in the course of a match. See id. Consequently, as with the enclosures and playing surfaces previously classified by CBP in the above-cited rulings, the subject floorboard rinks fall outside the scope of heading 9506, HTSUS.
Accordingly, we consider whether the rink boards are classified in heading 3926, HTSUS, which provides, inter alia, for “other” articles of plastics. EN 39.26 states, in relevant part, that heading 3926, HTSUS “covers articles, not elsewhere specified or included, of plastics…” Consistent with EN 39.26, we have previously classified plastic articles used in conjunction with various outdoor or sporting activities in heading 3926 upon determining that they were not classifiable in heading 9506 or elsewhere in the HTSUS. See, e.g., HQ 967391, dated November 8, 2005 (classifying golf ball cleaner and towel in heading 3926 after ruling that is was excluded from heading 9506); and HQ 959405, dated September 28, 1998 (classifying fishing float tube in heading 3926). Consequently, as articles made up entirely of propylene plastic that are not described by heading 9506 or elsewhere in the HTSUS, the rink boards are classified in heading 3926, HTSUS.
With respect to the subject trolley, we consider heading 8716, HTSUS, which provides, inter alia, for “other vehicles, not mechanically propelled.” EN 87.16 states, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading covers a group of non mechanically propelled vehicles (other than those of the preceding headings) equipped with one or more wheels and constructed for the transport of goods or persons...
***
The heading includes:
***
(B) Hand- or foot-propelled vehicles.
This group includes:
Trucks and trolleys of various kinds including those specialised for use in particular industries (in the textile or ceramic industries, in dairies, etc.).
***
Hand carts, e.g., for waste disposal.
In accordance with EN 87.16, CBP has consistently classified wheeled trolleys and hand-carts used for transport purposes in heading 8716, HTSUS, where they lack self-propulsion mechanisms and are instead pushed by hand. See, e.g., HQ H037541, dated September 29, 2010 (classifying hand cart used for hauling needs in heading 8716); and HQ H036356, dated December 10, 2009 (classifying hand-propelled “nose wheel dolly and jury undercarriage…used to transport aircraft fuselages” in heading 8716). Here, because the instant trolley is wheeled, designed and used for the transport of the rink boards, and propelled only by hand, it is properly classified in heading 8716, HTSUS.
We lastly note that we have considered whether the floorboard rinks and trolley can be classified in a single heading pursuant to GRI 3(b), which provides, in relevant part, that that "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.” However, the rink boards and trolley do not, in conjunction, “consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity,” as the formation of the floorball enclosure by placement of the rink boards is distinct from the transport of these rink boards. See EN (X) to GRI 3(b); Estee Lauder, Inc. v. United States, 815 F. Supp. 2d 1287, 1294 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2012) (applying factors from EN (X) to GRI 3(b)). Therefore, the rink boards remain classified in heading 3926, HTSUS, and the trolley remains classified in heading 8716, HTSUS, by application of GRI 1.
HOLDING:
By operation of GRI 1, the subject floorball rink boards are classified in heading 3926, HTSUS. They are specifically classified in subheading 3926.90.9995, HTSUSA (Annotated), which provides for: “Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914: Other: Other: Other.” The 2016 column one rate of duty is 5.3% ad valorem.
By operation of GRI 1, the subject trolley is classified in heading 8716, HTSUS. They are specifically classified in subheading 8716.80.5090, HTSUSA, which provides for “Trailers and semi-trailers; other vehicles, not mechanically propelled; and parts thereof: Other vehicles: Other: Other: Other.” The 2016 column one rate of duty is free.
Duty rates are provided for the internal advice applicant’s convenience and are 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.
A copy of this decision should be filed with the port of entry at the time of entry.
Sincerely,
Ieva K. O’Rourke, Chief
Tariff Classification & Marking Branch