CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 088520 DWS
Mr. Daniel V. Cusack
Vice President of Manufacturing
Colonial Data Technologies Corp.
80 Pickett District Rd.
New Milford, CT 06776
RE: Reconsideration of NY Ruling 858341; Telephone Caller ID Unit
Dear Mr. Cusack,
This is in response to your letter of January 10, 1991,
requesting the reconsideration of NY Ruling 853251, dated
December 11, 1990. In that ruling, the Area Director of the New
York Seaport held that a telephone caller ID unit is
classifiable under subheading 8517.81.00, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides
for: "[e]lectrical apparatus for line telephony or telegraphy,
including such apparatus for carrier-current line systems:
[o]ther apparatus: [t]elephonic: [o]ther."
FACTS:
The caller ID unit is a device that displays the telephone
number of a calling party on a liquid crystal display (LCD). A
coded representation of the calling party's telephone number is
sent down the telephone line to the unit, which plugs into a
standard modular wall jack. The caller's number is stored in
chip memory so that, at a later time, the user of the caller ID
unit can review the numbers of all parties who called his number.
The unit also records the time and date of the call. The units
do not function as telephones, in that they do not have a dial
pad for outward dialing nor do they have handsets for sending and
receiving speech. The product works entirely independent of the
telephone and does not require that a telephone be attached for
it to operate.
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification of the telephone caller ID
unit under the HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification is determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative chapter
or section notes.
After examination of a sample of the caller ID, New York
Customs held in NY ruling 858341 that the merchandise is
classifiable under subheading 8517.81.00, HTSUSA, which provides
for: "[o]ther apparatus: telephonic." This decision was based on
their belief that the receiving, decoding, and displaying of a
telephone number on a crystal liquid display is a telephone
function. Since the caller ID units are intended, adapted, and
necessary for a telephone function, they concluded that the
caller ID's are telephone apparatus.
Subheading 8531.80.00, HTSUSA, provides for: "[e]lectric
sound or visual signaling apparatus, other than those of heading
8512 or 8530: [o]ther apparatus: [i]ndicator panels: [o]ther."
In understanding heading 8531, HTSUSA, the Explanatory Notes may
be utilized. The Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive,
are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the
HTSUSA. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
Explanatory Note 85.31(D)(2) (p.1382) provides:
Number indicators. The signals appear as illuminated
figures on the face of a small box; in some apparatus of
this kind the calling mechanism is operated by the dial of a
telephone.
Concerning the caller ID unit, we find that the language of
Explanatory Note 85.31(D)(2), HTSUSA, offers guidance. The
caller ID unit visually signals the numbers associated with
telephone numbers by means of a flashing LCD. Furthermore, the
caller ID unit is activated by the dial of a telephone which
drives the LCD signal.
It is our position that, because the caller ID unit is
specifically provided for under heading 8531, HTSUSA, it is
precluded from classification under the "basket" provision in
heading 8517, HTSUSA, which was the basis for NY Ruling 858341.
HOLDING:
The telephone caller ID unit is classifiable under
subheading 8531.80.00, HTSUSA, which provides for: "[e]lectric
sound or visual signaling apparatus, other than those of heading
8512 or 8530: [o]ther apparatus: [i]ndicator panels: [o]ther."
The general, column one rate of duty is 2.7 percent ad valorem.
For the reasons stated above, NY Ruling 858341, dated
December 11, 1990, is revoked under authority of section
177.9(d), Customs Regulations [19 CFR 177.9(d)].
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division