OT:RR:CTF:CPMM HQ H306046 CKG
Ms. Danielle Sebring Global Compliance and Logistics Manager Oatey Company 4675 West 160th Street Cleveland, OH 44135
RE: Revocation of NY N267667, NY N267669, NY N262071 and NY N262072; classification of brass drains
Dear Ms. Sebring:
This is to inform you that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has reconsidered New York (“NY”) Ruling Letters N267667 and N267669, issued to Oatey Company on August 31, 2015, regarding the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of brass drains. After reviewing these rulings in their entirety, we believe that they are in error. We have also reconsidered related rulings on brass drains, specifically NY N262071, dated March 16, 2015 and NY N262072, dated March 9, 2015. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N267667, NY N267669, NY N262071 and NY N262072.
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 proposing to revoke NY N267667, NY N267669, NY
N262071 and NY N262072 was published on March 10, 2021, in Volume 55, Number 9, of the
Customs Bulletin. No comments were received in response to this Notice.
FACTS:
At issue in NY N267667 were drains identified as Oatey part numbers 42393 and 42394. Part number 42393 is composed of a chrome plated brass adjustable drain barrel, a square chrome plated brass strainer, four stainless steel collar bolts, and an ABS reversible clamping ring and drain base. Part number 42394 is composed of a chrome plated brass adjustable drain barrel, a square chrome plated brass strainer, four stainless steel collar bolts, and a PVC reversible clamping ring and drain base.
In NY N267669, the Oatey drains were identified as part numbers 42218 and 42219. Part number 42218 is composed of a chrome plated brass adjustable drain barrel, a round stainless steel strainer, four stainless steel collar bolts, and an ABS reversible clamping ring and drain base. Part number 42219 is composed of a chrome plated brass adjustable drain barrel, a round stainless steel strainer, four stainless steel collar bolts, and a PVC reversible clamping ring and drain base.
In NY N262071, the merchandise at issue was identified as “Model ITD35 - Island Tub Drain” and the “Model SDB47 - Tub & Shower Brass Side Discharge Pan Drain – Round Grate.” The Model ITD35 drain consisted of an 18 gauge epoxy coated metal deck flange (stainless steel), 2 x 17G brass tailpieces (fine thread and flanged), ABS adapter kit, an Island Drain Assembly with 1-1/2” DWV ABS tailpiece, and a 2” x 1-1/2” ABS reducing bushing. All of the items included in the Model ITD35 - Island Tub Drain will be used to complete the bath tub drain.
The Model SDB47 drain consists of a low profile brass base, extra-long ABS body, reversible ABS collar, 3 solid brass bolts and a stainless steel grate…It is most commonly used as a shower drain. All of the items that comprise the Model SDB47 - Tub & Shower Brass Side Discharge Pan Drain – Round Grate will be packaged together in a cardboard box ready for retail sale prior to importation into the United States.
Finally, in NY N262072, the product under consideration was identified as the Model 3600WC 1-1/4” Lavatory Drain Plug & Chain, consisting of a rubber plug & chain stopper, chrome finish, cast brass, 17 gauge 1-1/4” x 8-3/8” brass tailpiece, locknut, heavy rubber gasket, forged brass strainer, and cast brass elbow.” All of the essential components in the Model 3600WC 1-1/4” Lavatory Drain Plug & Chain make up the lavatory drain, with the plug and chain being the closure.
ISSUE:
Whether the brass waste shoe is classified in heading 7418, HTSUS, as sanitary ware of copper, or in heading 7419, HTSUS, as other articles of copper.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS, in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”). GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in order. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. Pursuant to GRI 6, classification at the subheading level uses the same rules, mutatis mutandis, as classification at the heading level.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7418: Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of copper; pot scourers and scouring or polishing pads, gloves and the like, of copper; sanitary ware and parts thereof, of copper:
7418.20: Sanitary ware and parts thereof:
7418.20.10: Of copper-zinc base alloys (brass)…
7419: Other articles of copper:
Other:
7419.99: Other:
Other:
7419.99.50: Other…
* * * *
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or 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 at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The Explanatory Note to heading 7418 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
The Explanatory Notes to headings 73.21, 73.23 and 73.24 apply, mutatis mutandis, to this heading.
This heading covers, inter alia, copper cooking or heating apparatus of a kind used for domestic purposes, e.g., small appliances such as petrol, paraffin, spirit stoves, as normally used for travelling, camping, etc. and for certain household uses. The heading also covers domestic apparatus of the kind described in the Explanatory Note to heading 73.22.
EN 39.22 provides, in pertinent part:
This heading covers fittings designed to be permanently fixed in place, in houses, etc., normally by connection to the water or sewage systems. It also covers other sanitary ware of similar dimensions and uses, such as portable bidets, baby baths and camping toilets.
EN 69.10 provides, in pertinent part:
This heading covers fittings designed to be permanently fixed in place, in houses, etc., normally by connection to the water or sewage systems. They must therefore be made impervious to water by glazing or by prolonged firing (e.g., stoneware, earthenware, fire-clay sanitary ware, imitation porcelain, or vitreous china). In addition to the fittings specified, the heading includes such items as lavatory cisterns.
Ceramic flushing cisterns remain classified in this heading, whether or not equipped with their mechanisms.
The heading does not, however, include small accessory bathroom or sanitary fittings, such as soap dishes, sponge baskets, tooth-brush holders, towel hooks and toilet paper holders, even if of a kind designed for fixing to the wall, nor portable sanitary articles such as bed pans, urinals and chamber-pots; these goods fall in heading 69.11 or 69.12.
EN 73.24 provides:
This heading comprises a wide range of iron or steel articles, not more specifically covered by other headings of the Nomenclature, used for sanitary purposes.
These articles may be cast, or of iron or steel sheet, plate, hoop, strip, wire, wire grill, wire cloth, etc., and may be manufactured by any process (moulding, forging, punching, stamping, etc.). They may be fitted with lids, handles or other parts or accessories of other materials provided that they retain the character of iron or steel articles.
The heading includes, baths, bidets, hip-baths, foot-baths, sinks, wash basins, toilet sets; soap dishes and sponge baskets; douche cans, sanitary pails, urinals, bedpans, chamber pots, water closet pans and flushing cisterns whether or not equipped with their mechanisms, spittoons, toilet paper holders.
EN 74.19 provides, in pertinent part:
This heading covers all articles of copper other than those covered by the preceding headings of this Chapter or by Note 1 to Section XV, or articles specified or included in Chapter 82 or 83, or more specifically covered elsewhere in the Nomenclature.
* * * *
In NY N267667, NY N267669, NY N262071, and NY N262072, CBP classified various shower or bath drain assemblies of brass in heading 7419, HTSUS, as other articles of copper. We have reconsidered these rulings, and find that the subject drains are properly classified in heading 7418, HTUSS, as sanitary ware.
As a preliminary matter, we note that heading 7419, HTSUS, only covers “other” articles of copper, not more specifically described elsewhere in the Nomenclature. Therefore, classification in heading 7419, HTSUS, is precluded if the merchandise is covered more specifically in heading 7418, HTSUS.
In NY N267667 and NY N267669, CBP specifically considered and discarded classification in heading 7418, HTSUS, as sanitary ware of copper, because the drains were not similar in kind to the exemplars of sanitary ware listed in the Explanatory Note to heading 7418. However, lists of examples such as the types of sanitary ware that may be included in the heading are illustrative only, and cannot narrow or broaden the scope of the heading.
Heading 7418, HTSUS, provides for, inter alia, sanitary ware of copper. “Sanitary ware” is not defined in the HTSUS or Explanatory Notes; we therefore turn to the common and commercial meaning of the term for guidance. See Nippon Kogasku (USA) Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 89, 92-93 (1982); C.J. Towers & Sons v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 128, 133-134 (1982). The Macmillan Dictionary, available at www.macmillandictionary.com, defines “sanitary” as “relating to people’s health, especially to the system of supply water and dealing with human waste.” “Sanitary ware” is also defined at www.dictionary.reference.com as: “plumbing fixtures, as sinks or toilet bowls, made of ceramic material or enameled metal.” The Explanatory Notes to headings 3922 and 6910 further specify that “sanitary ware” covers “fittings designed to be permanently fixed in place, in houses, etc., normally by connection to the water or sewage systems.
We have further consulted the standards jointly developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) regarding plumbing supply fittings (ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1), which can be found on the ASME website at www.asme.org. The scope of the ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1 standard for plumbing supply fittings can be found in Part 1, Section 1.1, which states that the standard applies to plumbing supply fittings and accessories located between the supply line stop and the terminal fitting, including, in relevant part, “(b) bath and shower supply fittings”. Part 3, entitled “Definitions and abbreviations”, at Section 3.1 Definitions, states, in relevant part: “The following definitions apply in this Standard:
Accessory—a component that can, at the discretion of the user, be readily added, removed, or replaced, and that, when removed, will not prevent the fitting from fulfilling its primary function. Note: Examples include aerators, hand-held shower assemblies, shower heads, and in-line flow controls (emphasis added). * * * Fixture—a device for receiving water, waste matter, or both and directing these substances into a sanitary drainage system
“Sanitary ware” for the purposes of heading 7418, HTSUS, therefore covers permanent fixtures such as toilets and baths typically connected to the building’s plumbing system and used for the removal of waste from the home, as well as small, portable articles such as toilet paper holders.
As the instant drains connect to the home’s water system in order to receive and direct wastewater into a sanitary drainage system, they are within the scope of the above definitions of sanitary ware and plumbing fixtures.
The instant drains can also be distinguished from accessories of plumbing systems such as showerheads, which CBP has consistently classified as other than sanitary; unlike the instant drains, showerheads are easily replaceable, are not permanently installed in walls or floors, and do not receive water or waste matter and direct it to a sanitary drainage system. See e.g., HQ H092556, dated July 10, 2015; NY N246906, dated November 18, 2013; NY N033873, dated August 21, 2008; NY I81474, dated May 22, 2002; NY H80605, dated June 5, 2001; and NY G85952, dated January 17, 2001.
The instant drains are sanitary ware provided for specifically in heading 7418, HTSUS. Because they are specified elsewhere in the Nomenclature, they are precluded from classification in heading 7419, HTSUS, as other articles of copper.
HOLDING:
Pursuant to GRI 1, the brass drain products at issue are classified in heading 7418,
HTSUS, specifically subheading 7418.20.10, HTSUS, which provides for “Table, kitchen or
other household articles and parts thereof, of copper; pot scourers and scouring or polishing
pads, gloves and the like, of copper; sanitary ware and parts thereof, of copper: Sanitary ware
and parts thereof: Of copper-zinc base alloys (brass).” The 2019 column one, general rate of
duty is 3% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N267667, dated, August 31, 2015, NY N267669, dated, August 31, 2015, NY N262071, dated March 16, 2015 and NY N262072, dated March 9, 2015, are hereby revoked.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN.
Sincerely,
Allyson Mattanah for
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division