CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H024411 GC
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Boston Service Port
10 Causeway Street – Room 603
Boston, Massachusetts 02222
RE: Tariff classification of plastic ball races for use in suspension systems of motor vehicles; Protest Number 0401-08-100024
Dear Port Director:
This letter is in reply to your memorandum, dated February 25, 2008, forwarding protest and application for further review number 0401-08-100024, dated February 8, 2008, filed by PBB Global Logistics, Inc. on behalf of its client, ZF Lemforder Corporation (Lemforder). The protest is against Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) classification and subsequent liquidation of fourteen entries, made between March 1, 2007 and August 30, 2007, of plastic ball races under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The subject plastic ball races are incorporated into automotive stabilizers after importation. Incisions on the slightly tapered end of the races allow them to slide over a pinball/pinbolt assembly, which is then attached to stabilizers that are ultimately used in the front end suspension of a passenger car and truck. The function of the plastic ball race is to provide a low-friction, load-carrying interface between the metal components of the automotive stabilizers.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject plastic ball races used in suspension systems of passenger cars and trucks are classifiable in heading 8483, HTSUS, as parts of shaft bearings, or in heading 8708, HTSUS, as parts of motor vehicles?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Initially we note that the matter is protestable under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2) as a decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. §1514(c)(3), the protest was timely filed on February 8, 2008, within 180 days of the October 26, 2007 liquidation of the subject entries.
Further review of Protest 0401-08-100024 was properly accorded to protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. §174.24. In accordance with Section 174.24(a), the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of Customs or his designee, or with a decision made at any port with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise.
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The following 2007 HTSUS provisions under consideration are:
8483 Transmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks; bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings; gears and gearing; ball or roller screws; gear boxes and other speed changers, including torque converters; flywheels and pulleys, including pulley blocks; clutches and shaft couplings (including universal joints); parts thereof:
8483.90 Toothed wheels, chain sprockets and other transmission elements presented separately; parts:
Parts of bearing housings and plain shaft bearings:
8483.90.3000 Other…
* * *
8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705:
8708.80 Suspension systems and parts thereof (including shock absorbers):
Parts:
Other:
8708.80.65 Other…
Note 1(l) to Section XVI, HTSUS, excludes from Section XVI “[a]rticles of Section XVII”.
Note 2 to Section XVII, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part, that:
The expressions “parts” and “parts and accessories” do not apply to the following articles, whether or not they are identifiable as for the goods of this section:
* * *
(e) Machines or apparatus of headings 8401 to 8479, or parts thereof; articles of heading 8481 or 8482 or, provided they constitute integral parts of engines or motors, articles of heading 8483.
Lemforder advances the argument that Note 1(l) to Section XVI applies to exclude the subject plastic ball races from classification in heading 8483, HTSUS, because the ball races constitute “articles” of Section XVII.
We agree with Lemforder’s argument that Note 2(e) to Section XVII does not apply to exclude the subject plastic ball races from heading 8708, HTSUS. As indicated above, Note 2(e) excludes from the expression “parts and accessories” only those articles of heading 8483, HTSUS, which constitute “integral parts of engines or motors”. Because the subject merchandise is ultimately used in suspension systems, we find that they are not “integral parts of engines or motors”, and thus do not fit within the scope of the exclusion set forth in Note 2(e) to Section XVII.
Note 3 to Section XVII, HTSUS, which covers heading 8708, HTSUS, states the following, in pertinent part: “[r]eferences in Chapters 86 to 88 to ‘parts’ or ‘accessories’ do not apply to parts or accessories which are not suitable for use solely or principally with the articles of those chapters.”
Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c) states that, in the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, “a provision for parts of an article covers products solely or principally used as a part of such articles but a provision for ‘parts’ or ‘parts and accessories’ shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory”.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) may be utilized. The ENs, though not dispositive or legally binding, may provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
With respect to the scope of heading 8708, HTSUS, it is stated in EN 87.08 that:
This heading covers parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 87.01 to 87.05, provided the parts and accessories fulfil both of the following conditions:
They must be identifiable as being suitable for use solely or principally with the above-mentioned vehicles; and
They must not be excluded by the provisions of the Notes to Section XVII (see the corresponding General Explanatory Note). (Emphasis in original).
General EN (III)(C) to section XVII, HTSUS, provides that “[p]arts and accessories, even if identifiable as for the articles of this Section, are excluded if they are covered more specifically by another heading elsewhere in the Nomenclature…” (Emphasis in original).
Therefore, in light of Note 3 to section XVII, HTSUS, its corresponding General EN, EN 87.08, and Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c), for the subject merchandise to be classified under heading 8708, HTSUS, it must be identifiable as suitable for use solely or principally with the vehicles of headings 8701, HTSUS, to 8705, HTSUS, and cannot be excluded by the provisions of the Notes to Section XVII, and cannot be covered more specifically by another heading elsewhere in the HTSUS.
In this regard, we are guided by Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc. v. United States, 19 C.I.T. 378 (1995) (Mitsubishi), wherein the Court of International Trade discussed whether a clutch is classifiable as a part of an automobile. The court stated:
The Court notes that if the subject merchandise is not a clutch, but rather a part of a starter motor, then it cannot be classified as part of an automobile, even though it is used solely in automobiles. This is because a subpart of a particular part of an article is more specifically provided for as a part of the part than as a part of the whole. C.F. Liebert v. United States, 60 Cust. Ct. 677, 686-87, 287 F.Supp. 1008, 1014 (1968) (holding that parts of clutches which are parts of winches are more specifically provided for as parts of clutches than as parts of winches).
Mitsubishi, 19 C.I.T. at 383 n.3. See also HQ H005091, dated January 24, 2007; HQ 963325, dated September 15, 2000.
Lemforder argues that the subject plastic ball races are parts of motor vehicles because the plastic ball races are principally used in the suspension systems of motor vehicles. As support, Lemforder cites New York Ruling Letter (NY) F81211, dated January 6, 2000, which deals with the tariff classification of a “Suspension Strut Bearing”, which consisted of “…a plastic cage that holds polished steel balls that is sandwiched between two steel, grooved races[, all of which] …are enclosed in a plastic housing”. As stated in the text of NY F81211, the merchandise subject to the ruling was a “housed bearing”. The design of the “Suspension Strut Bearing”, which included grooved races incorporated into the housing described above, resulted in an item that was suitable for sole or principal use with motor vehicles.
We do not dispute that the subject plastic ball races may ultimately be incorporated into merchandise similar to that of the “Suspension Strut Bearing” of NY F81211. However, ultimate use with motor vehicles does not mandate classification in heading 8708, HTSUS. Furthermore, per Mitsubishi, use as part of a suspension system (i.e. plain shaft bearings) does not require classification as a part or accessory of a motor vehicle under heading 8708, HTSUS. There is nothing about these particular ball races that makes them suitable for sole or principal use with motor vehicles. To the contrary, the instant plastic ball races are suitable for use with an array of equipment that benefits from protecting incorporated bearings and swivels from the effects of friction. They are more specifically described as parts of bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings.
Given Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c), Note 3 to Section XVII, HTSUS, as well as the guidance provided by Mitsubishi, the fact that the subject plastic ball races are designed to be placed on a metal ball to reduce the friction resulting from the interaction of metal pinballs with metal automotive stabilizers makes them more specifically described as parts of those ball pin assemblies, which essentially are plain shaft bearings of heading 8483, HTSUS. Accordingly, the subject plastic ball races are not suitable for sole or principal use as parts of motor vehicles, and are specifically provided for in heading 8483, HTSUS, as parts of bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, Note 3 to Section XVII, HTSUS, and Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c), the subject merchandise is classified under heading 8483, HTSUS, and specifically provided for in subheading 8483.90.30, HTSUS, which provides for: “…bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings…; parts thereof: Toothed wheels, chain sprockets and other transmission elements presented separately; parts: Parts of bearing housings and plain shaft bearings: Other”. The column one, general rate of duty at the time of entry was 4.5 percent ad valorem.
The protest should be DENIED. In accordance with Sections IV and VI of the CBP Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (HB 3500-08A, December 2007, pp. 24 and 26), you are to mail this decision, together with the CBP Form 19, to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision Regulations and Rulings of the Office of International Trade will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division