CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H255439 EGJ
TARIFF NO: 8537.10.90
Port Director
U.S Customs and Border Protection
5600 Pearl Street
Rosemont, IL 60018
Attn: Jeffrey Kiekenbush, Senior Import Specialist
RE: Internal Advice Request: Tariff classification of a TFT-LCD Module for a Mobile Computer
Dear Port Director:
This letter is in reply to your request for Internal Advice, initiated by a letter dated April 25, 2014, by counsel for Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corp. (Kyocera). At issue is the tariff classification of a flat panel display module by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The instant 3.5 inch thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) module, Kyocera part number T-51963GD035J-MLW-ANN, is a component of the Intermec CN50 mobile computer. The mobile computer is designed specifically for the “hold and carry” activities of the postal, field service, transportation, and commercial delivery worker. It is designed for mobile customer service operations that require application processing, barcode data scanning, document capture, digital camera functionality, and 3G wireless network voice and data communication.
Pictures of two different styles of the Intermec CN 50 mobile computer are provided below:
The instant TFT-LCD module is equipped with a TFT-LCD panel, driver integrated circuits (ICs), a timing controller IC, a backlight unit and a printed wiring board. At importation, the TFT-LCD module is also equipped with a resistive touch panel. The touch panel consists of two layers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film which have conductive surfaces. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the monitor is operational. The change in the electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the point of contact are calculated by the computer. Once the coordinates are known, a special driver translates the touch into something that the operating system can understand, much as a computer mouse river translates a mouse’s movements into a click or drag. It is a 4-wire resistive type touch panel.
The instant TFT-LCD module is fungible and can be used in different applications. Pictures of the TFT-LCD module are provided below:
Kyocera made several entries of the subject merchandise between April 8, 2010 and April 3, 2014. Some of the entries have since liquidated, and Kyocera has not filed any protests with regard to the instant merchandise.
ISSUE:
What is the classification of the TFT-LCD module equipped with a resistive touch panel under the HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). 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 may then be applied. Under GRI 6, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5.
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
8528 Monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus; reception apparatus for television, whether or not incorporating radio-broadcast receivers or sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus:
Other monitors:
8528.51 Of a kind solely or principally used in an automatic data processing system of heading 8471:
* * *
Projectors:
8528.61 Of a kind solely or principally used in an automatic data processing system of heading 8471:
* * *
8536 Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders and other connectors, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V; connectors for optical fibers, optical fiber bundles or cables:
* * *
8537 Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517:
8537.10 For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:
8537.10.90 Other:
* * *
9013 Liquid crystal devices not constituting articles provided for more specifically in other headings; lasers, other than laser diodes; other optical appliances and instruments, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts and accessories thereof:
9013.80 Other devices, appliances and instruments:
9013.80.70 Flat panel displays other than for articles of heading 8528, except subheadings 8528.51 or 8528.61.
9013.80.90 Other.
* * *
According to Kyocera, the TFT-LCD module is classifiable under heading 9013, HTSUS, which provides for “liquid crystal devices not constituting articles provided for more specifically in other headings.” While the instant module is equipped with an LCD panel, we note that it is also equipped with a resistive touch panel. The instant module can only be classified in heading 9013, HTSUS, if it is not specifically provided for in another heading.
Heading 8537, HTSUS, provides for “Boards, panels … equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90.” Heading 8536, HTSUS, provides for “Electrical apparatus … for making connections to or in electrical circuits.” The subject merchandise is an LCD panel equipped with a resistive touch panel. When the user presses a finger against the outer surface, it makes an electrical connection. We note that the instant module consists of an LCD panel described by Chapter 90, that it makes electrical connections, and that is used for the control and distribution of electricity. CBP has consistently classified similar LCD panels equipped with resistive touch panel technology under heading 8537, HTSUS. See, e.g. Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 961727, dated May 22, 1998, New York Ruling Letter (NY) N052937, dated March 17, 2009, and NY N095259, dated March 9, 2010. For all of these reasons, the instant TFT-LCD module is properly classified under heading 8537, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the TFT-LCD module, Kyocera part number T-51963GD035J-MLW-ANN, for mobile computers is classified in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS, which provides for “Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Other.” The 2016 column one, general rate of duty is 2.7 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the U.S. International Trade Commission’s website at www.usitc.gov.
You are to mail this decision to the Internal Advice requester no later than 60 days from the date of the decision. At that time, the Office of International Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel and the public on the CBP website located 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