CLA-2 RR:CR:GC:962502 AML
Port Director
U.S. Customs Service
P.O. Box 3130
Laredo, TX 78044
RE: Internal Advice 36/98; Electric motors for side mirrors of automobiles.
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding Internal Advice request 36/98, dated September 28, 1998, initiated by ADCO I.T.S. on behalf of Safety Texas Autoparts, Inc., which seeks classification of electric motors for side mirrors of automobiles pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). No samples were provided for our examination. We regret the delay in responding.
FACTS:
Based upon the information provided, the product is an electric motor which, in coordination with other articles not relevant herein, adjusts the side mirror of a motor vehicle. It consists of an assembly of motors in a housing. The motors require less than 18.65 Watts (W) of electricity to function. The requestor refers to the article as an automobile wiring harness assembly with a motor and a plastic housing. It is presumed, because of the presence of wires, that the motor within the housing is powered by electricity.
ISSUE:
Whether the electric motor for adjusting the side mirrors of a motor vehicle should be classified under subheading 8501.10.40, HTSUS, as electric motors; or subheading 8708.99.80, HTSUS, as other parts of automobiles?
LAW and ANALYSIS:
Classification of imported merchandise is accomplished pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Classification under the HTSUS is guided by the General Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized System (GRIs). GRI 1, HTSUS, states in part that “for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes[.]”
The applicable HTSUS headings and subheadings under consideration are as follows:
8501 Electric motors and generators (excluding
generating sets):
8501.10 Motors of an output not exceeding 37.5 W:
Of under 18.65 W:
8501.10.40 Other.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles
of headings 8701 to 8705:
Other parts and accessories:
8708.99 Other:
Other:
8708.99.80 Other.
The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under the System. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89 80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
Heading 8708, HTSUS, is found within Section XVII. The notes to Section XVII provide, in pertinent part, that:
2. 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:
* * *
(f) Electrical machinery or equipment (Chapter 85)[.]
The requestor contends that the article should be classified as a part of a motor vehicle within heading 8708, HTSUS. The article, upon importation, consists an electric motor encased in a plastic housing with wires attached for connection to a power source.
In XTC Products, Inc. v. United States, 15 CIT 348, 352, 771 F. Supp. 401, 405 (1991), the U.S. Court of International Trade stated that “[i]t is well established that an imported article is to be classified according to its condition as imported . . . .” See also, United States v. Citroen, 223 U.S. 407 (1912). The article is imported separately from any other part of a motor vehicle. In its condition as imported, it is an electric motor in a plastic housing. As such, it must be classified in a heading which most specifically describes it, in its condition as imported. Electric motors are classified in Chapter 85. Therefore, classification within Section XVII and heading 8708, HTSUS, is precluded.
The EN to heading 8501, HTSUS, (page 1444) provides, in pertinent part, that:
(I) ELECTRIC MOTORS
Electric motors are machines for transforming electrical energy into mechanical power. This group includes rotary motors and linear motors.
The motors in question convert electrical energy into mechanical power: they manipulate the side mirror of a motor vehicle. The articles will be classified within heading 8501, HTSUS.
This is consistent with other rulings issued by this office:
In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 956900, dated July 10, 1995, windshield wiper motors, window motors and door lock actuators were classified within heading 8501, HTSUS.
In HQ 083955, dated July 10, 1989, clutch motors, which contained a clutch mechanism, a braking mechanism, and a belt pulley to transmit power, were classified under heading 8501, HTSUS. In that ruling, we stated “electric motors imported with additional components which complement the function of a motor were intended to remain classifiable in heading 8501.”
In HQ 086832, dated May 21, 1990, spindle motors, which were composed of a spindle, a mounting platform for the disk drive, a brushless D.C. motor, and other components which aided the spindle’s function, were classified under heading 8501, HTSUS, even though the motors were specifically designed for use with automatic data processing machines. In that ruling, we reasoned that “[i]t is clear that a motor remains a motor for tariff purposes despite having other articles attached to it. These other articles can be quite substantial.”
In HQ 087909, dated December 26, 1990, a “DC Motor Gear Box Assembly,” which was composed of an assembly of four gears enclosed by a metal ring, a shaft, a metal bracket, insulating wires and a motor, was classified under heading 8501, HTSUS, even though the insulating wires connected to the motor's terminals were not specifically named in the ENs. We reasoned that the wires were similar to other devices listed because they were devices with which electric motors are commonly equipped. In that ruling, we stated “[i]f heading 8501 motors may be equipped with articles as substantial as gear boxes, shafts, propeller and rudders, then it logically follows that the motors may be equipped with two wires connected to the terminals of the motors.”
In HQ 950557, dated December 26, 1991, windshield wiper motors, which included a spline for attachment to the wiper arm and a gear drive, were classified under heading 8501, HTSUS. We concluded that “gear mechanisms and shafts serve merely to transmit the power the motors produce, and do not remove the subject motors from heading 8501.”
In HQ 950870, dated January 16, 1992, windshield wiper motor assemblies, which consisted of a gear assembly, a wiring harness, a linkage assembly, and a parking mechanism, were classified under heading 8501, HTSUS. In this ruling, we reasoned that, as the gear mechanisms and the shafts in HQ 950557, “the linkage assembly and the parking mechanism serve to transmit the power the motor produces,” and therefore, the windshield wiper motor assemblies were classifiable as “electric motors.” (cf. the guidelines set forth in HQ 950834, dated March 6, 1992, in which we stated the following: an electric motor is classifiable under heading 8501, HTSUS, even when imported with additional components (other than those listed in EN 85.01) if: (1) those additional components complement the function of the motor [HQ 083955]; (2) those additional components are devices with which motors are commonly equipped [HQ 087909]; (3) those additional components serve merely to transmit the power the motors produce [HQ 950557].)
HOLDING:
The electric motors for side mirrors of motor vehicles are classified in subheading 8501.10.40, HTSUS, as an electric motor of an output not exceeding 37.5 Watts (W), of under 18.65 W, other.
You are directed to mail this decision to the internal advice applicant, no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. On that date the Office of Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to Customs personnel, and to the public on the Customs Home Page on the World Wide Web, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other public methods of distribution.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division