CLA-2 CO:R:C:F 956484 NL
6307.90.9989
Mr. James L. Gregory
C.F. Liebert, Inc. Customs Brokers
# 8 12th Street
P.O. Box 1890
Blaine, WA 98231-1890
RE: Classification for Unassembled Parts for "Zodiac" Inflatable
Boat; GRI 2(a); Vulcanized Rubber; Rubberized Textile
Material
Dear Mr. Gregory:
This is in reply to your letter dated January 17, 1994, in
which you requested a ruling on the classification under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of certain
cut pieces of coated fabric used to assemble an inflatable boat.
The request was on behalf of Zodiac Hurricane Technologies, Inc.
Pursuant to the request of the Area Director, New York Seaport,
your client provided supplementary information and samples by
letters dated April 7 and April 27, 1994.
FACTS:
The imported merchandise consists of all the cut pieces of
coated fabric required to assemble a 10 man model F470 "Zodiac"
inflatable boat. This type of craft is principally used by the
military. After importation the parts will be assembled, mainly
by gluing, trimming, honing and buffing, to complete the boat in
the U.S. Other parts, including the floorboards, transom, valves,
D rings, lifelines and handles will be supplied and delivered
separately to the place of assembly. According to the
supplementary information, assembly requires 34 hours of labor.
The three sample fabrics which comprise the shell of the
inflatable boat are made from textile fabric coated on one side
with hypalon, known in the trade as a synthetic rubber, and on the
other side with neoprene. The sample fabrics, varying in weight,
are designated as FB 20207, FB 30015, and FB 30010.
You submit that the imported article is classifiable pursuant
to subheading 8906.00.9090, HTSUS, which provides for: "Other
vessels, including warships and lifeboats other than row boats:
Other, Other."
ISSUE:
Whether the imported article is classifiable as an unassembled
vessel of heading 8906, or as a coated textile fabric.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). The systematic detail
of the harmonized system is such that virtually all 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, the remaining GRIs may then be applied.
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description
and Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of
the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification
under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of
the headings and GRIs.
GRI 2(a) states:
Any reference in a heading to an article shall
be taken to include a reference to that
article incomplete or unfinished, provided
that, as entered the incomplete or unfinished
article has the essential character of the
complete or finished article. It shall also
be taken to include a reference to that
article complete or finished (or falling to be
classified as complete or finished by virtue
of this rule), presented unassembled or
disassembled.
The EN for GRI 2(b) states, at paragraph (VII):
For the purposes of this Rule, "articles
presented unassembled or disassembled" means
articles the components of which are to be
assembled either by means of simple fixing
devices (screws, nuts, bolts, etc.) or by
riveting or welding, for example, provided
only simple assembly operations are involved.
In this case we cannot agree with your claim that the imported
cut fabric may be classified as an unassembled vessel. The
technical complexity of the assembly process, and the time required
to accomplish it, indicate that the assembly process is more than
a simple one. Although the fabric is undoubtedly an important
constituent of a finished inflatable boat, it does not alone impart
the essential character of an inflatable boat. The transom, floor,
valves, and other items which are not imported with the fabric are
needed before the unassembled article could be considered to have
the essential character of a boat. Moreover, we find it doubtful
even if all these constituents were imported together that the boat
could be considered merely unassembled, as the labor needed to
impart the boat's dimensions and characteristics includes gluing
at least 50 pieces of fabric (as well as buffing, trimming, and
honing) to close tolerances.
Accordingly, the imported fabric pieces must be classified
individually. Classification of this fabric must take into account
all three of its constituents: Hypalon, which is considered a
plastics material of Chapter 39, HTSUS; Neoprene, which is a
synthetic rubber of Chapter 40, HTSUS, and the inner fabric
(assumed to be man-made) of Part XI (Textiles).
The notes and ENs to Chapters 39 and 40 include no guidelines
for the classification of textile fabrics coated on one side with
plastic and on the other with synthetic rubber. Notwithstanding
the presence of the Hypalon plastic material, we believe such
fabrics may be classified as "rubberized textile fabrics" within
the meaning of note 4 to Chapter 59. This note defines "rubberized
textile fabrics" of heading 5906 as including textile fabrics
impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with rubber, weighing not
more than 1500 grams per square meter or, if weighing more more
than 1500 grams per square meter, containing more than 50 percent
by weight of textile material.
Analysis of the three samples indicates rubberized material
of varying weights. Samples FB 20207 and FB 30015 appear to weigh
less than 1500 grams per square meter, while sample FB 30010
appears both to weigh more and to contain less than 50 percent by
weight of textile material. Thus, Samples FB 20207 and FB 30015
are classifiable in heading 5906, HTSUS, pursuant to Note 4 of
Chapter 59, while Sample FB 30010 appears to be a rubber material
of Chapter 40.
However, the materials of samples FB 20207 and FB 30015 will
be articles of heading 5906 only to the extent that they are in
the form of cut pieces in squares and rectangles. Otherwise, if
they are further shaped or worked, they will be classifiable in
Chapter 63 as other made up textile articles; specifically,
subheading 6307, which provides for other made up textile articles.
The pieces of sample FB 30010 are classifiable in chapter 40,
at heading 4008.21, which provides for plates, sheets and strip of
vulcanized noncellular rubber other than hard rubber. Sheets which
have been further worked and shaped are classifiable in heading
4016, which provides for other articles of vulcanized rubber.
HOLDING:
The cut and shaped pieces of rubberized textile materials used
to assemble an inflatable boats are classified as follows:
Squares and rectangles of fabrics FB 20207 and FB 30015 are
classified in subheading 5906.99.2000, HTSUS, if containing more
than 70 percent by weight of rubber, with duty of 4.2 percent ad
valorem; or in subheading 5906.99.2500 if containing 70 percent or
less by weight of rubber, with a duty of 8.5 percent ad valorem.
If products of France, products of this subheading are not subject
to textile restraints at this time. Pieces of Fabrics FB 20207 and
FB 30015 which are further worked or shaped beyond cutting into
squares and rectangles are classified in subheading 6307.90.9989,
HTSUS, with duty of 7 percent ad valorem. The fabric of sample FB
30010 is classified in subheading 4008.21.0000, HTSUS, with a duty
of 3.4 percent ad valorem. If such sheets are worked or shaped
further than cutting into square or rectangular shapes, they are
classified in subheading 4016.99.6050, HTSUS, with a duty of 5.3
percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant
Director, Commercial