CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H324644
Port Director
Attn.: C. Willett (IS – Automotive & Aerospace CEE Team CBE)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Port of Minneapolis, MN
5600 W. American Blvd.
Suite 760
Bloomington, MN 55437
RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3501-22-102993; Tariff classification of collapsible metal containers
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest Number 3501-22-102993, timely filed on March 9, 2022, by counsel on behalf of Boxwell LLC. (“Protestant” or “Boxwell”). This AFR concerns U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), of certain collapsible storage containers.
The protested merchandise, referred to as collapsible storage containers, relates to the classification of containers imported by Boxwell under entry number
923-4437971-1, dated November 5, 2021, and liquidated on March 4, 2022, under subheading 9406.90.0030, HTSUSA, as “Prefabricated buildings: Other: Of metal: Other”. Boxwell filed this Protest and AFR on March 9, 2022, asserting that the subject merchandise is properly classified under subheading 8609.00.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for “Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids) specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or modes of transport.”
FACTS:
The items under consideration are 12 collapsible metal storage containers. The containers are made of heavy-duty steel and are available in various sizes with the most common sizes being 16ft length x 8ft width x 8ft height and 20ft length x 8ft width x 8ft height. The 12 containers that were imported under the protested entry are the 20ft length model. The relocatable storage containers are used for onsite storage, portable storage, and long-distance transportation via truck, railroad, or ISO ocean container. These containers are intended to be reused and re-transported repeatedly. The container is designed to be handled for delivery and transport by a range of equipment including rollback trucks, trailers, cranes, and forklifts. The containers are equipped with fork pockets, comer castings, and tie down points to facilitate handling and securing to and from the transporting vehicle. The interior of the container also has tie down rings to secure household goods stored in the unit during transit.
The container is designed to be collapsible to reduce transportation costs, and according to Protestant can be assembled in under 30 minutes. Once assembled, the container usually remains assembled for storage and transportation purposes, but it can easily be disassembled by removing the 24 nuts and bolts that hold the container together. The durable all-steel design is vented, weatherproof and pest-proof to ensure a long-life cycle for the container. The container is stackable 3-high fully loaded, with an interior design to accommodate various methods of cargo containment. The containers have a 15-to 20-year life cycle and are intended to be reused repeatedly. The primary use of the containers is to transport and store goods. Regardless of whether the containers are used for on site or portable storage, the containers are regularly picked up and transported, both when the containers are empty and when they are fully loaded.
ISSUE:
Whether the collapsible metal storage containers are containers for carriage of subheading 8609.00, HTSUS, or prefabricated buildings, of subheading 9406.90. HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The protest was properly filed as a decision on classification under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2). The protest was timely filed within 180 days of liquidation of the entries. See 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3).
Further Review of Protest Number 5501-19-100295 was properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(c) because the decision against which the protest was filed involves matters previously ruled on by CBP, but the facts alleged or legal arguments presented in this protest were not considered at the time of the original ruling.
Classification under the 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 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, 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 the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.
Further, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System 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 provisions under consideration are as follows:
8609.00 Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids)
specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more
modes of transport.
* * *
9406 Prefabricated buildings:
9406.90 Other
Note 4 to Chapter 94, HTSUS, provides the following definition for “prefabricated buildings”:
For the purposes of heading 9406, the expression “prefabricated buildings” means buildings which are finished in the factory or put up as elements, entered together, to be assembled on site, such as housing or worksite accommodation, offices, schools, shops, sheds, garages or similar buildings.
The Protestant asserts that the products at issue meet the requirements of heading 8609, HTSUS, while heading 9406, HTSUS, is inapplicable to the merchandise at issue. In support of this, Protestant notes that the ENs to heading 8609 specify that the containers are:
[P]acking receptacles specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport (e.g.. road, rail, water or air). They are equipped with fittings (hooks, rings, castors, supports. etc.) to facilitate handling and securing on the transporting vehicle.... They are thus suitable for the ‘door to door’ transport of goods without intermediate repacking and, being of robust construction. are intended to be used repeatedly.
Protestant further states that the products at issue:
are used for onsite storage, portable storage, and long-distance transportation via truck, railroad, or ISO ocean container (i.e., they are designed to contain items);
are designed to be handled for delivery and transport by a range of equipment including rollback trucks, trailers, cranes, and forklifts, and have interior tie down rings to secure household goods in transit;
are equipped with fork pockets, comer castings, and tie down points to facilitate handling and securing to and from the transporting vehicle;
have a durable, all-steel design that ensures a 15- to 20-year life cycle; and
are intended to be reused and re-transported repeatedly.
Additionally, Protestant calls attention to the ENs to heading 9406, which further state that:
This heading covers prefabricated buildings, also known as “industrialised buildings”, of all materials. These buildings, which can be designed for a variety of uses, such as housing, worksite accommodation. offices, schools. shops. sheds, garages and greenhouses, are generally presented in the form of:
complete buildings, fully assembled, ready for use;
complete buildings, unassembled:
incomplete buildings, whether or not assembled, having the essential character or prefabricated buildings.
In New York Ruling letter (NY) N300830, dated October 24, 2018, CBP classified certain collapsible sheds under heading 9406, HTSUS. The item in the referenced ruling is described as a shed to be permanently affixed in one location. The ruling further states:
…they are used for storage of surplus items used in the repair of yachts. They presumably can be moved by forklift, but you indicate that the sheds are designed to be assembled and placed in a single, static location. You indicate that the sheds are collapsible simply for efficiency of shipment, and they are not intended to be collapsed again after assembly.
From the above description, the items in NY N300830 were not designed for repeated conveyance of goods, but rather for fixed storage once they have been assembled, and can therefore be distinguished from the collapsible containers before us. The products presently at issue, while substantial and resistant to the elements, are not among the exemplars of Note 4; they are not housing, worksites, offices, schools, or the like. While an argument could be made that they could be used as a shed, they are, unlike a shed, clearly intended and marketed for the packing and conveyance of goods. CBP has previously held that, if an item is described amongst the exemplars of Note 4, it qualifies as a prefabricated building. Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 958001, dated February 6, 1996, describes an “Aluminum Hall” and explains that heading 9406 “allows for structures made of any material to be classified here so long as it can be used as one of the types of buildings listed in Legal Note 4 to chapter 94, HTSUS, or in EN 94.06.” The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to heading 9406 also include greenhouses, but not portable storage or moving containers.
In this case, we agree that the collapsible containers at issue meet the terms of heading 8609. They are packing receptacles, which are specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport. They are equipped with fittings to facilitate handling and securing on the transporting vehicles, aircraft, or vessel; they are thus suitable for the “door-to-door” transport of goods without intermediate repacking, and, being of robust construction, are intended to be used repeatedly.
Taking the aforementioned into account, we conclude that the products at issue are properly classified under heading 8609, subheading 8609.00, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the collapsible metal storage containers are classified in heading 8609, subheading 8609.00, HTSUS, as “Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids) specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport.” The column one, general rate of duty at the time of entry is free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
You are instructed to GRANT the protest in full.
You are instructed to notify the protestant of this decision no later than 60 days from the date of this decision. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to this notification. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel and the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, or other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division