CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954247 KCC
Mr. Louis V. Sharp
Breuil/Sharp Automation, INc.
2330-A Centennial Drive
Gainesville, Georgia 30504
RE: NY 883576 modified; hatcher tray and chick box destackers
and stackers; agricultural or horticultural machinery,
equipment and implements; HRL 083930; three part test; 19
CFR 10.131-10.139
Dear Mr. Sharp:
This is in reference to your letter dated May 11, 1993, to
Customs in New York, requesting reconsideration of New York (NY)
883576 dated March 31, 1993, concerning the tariff classification
of hatcher tray and chick box destackers and stackers under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your
letter was referred to this office for reply.
FACTS:
The articles which are the subject of this reconsideration
are the hatcher tray and chick box destackers and stackers
(destackers and stackers) which, in NY 883576, were classified
under subheading 8428.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for "Other
lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example,
elevators, escalators, conveyors, teleferics)...Other
machinery...." You contend that the destackers and stackers are
classifiable under subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, which provides
for "Machinery, equipment and implements to be used for
agricultural or horticultural purposes."
You state that the destackers and stackers mechanically
stack and destack trays and boxes for the purpose of hatching and
transporting baby chickens and turkeys. The articles are
described as follows:
Hatcher tray destacker: a machine which destacks trays and
automatically places the trays onto the
separator unit. The hatcher trays
contain chicks or turkeys that were
recently hatched from their shells.
Hatcher tray stacker: a machine which removes the hatcher
trays from the separator and washer
system and restacks them onto
dollies in order that eggs can be
placed into them for the next
series of chicks to be hatched.
Chick box destacker: a machine which destacks boxes
which hold chicks and turkeys and
which are used to store and
transport the small birds out to
the farm where they are raised.
Chick box stackers: a machine which automatically stacks the
boxes together after the chick or
turkeys have been placed into them.
Once stacked, the boxes are loaded into
trucks and transported out to the farm.
ISSUE:
Are the destackers and stackers classifiable under
subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, as machinery, equipment and
implements to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Any item that is imported into the U.S. will receive a
tariff classification from within the first 97 chapters of the
HTSUS, the international portion of the tariff that is utilized
by all countries which have adapted the tariff. Chapters 98 and
99, HTSUS, provide an additional U.S. classification that grants
special treatment to qualifying articles.
The tariff provision for machinery, equipment and implements
to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes, subheading
9817.00.50, HTSUS, is an actual use provision. See, Headquarters
Ruling Letter (HRL) 083930 dated May 19, 1989. To fall within
this special classification the following three part test must be
met:
(1) The article in question must not be excluded from the
heading under Section XXII, Chapter 98, Subchapter
XVII, U.S. Note 2, HTSUS.
(2) The terms of the headings must be met in accordance
with General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, HTSUS,
which provides that classification is determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative
section or chapter notes.
(3) The article must comply with the actual use provision
requirements of sections 10.131-10.139, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 10.131-10.139).
The first part of the test is that the articles not be
excluded from classification by Section XXII, Chapter 98,
Subchapter XVII, U.S. Note 2, HTSUS. As stated in NY 883576, the
destackers and stackers are classified under subheading
8428.90.90, HTSUS. This subheading is not excluded from
classification under heading 9817, HTSUS, by operation of Section
XXII, Chapter 98, Subchapter XVII, U.S. Note 2, HTSUS.
The second part of the test calls for the destackers and
stackers to be included within the terms of subheading
9817.00.50, HTSUS, as required by GRI 1, HTSUS. The destackers
and stackers must be "machinery", "equipment" or "implements"
used for "agricultural or horticultural purposes." Webster's II
New Riverside University Dictionary (1988), defines machinery,
equipment, implement and agricultural as follows:
Machinery: machines or machine parts in
general...the working parts of a
machine...a system of related elements
that operates in a definable way....
Equipment: the act of equipping or state of being
equipped...something with which one is
equipped....
Implement: a tool, utensil, or instrument for doing
a task...an article used to outfit or
equip....
Agriculture: the science, art, and business of cultivating
the soil, producing crops, and raising
livestock...farming.
Based on the submitted information, the stackers and
destackers meet the definition of machinery, equipment and
implements to be used for agricultural purposes. The destackers
and stackers are machines which perform the functions of
destacking or stacking and moving the trays and boxes from one
location to another. The destackers and stackers are used to
hatch and transport baby chickens and turkeys; they are used in
the poultry industry to raise, care and keep livestock. The
raising of livestock is an acceptable agricultural use.
Therefore, the stackers and destackers meet the requirements of
the second part of the test.
The third part of the test is that the requirements of 19
CFR 10.131-10.139), be met. If these requirements are
satisfied, the third part of the test will be met.
HOLDING:
The hatcher tray and chick box destackers and stackers are
eligible for duty free treatment under subheading 9817.00.50,
HTSUS, provided the actual use requirements of section 10.131-10.139, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.131-10.139), are
satisfied. NY 883576 is modified as set forth in this ruling.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division