CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H255093 CkG
TARIFF NO: 8803.30.00
Steven B. Zisser
Zisser Customs Law Group
9355 Airway Road
Suite 1
San Diego, CA 92154
Re: Request for Binding Ruling for aircraft rack systems
Dear Mr. Zisser:
This is in response to your request of June 22, 2012, on behalf of your client, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. (Gulfstream), concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of five different aircraft rack assemblies. This request was first submitted to the National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD) on June 22, 2012, and then resubmitted with additional information on December 11, 2012. The NCSD forwarded your request to this office on February 5, 2012, along with a separate request for a binding ruling on the classification of three similar aircraft rack assemblies submitted on June 23, 2012.
In HQ H238494, dated June 26, 2014, CBP issued a binding ruling to Gulfstream, classifying the three aircraft rack assemblies subject to your request of June 23, 2012, in subheading 8803.30.00, HTSUS, as other parts of airplanes or helicopters. This binding ruling addresses the classification of the remaining five rack assemblies in your request of June 22, 2012.
FACTS:
The aircraft assemblies at issue are identified as part nos. 60P3110903A009, 60P3110911A004, 60P3110905A008, 60P3110901A011, and 60P240011A024. They are specially designed and configured for installation onto various models of Gulstream business jets. These units are used to house and support a variety of aircraft management systems. Each unit is made up of several individual shelves which include cables, connectors, indicators, relays, switches, wire harnesses and other electronic components that control the airplane’s primary systems, including lighting, communication, navigation, and oxygen flow. When complete, the assemblies collect both incoming and outgoing communications and navigational signals and direct them to the proper systems within the airplane.
Part No. 60P3110903A009 (Flight Deck Lights, Pilot), is installed in the cockpit area of the plane on the pilot’s side, and is used to control and manage the lighting systems in the cockpit area of the plane. It incorporates various components, including LED illuminated information panels, potentiometers, dimmer switches, and a power supply.
Part No. 60P3110911A004 (Oxygen System Control) is installed into the cockpit area of the plane on the co-pilot’s side, and includes two electrical cylinder pressure indicators, powered by a VDC bus. The primary purpose of this unit is to indicate to the crew the oxygen cylinder charge pressure for each of the two oxygen cylinders in the aircraft. The assembly also incorporates a manual control toggle switch that provides on-off control of the oxygen supply to the crew mask regulators and the passenger oxygen system control.
Part No. 60P3110905A008 (Assembly Communications Jacks, Pilot) is installed into the cockpit area of the plane on the pilot’s side, and is used to connect the pilot’s microphone, headphones, etc., to other communications systems within the aircraft.
Part No. 60P3110901A011 (Pilot Fault Warning Assembly) is installed in the cockpit area on the pilot’s side and is used to warn and indicate to the pilot that there are various problems with the aircraft.
Part No. 60P240011A024 (Electro-Mechanical Assembly) is installed in the cockpit area on the pilot’s side and is designed to manage certain functions of the landing gear and used to facilitate the connection of various wire harnesses and other equipment and systems on the aircraft.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject rack assemblies are classified in heading 8803, HTSUS, as parts of goods of heading 8801 or 8802, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs, 2 through 6, may then be applied in order.
Note 1 to Section XVI provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
This Section does not cover…
(l) Articles of Section XVII
Note 2 to Section XVI provides as follows:
Subject to note 1 to this section, note 1 to chapter 84 and to note 1 to chapter
85, parts of machines (not being parts of the articles of heading 8484, 8544,
8545, 8546 or 8547) are to be classified according to the following rules:
…
Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of
machine, or with a number of machines of the same heading (including a machine of heading 8479 or 8543) are to be classified with the machines of that kind or in heading 8409, 8431, 8448, 8466, 8473, 8503, 8522, 8529 or 8538 as appropriate. However, parts which are equally suitable for use principally with the goods of headings 8517 and 8525 to 8528 are to be classified in heading 8517;
Note 2 to Section XVII provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
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);
Note 3 to Section XVII provides:
References in chapters 86 to 88 to "parts" or "accessories" do not apply to parts or accessories which are not suitable for use solely or principally with the articles of those chapters. A part or accessory which answers to a description in two or more of the headings of those chapters is to be classified under that heading which corresponds to the principal use of that part or accessory.
* * * *
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes
(“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or
dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS
and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings at the
international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
EN 88.03 provides, in pertinent part:
This heading covers parts of the goods falling in heading 88.01 or 88.02, provided the parts fulfill both the following conditions :
They must be identifiable as being suitable for use solely or principally with the
goods of the above mentioned headings;
and (ii) They must not be excluded by the provisions of the Notes to Section XVII (see
the corresponding General Explanatory Note).
* * * *
You claim classification of the instant aircraft rack assemblies in heading 8803, HTSUS, as parts of aircraft.
Pursuant to Note 2(f) to Section XVII, articles of chapter 85 are precluded from classification in heading 8803. Note 1(l) to Section XVI, in turn, excludes articles of Section XVII from Section XVI. The legal notes to Section XVI and Section XVII are mutually exclusive. Classification of the subject articles in one of the suggested headings in Chapter 85 prima facie excludes them from Chapter 88, and vice versa.
In HQ H238494, we determined that the aircraft rack assemblies identified as part nos. 1159AVXA49331, 1159AVX49318-5, and 1159AVX49316, were not described at GRI 1 by any headings in Chapter 85. While the aircraft rack assemblies contained various subassemblies and components incorporating articles from headings in Chapter 85, including electrical signaling apparatus of heading 8531, potentiometers of heading 8533, electrical switches and relays of heading 8535 or heading 8536, temperature controllers of heading 8537, or management processors of heading 8543, we determined that the aircraft rack assemblies performed functions that went beyond those described by the individual headings in Chapter 85. We also determined that the subject aircraft rack assemblies were not parts of a larger apparatus encompassed by any of the headings in Chapter 85. Similarly, we find that the five instant rack assemblies are not classifiable at GRI 1 in Chapter 85. As such, classification in heading 8803 is not precluded by Note 2(f) to Section XVII.
Heading 8803, HTSUS provides for parts of goods of heading 8801 or 8802, HTSUS. Heading 8802 in turn provides for airplanes and other aircraft. The courts have considered the nature of "parts" under the HTSUS and two distinct though not inconsistent tests have resulted. In Bauerhin Technologies Limited Partnership, & John V. Carr & Son, Inc. v. United States, ("Bauerhin") 110 F.3d 774 (Fed. Cir. 1997), the court identified two distinct lines of cases defining the word "part". Consistent with United States v. Willoughby Camera Stores, ("Willoughby Camera") 21 C.C.P.A. 322 (1933), one line of cases holds that a part of an article "is something necessary to the completion of that article without which the article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such article." Id. at 324. The other line of cases evolved from United States v. Pompeo, ("Pompeo") 43 C.C.P.A. 9 (1955), which held that a device may be a part of an article even though its use is optional and the article will function without it, if the device is dedicated for use upon the article, and, once installed, the article will not operate without it. Under either line of cases, an imported item is not a part if it is "a separate and distinct commercial entity". ABB, Inc. v. United States, 28 Ct. Intl Trade 1444, 1452-53 (2004). The definition of "parts" was also discussed in Rollerblade, Inc. v. United States, 282 F. 3d 1349, 1353 (Fed. Cir. 2002), wherein the court defined parts as "an essential element or constituent; integral portion which can be separated, replaced, etc." Id. at 1353.
The instant aircraft rack assemblies, in their condition as imported, are an essential and integral element of the aircraft with which they will be used. They incorporate several control and management systems that control a variety of essential functions of the aircraft, including the landing gear, oxygen supply, communication and lighting. Photos of the aircraft rack systems, diagrams indicating where they are installed on the Gulfstream airplanes, and the fact that they are being imported by Gulfstream Corp., an airplane manufacturer, for use with specific Gulfstream jet models, indicate that the aircraft rack systems are specifically designed and dedicated for use solely with airplanes of heading 8802, and that they are not separate and distinct commercial entities. Thus, the instant aircraft rack systems are classified in heading 8803, HTSUS, as parts of aircraft.
This decision is consistent with prior CBP rulings on similar merchandise. See e.g., HQ 954192, dated September 17, 1993, in which CBP concluded that various electronic apparatus for use with an Airbus A320 aircraft, including an Audio Management Unit, an Audio Signal Centralizing Unit, an Apparatus for Radio Communication Between Pilot and Passengers, and a Ground Crew Radio Transmitting and Receiving Apparatus were classified in heading 8803, HTSUS, as parts of aircraft, and that Note 2(f) to Section XVII did not apply.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the subject aircraft rack systems, part nos. 60P3110903A009, 60P3110911A004, 60P3110905A008, 60P3110901A011, and 60P240011A024, are provided for in heading 8803, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8803.30.00, HTSUS, as other parts of airplanes or helicopters. The 2014 column one, general rate of duty is Free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed
at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this
ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division