CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 962708 JAS
Robert Resetar
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
980 Hammond Drive, Suite 1000
Atlanta, GA 30328
RE: Automotive Seat Belt Adjuster Assembly
Dear Mr. Resetar:
Your letter to the Director of Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, dated March 16, 1999, concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of seat belt adjuster assemblies produced in Germany, has been referred to this office for reply. A diagram and other literature were submitted.
FACTS:
Adjuster assemblies for automotive seat belts consist of a metal sliding track with screws on either end and a hard plastic adjuster apparatus with metal screw and catch, which is fitted into and slides on the metal sliding track. A passenger or driver may adjust the portion of his seat belt that lays across his shoulders and chest by manually operating the adjuster catch. The adjuster assembly is mounted by two screws to the vehicle’s B pillar.
You cite a New York ruling that classified adjuster assemblies for automotive seat belts as other parts and accessories of motor vehicles of heading 8708, HTSUS. However, you note the Fall/Winter 1998 Customs Automotive Round Table Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 2, which suggests that adjuster assemblies might be more specifically provided for as parts or accessories of motor vehicle bodies, in another subheading of heading 8708.
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The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8708 Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705:
Other parts and accessories of bodies (including cabs):
8708.29 Other:
8708.29.50 Other
8708.99 Other:
8708.99.80 Other
ISSUE:
Whether the seat belt adjuster assembly is provided for in heading 8708, HTSUS, as parts and accessories of motor vehicle bodies.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Under General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), goods are to be classified according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
GRI 3(a) states in part that where goods are, prima facie, classifiable in two or more headings, the heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. GRI 6 states in part that the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, by appropriate substitution of terms, to Rules 1 through 5, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.
In this case, the comparison within heading 8708 is between other parts and accessories for bodies, in subheading 8708.29.50, HTSUS, and other parts and accessories, other, in subheading 8708.99.80, HTSUS. As the adjuster assembly is mounted by screws to the vehicle’s B pillar, which we understand is part of the vehicle’s body, the provision for other parts and accessories for bodies provides the most specific description for the goods.
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NY 809031, dated April 20, 1995, the ruling you cite, classified adjuster assemblies for automotive seat belts in subheading 8708.99.80, HTSUS, as other parts and accessories of motor vehicles. However, HQ 961369, dated June 8, 1999, revoked this ruling and confirmed the proper classification in subheading 8708.29.50, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, adjuster assemblies for automobile safety seat belts are provided for in heading 8708. They are classifiable in subheading 8708.29.50, HTSUS.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division