CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H300545 PF
Mr. Scott Leonard
HSN
P.O. Box 9090
Clearwater, FL 33758
RE: Revocation of NY N258858; tariff classification of a clothes steamer
Dear Mr. Leonard:
On November 21, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued to you New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N258858. It concerned the tariff classification of the Joy Mangano My Little Steamer (“clothes steamer”) under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). We have reviewed NY N258858 and determined that it is incorrect. For the reasons set forth below, we are revoking that ruling.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice of the proposed action was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 52, No. 42, on October 17, 2018. One comment opposing the proposed action was received and is addressed below.
FACTS:
In NY N258858, the subject clothes steamer was described as follows:
The sample under consideration is the Joy Mangano My Little Steamer w/Storage Bag, HSN Item Number 357-752. This product is an electric hand-held clothes steamer with a water reservoir and a cap with ten steam outlet holes. The steamer has an 8-foot retractable power cord with a two-prong plug, designed for a standard 120-volt polarized AC outlet. The steamer is intended for steaming fabrics only. It is powered by a 900 watt immersion heating element and produces steam within 2-3 minutes. The body of the steamer is made of plastic material, and measures approximately 12 inches high. The steamer is recommended for home and travel use. A drawstring bag is included for the convenience of storage and travel. The sample will be returned as requested.
In that ruling, CBP classified the subject clothes steamer in subheading 8516.10.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric space heating apparatus and soil heating apparatus; electrothermic hairdressing apparatus (for example, hair dryers, hair curlers, curling tong heaters) and hand dryers; electric flatirons; other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; electric heating resistors, other than those of heading 8545; parts thereof: Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters.”
Online marketing materials for the clothes steamer describes the device as a “lightweight, compact, steamer that gets the job done without the ironing board.” In addition, a website selling the clothes steamer notes that the device “[u]ses the power of steam to easily remove wrinkles” and that it is a “[g]reat alternative to ironing.” Moreover, another website that markets the clothes steamer also states that the device “easily remove[s] wrinkles and leave[s] your favorite garments looking fresh.”
ISSUE:
Whether the subject clothes steamer is classified in subheading 8516.10.00, HTSUS, as an immersion heater or in subheading 8516.79.00, HTSUS, as an other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods 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 may then be applied.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8516 Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric space heating apparatus and soil heating apparatus; electrothermic hairdressing apparatus (for example, hair dryers, hair curlers, curling tong heaters) and hand dryers; electric flatirons; other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; electric heating resistors, other than those of heading 8545; parts thereof:
8516.10 Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters
Other electrothermic appliances:
8516.79 Other.
Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation 1 (“AUSR1”), HTSUS, provides, in part:
In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires:
a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use[.]
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor 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. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 8516, HTSUS, state, in relevant part:
ELECTRIC INSTANTANEOUS OR STORAGE WATER HEATERS AND IMMERSION HEATERS
This group includes:
(5) Immersion heaters of different shapes and forms depending on their use, are generally used in tanks, vats, etc., for heating liquids, semi-fluid (other than solid) substances or gases. They are also designed to be used in pots, pans, tumblers, cups, baths, beakers, etc., usually with a heat-insulated handle and a hook for hanging the heater in the vessel.
They have a reinforced protective sheath which is highly resistant to mechanical stress and to seepage from liquids, semi-fluid (other than solid) substances and gases. A powder (usually magnesium oxide) with good dielectric and thermal properties holds the wire resistor (resistance) in place within the sheath and insulates it electrically.
Assemblies consisting of immersion heaters permanently incorporated in a tank, vat or other vessel are classified in heading 84.19 unless they are designed for water heating only or for domestic use, in which case they remain in this heading. Solar water heaters are also classified in heading 84.19.
* * *
(E) OTHER ELECTRO-THERMIC APPLIANCES OF A KIND USED FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES
This group includes all electro-thermic machines and appliances provided they are normally used in the household.
* * *
Within Chapter 85, HTSUS, heading 8516, in pertinent part, provides for other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes. The Section and Chapter Notes and the ENs do not provide a clear definition of the term "electro-thermic appliances of the kind used for domestic purposes." However, CBP has previously defined the term “electrothermal” as “[o]f or relating to the production of heat by electricity.” See HQ 965863, dated December 3, 2002 (citing the Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary 423 (1988)). CBP has also defined the term “domestic” as “of or pertaining to the family or household.” See HQ 965861, dated January 7, 2003 (citing the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., pg. 344 (1999)). Accordingly, goods of the heading must be the kind of electrically-heated good that are used in the household.
Our initial determination that the subject clothes steamer was classified in heading 8516, HTSUS, was correct because this device is an electrothermic appliance used for domestic purposes. Specifically, it is used in the household and powered by electricity to heat water and produces steam, which is then applied to clothing or other fabric to reduce the occurrence of wrinkles. See United States v. Carborundum Co., 63 C.C.P.A. 98, 102, 536 F.2d 373, 377 (1976). Therefore, the issue in this case is the proper classification at the subheading level. As a result, GRI 6 applies.
We originally determined that the subject clothes steamer was classified in subheading 8516.10.00, HTSUS, which provides for, inter alia, “Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters.” While the clothes steamer contains an immersion element that heats water to produce steam, we are of the view that the clothes steamer as a whole is not within the scope of subheading 8516.10, HTSUS, because it is not used as a water or immersion heater.
The commenter contends that the clothes steamer meets the description in EN (A)(5) to heading 8516, HTSUS, because it is designed to be placed inside a tank, vat or other vessel for direct-contact heating of liquids, semi-fluids or gases. However, while we recognize that the clothes steamer contains a heating element that is immersed directly in the water to be heated and that the heated water produces steam, the clothes steamer is not just an immersion heater.
The clothes steamer directs the steam produced by the heated water to a specific, useful and separate purpose of removing wrinkles from fabric. The clothes steamer features a number of components, including a water reservoir and a cap with ten steam outlet holes that together produce and direct steam for this purpose. Our conclusion is also supported by the online marketing materials for the clothes steamer which describe the device as a “lightweight, compact, steamer that gets the job done without the ironing board.” In addition, a website selling the clothes steamer notes that the device “[u]ses the power of steam to easily remove wrinkles” and that it is a “[g]reat alternative to ironing.” Moreover, another website that markets the clothes steamer also states that the device “easily remove[s] wrinkles and leave[s] your favorite garments looking fresh.” Therefore, since the primary function of the clothes steamer is the application of steam to fabric and not the heating of water, we find that the clothes steamer is not a water or immersion heater, and cannot be classified in subheading 8516.10.00, HTSUS.
Because the function and design of the clothes steamer is not fully described by the terms of subheading 8516.10.00, HTSUS, it is properly classified as another electrothermic appliance in 8516.79.00, HTSUS, which provides for in relevant part, “[O]ther electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; . . . Other electrothermic appliances: Other.”
CBP has classified electric steam cleaners under subheading 8516.79.00, HTSUS, in NY K84905, dated April 23, 2004, NY L82254, dated February 16, 2005 and NY N168881, dated June 24, 2011. In NY K84905, CBP described the merchandise as a clothes steamer with a water reservoir with a plastic cap or nozzle with five steam outlet holes whose function was to steam wrinkles from hanging fabrics, such as clothing or curtains. In NY L82254, CBP described the subject merchandise as a hand-held, pressurized steam cleaner with attachments that was designed to steam clean surfaces. The attachments included a jet nozzle, scrub brush, squeegee, angled head, fabric steamer and cloth, flexible extension hose, and a measuring cup for water. Moreover, in NY N168881, CBP classified a steam cleaner which had a boiler that heated water from the reservoir to create steam to clean and sanitize surfaces, windows, and clothing under subheading 8516.79.00, HTSUS. Similar to the fabric steamers in NY K84905, NY L82254, and NY N168881, the subject clothes steamer has a number of components, whose principal use is applying steam to fabric. Therefore, we find that the clothes steamer is properly classified under subheading 8516.79.00, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 (U.S. Additional Rule of Interpretation 1(a)) and 6, the clothes steamer is classified in heading 8516, specifically subheading 8516.79.00, HTSUS, which provides, in relevant part, for: “Other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; . . .: Other electrothermic appliances: Other.” The 2018 column one, general rate of duty is 2.7 percent ad valorem.
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 the internet at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N258858, dated November 21, 2014, is REVOKED.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division