CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H299177 ALS
Ms. Cynthia Ford
Senior Import Specialist
Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
10426 Alta Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32226
RE: Internal Advice; Tariff classification of Mini Trucks
Dear Ms. Ford:
This letter is in reply to your request for internal advice that you submitted on behalf of Stein, Shostak, Shostak, Pollack, and O’Hara, attorneys representing Vantage Vehicle Group. The internal advice request concerns the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification of certain models of Vantage’s mini trucks under subheading 8704.31.00, HTSUS.
FACTS:
The two Vantage Vehicle mini truck models at issue are CA1021V and CA1024R. These trucks are low-speed utility vehicles with three-cylinder spark-ignition 998cc engines that are limited to 39hp. The relatively low horse power limits the speed of the trucks to 20-25mph. The trucks have a gross weight of 2,722 pounds (1.23 metric tons). The side and tail gates of the cargo beds fold down to allow use of the cargo bed as a flat bed. The trucks are equipped with seat belts, safety glass, and exterior lighting.
Vantage had entered a number of the mini trucks under subheading 8709.19.00, HTSUS. Your office issued a Notice of Action to the Protestant notifying it that CBP reclassified the mini trucks under subheading 8704.31.00, HTSUS. Vantage alternatively proposes that the mini trucks are classifiable under subheading 8703.10, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Are the mini trucks properly classified under heading 8704, HTSUS, which provides for “Motor vehicles for the transport of goods”, or under heading 8709, HTSUS, which provides for “Works trucks, self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment, of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short distance transport of goods; tractors of the type used on railway station platforms; parts of the foregoing vehicles” or, alternatively, under heading 8703, HTSUS, which provides for “Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars”?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is determined in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”) and, in the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation (“ARI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be “determined according to the terms of the headings 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, GRIs 2 through 6 may be applied in order.
The following heading and subheadings of the HTSUS are under consideration in this case:
8703 Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars:
8703.10 Vehicles specially designed for traveling on snow; golf carts and similar vehicles:
* * *
8704 Motor vehicles for the transport of goods:
Other, with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine:
8704.31.00 G.V.W. not exceeding 5 metric tons…
* * *
8709 Works trucks, self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment, of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short distance transport of goods; tractors of the type used on railway station platforms; parts of the foregoing vehicles:
Vehicles:
8709.19.00 Other…
* * * * * * *
Vantage contends that the mini trucks should be classified under heading 8709 because the subject trucks “are almost identical to the Micro Trucks as described in Ruling 965246”. In CBP Ruling HQ 965246 (November 6, 2001), CBP classified the Micro Trucks under subheading 8709.19.00, HTSUS. In doing so, CBP concluded that “on balance, the Micro Truk, as described, has a majority of the design features listed in the 8709 ENs [Explanatory Notes] as common to vehicles of that heading. For this reason, the Micro Truk belongs to the class or kind of vehicles principally used as a works truck of heading 8709.” Vantage notes that CBP described the vehicles in HQ 965246 as having a maximum top speed of 25 miles per hour, a turning radius approximately the length of the vehicle, lacking federally-mandated safety features, and not designed for use on public roads.
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither legally binding nor 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. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The ENs for heading 8704 state, in part, the following:
The following features are indicative of the design characteristics generally applicable to the vehicles which fall in this heading:
(a) Presence of bench-type seats without safety equipment (e.g., safety seat belts or anchor points and fittings for installing safety seat belts) or passenger amenities in the rear area behind the area for the driver and front passengers. Such seats are normally fold-away or collapsible to allow full use of the rear floor (van-type vehicles) or a separate platform (pick-up vehicles) for the transport of goods;
(b) Presence of a separate cabin for the driver and passengers and a separate open platform with side panels and a drop-down tailgate (pick-up vehicles);
(c) Absence of rear windows along the two side panels; presence of sliding, swing-out or lift-up door or doors, without windows, on the side panels or in the rear for loading and unloading goods (van-type vehicles);
(d) Presence of a permanent panel or barrier between the area for the driver and front passengers and the rear area;
(e) Absence of comfort features and interior finish and fittings in the cargo bed area which are associated with the passenger areas of vehicles (e.g., floor carpeting, ventilation, interior lighting, ashtrays).
Each of the subject vehicles has a driver/passenger cabin separate from a rear open platform with side panels, a permanent panel between the driver/passenger cabin and the rear area, and lack comfort features and interior finish and fittings in the cargo area that are normally associated with the passenger area of vehicles. Given such, each subject vehicle matches many of the design characteristics of vehicles that fall in heading 8704.
The ENs for heading 8709 state the following:
The main features common to the vehicles of this heading which generally distinguish them from the vehicles of heading 87.01, 87.03 or 87.04 may be summarised as follows:
(1) Their construction and, as a rule, their special design features, make them unsuitable for the transport of passengers or for the transport of goods by road or other public ways.
(2) Their top speed when laden is generally not more than 30 to 35 km/h.
(3) Their turning radius is approximately equal to the length of the vehicle itself.
Vehicles of this heading do not usually have a closed driving cab, the accommodation for the driver often being no more than a platform on which he stands to steer the vehicle. Certain types may be equipped with a protective frame, metal screen, etc., over the driver’s seat.
Each of the subject vehicles has a separate driver and passenger seat in the front row of seats, a closed driving cab, and, as noted above, a separate rear platform, features that, taken together, indicate suitability for the transport of passengers and/or goods by public roads, and stand in contrast to the characteristics of vehicles that generally fall under heading 8709. Given such, we conclude that the subject vehicles are distinguished from vehicles that fall under heading 8709. Consequently, we find that the subject vehicles are not classifiable under heading 8709, HTSUS.
As noted above, Vantage asserts in the alternative that the subject vehicles are properly classified under 8703, HTSUS. As stated in the ENs for heading 8704, “the classification of certain motor vehicles in this heading is determined by certain features which indicate that the vehicles are designed for the transport of goods rather than for the transport of persons (heading 87.03).” To reiterate what we noted above in our consideration of heading 8704 with regard to the subject vehicles, “each of the subject vehicles has a driver/passenger cabin separate from a rear open platform with side panels, a permanent panel between the driver/passenger cabin and the rear area, and lack comfort features and interior finish and fittings in the cargo area that are normally associated with the passenger area of vehicles. Given such, each subject vehicle matches many of the design characteristics of vehicles that fall in heading 8704.” In plain contrast, the design characteristics of the subject vehicles are not consistent with the description of merchandise to be classified under heading 8703, as put forth in the heading itself or the ENs thereto. They are not “principally designed for the transport of persons.” Thus, the subject vehicles are not classifiable under heading 8703, HTSUS.
Given the foregoing, we conclude that the Vantage Vehicle mini truck models CA1021V and CA1024R are motor vehicles for the transport of goods that are not elsewhere specified or included in any other heading of the HTSUS. Therefore, we further conclude that the CA1021V and CA1024R are properly classified under heading 8704, HTSUS. Specifically, models CA1021V and CA1024R are properly classified under subheading 8704.31.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: Other, with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine: G.V.W. [gross vehicle weight] not exceeding 5 metric tons…”
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the Vantage Vehicle mini truck models CA1021V and CA1024R are properly classified under heading 8704, HTSUS. Specifically, models CA1021V and CA1024R are properly classified under subheading 8704.31.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: Other, with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine: G.V.W. not exceeding 5 metric tons…” The general column one rate of duty, for merchandise classified in this subheading is 25%.
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 World Wide Web 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 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