CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083831 KK
TARIFF NO: 8518.10.00
Mr. A.J. Gillette
Korg U.S.A. Inc.
89 Frost Street
Westbury, N.Y. 11590
RE: Electric guitar sound pickup microphone device.
Dear Mr. Gillette:
Your request of February 9, 1989, for a binding ruling
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), regarding the tariff classification of guitar
pickups was referred to this office for a direct reply to you.
FACTS:
The subject articles are electric guitar "pickups" which
consist of magnet cores with wire coiled around them. The
movement of the strings on an electric guitar are brought to bear
on the magnetic field of the magnet, thereby producing electric
impulses by induction. The current thus created is presented to
an amplifier as a voltage across the input resistance of said
amplifier.
ISSUE:
Whether the pickup devices are properly classifiable as
"[m]icrophones" in heading 8518; as "[p]arts . . . and
accessories . . . of musical instruments" in heading 9209; or
as "[e]lectrical machines and apparatus" in heading 8543.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is governed
by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 states, in
part, that classification shall be determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative section and chapter notes.
The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA
at the international level, provide a commentary on the scope of
each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus useful in
ascertaining the tariff classification of merchandise.
- 2 -
Classification of the subject merchandise in heading 9209
is precluded by operation of the Explanatory Notes to headings
9207 and 9209. Explanatory Note (D) to heading 9207 states that
"electrical or electronic apparatus . . . are excluded and fall
in their respective headings (Chapter 85) whenever they are not
built into the unit itself." Explanatory Note (D)(3) to heading
9209, which pertains to parts and accessories for the instruments
of heading 9207, cross references "Explanatory Note to heading
90.27 regarding electronic parts and accessories." In effect, to
the extent that electronic parts and accessories for musical
instruments are provided for in chapter 85, they are classifiable
in that chapter.
Explanatory Note (A) to heading 8518 states in pertinent
part:
(A) MICROPHONES AND STANDS THEREFOR
Microphones convert sound vibrations into corresponding
variations or oscillations of electric current, thus enabling
them to be transmitted . . . they include:
(3) Moving Coil or ribbon microphones, in which sound vibrations
are brought to bear on a coil . . . in a magnetic field, thus
producing electric impulses by induction.
As a matter of function, the sound vibrations created by
the movement of the strings of a guitar disturb the magnetic
field of the magnet in the instant devices, thus producing
electric impulses by induction. Accordingly, in view of the
description in heading 8518 and the accompanying explanatory
notes set forth above, the subject guitar pickups are
specifically provided for in that heading. This being the case,
heading 8543 is not applicable.
HOLDING:
The subject guitar pickups are properly classifiable in
subheading 8518.10.00, HTSUSA, which provides for "[m]icrophones
and stands therefor . . . [m]icrophones and stands therefor,"
dutiable at 4.9 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division