CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087542 CMS
8302.30.30
Ms. Barbara Klausman
James J. Boyle & Co.
315 S.W. 5th Ave., #520
Portland, OR 97204
RE: Aluminum Wind Deflectors; Parts And Accessories Of
Automobiles And Motor Vehicles; Base Metal Mountings
And Fittings For Motor Vehicles; Spoilers; Coachwork
Dear Ms. Klausman,
Your request dated June 20, 1990, on behalf of Automotive
Accessories Manufacturers Inc., for a classification ruling on
certain wind deflectors has been referred by the Regional
Commissioner of Customs, New York to Customs Headquarters for a
reply. Our ruling follows.
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of aluminum wind deflectors
designed for use as automotive accessories. Installation
instructions for a wind deflector designed for use on a Toyota
4-Runner were submitted with the ruling request. The Toyota
4-Runner wind deflector is entered in the form of a kit which
includes an aluminum deflector blade, two ABS plastic blade
supports, six bolts M5 x 20.0 mm, six rivet nuts M5 and four
screws #10-24. The deflector blades are installed across the
rear part of the roof of the vehicle.
ISSUE:
Is the merchandise classified as base metal mountings,
fittings and similar articles suitable for coachwork and the like
in Heading 8302, or as parts and accessories of motor vehicles in
Heading 8708?
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LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Heading 8302 in pertinent part describes base metal
mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for coachwork
or the like. Subheading 8302.30 specifically describes
mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for motor
vehicles.
Heading 8708 describes parts and accessories of the motor
vehicles of Headings 8701 to 8705. The wind deflectors under
consideration are principally used on motor vehicles classified
in Headings 8703 and 8704. Subheading 8708.29 describes other
parts and accessories of motor vehicle bodies.
There are no relevant section or chapter notes which are
instructive on the classification of the merchandise.
Not all base metal mountings and fittings suitable for motor
vehicles are classified in Heading 8302. The article description
for Heading 8302 specifically provides that the mountings and
fittings are suitable for "coachwork...and the like".
"Coachwork" is defined by Webster's New International
Dictionary, 2nd Ed., Unabridged, 1934, as follows:
finishing work done on a coach, esp.
an automobile body
(emphasis added)
The term "finishing" is defined by Webster's New
International Dictionary, 2nd Ed., Unabridged, 1934, as follows:
the act or process of completing or
perfecting; that which completes or
perfects; the final work upon or
ornamentation of a thing
The Explanatory Notes to Heading 8302, p. 1119, provide
further guidance on the meaning of the term "coachwork",
especially as it is used in the article description of Heading
8302. The Heading 8302 Explanatory Note exemplars include
articles which are principally decorative (e.g., ornamental
beading strips); interior mountings or fittings which serve some
utilitarian function but which are not principally designed for
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use in the actual operation (i.e. driving) of the vehicle (e.g.,
foot rests, grip bars, rails and handles, rods and spring
mechanisms for blinds, interior luggage racks, window operating
mechanisms, specialized ash trays); fasteners and similar
articles for body parts which are not principally designed for
use in the actual operation of the vehicle (e.g., brackets and
fastening fittings for blinds and tail-boards).
Heading 8302 articles are generally not mounted or fitted on
the exteriors of vehicles (e.g., interior luggage racks were
included in the Heading 8302 exemplars; however, luggage racks
mounted on the exteriors of vehicles are specifically described
in the exemplars in the Explanatory Notes to Heading 8708, p.
1432).
The Explanatory Notes to Heading 8302, p. 1118, provide that
Heading 8302 "...does not...extend to goods forming an essential
part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or
swivel devices for revolving chairs" (emphasis in original).
However, the Explanatory Notes do not provide for the converse of
this statement, i.e., that articles which do not form an
essential part of the structure of the vehicle are necessarily
included in Heading 8302. In fact, several articles which do not
form an essential part of the structures of motor vehicles are
among the exemplars in the Explanatory Notes to Heading 8708, p.
1432 (e.g., floor mats, visors, exterior luggage racks).
The exemplars in the Explanatory Notes to Heading 8708, p.
1432, include articles which form the bodies of vehicles (e.g.,
floor boards, side panels, doors, window frames); interior
mountings or fittings which are principally designed for use in
the operation of the vehicle, or fasteners for such articles
(e.g., visors, steering column brackets); articles principally
designed for safety purposes (e.g., permanently affixed seat
belts); interior articles which are not mounted or fitted (e.g.,
floor mats).
The Heading 8708 exemplars also include exterior mountings,
fittings or fasteners, especially those which perform
significant utility functions (e.g., exterior luggage racks,
number plate brackets). Like these articles, the wind deflector
blades under consideration are exterior mountings which perform
significant utility functions. The deflector blades are designed
to deflect wind and influence the aerodynamic behavior of the
vehicle. Some persons may install wind deflectors on vehicles
for ornamental purposes, but the deflectors remain in a class or
kind of merchandise which is principally used for utility
purposes.
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The wind deflector blades are described by Heading 8708 and
are classified in 8708.29.00, HTSUSA, as parts or accessories of
the bodies of the motor vehicles of Headings 8701 to 8705.
The blade supports, bolts, nuts and screws are sold together
with the deflector blade as a kit which is given a single part
number. Provided they are entered with the deflector blades in a
manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking, the
blade supports, bolts, nuts and screws are classified with the
deflector blades as a GRI 3(b) set in 8708.29.00, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The Toyota 4-Runner wind deflector blades are classified in
8708.29.00, HTSUSA, as parts of accessories of the bodies of the
motor vehicles of Headings 8701 to 8705.
Provided they are entered with the deflector blades in a
manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking, the
blade supports, bolts, nuts and screws are classified with the
deflector blades as a GRI 3(b) set in 8708.29.00, HTSUSA.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division