CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H309901 SK
David Selkeld, Counsel
Arent Fox LLP
1717 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
RE: Request for reconsideration of NY N306427 (10/24/19); classification of 4-post vehicle lifts; affirmed.
Dear Mr. Salkeld,
This letter is in response to your request for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N306427, issued to your client, Vehicle Services Group (VSG), on October 24, 2019. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified five models (AR14, AR014, CR14, SM14, and SM014) of four-post vehicle lifts from China under heading 8528, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), specifically subheading 8528.90.02, which provides for “Other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, elevators, escalators, conveyors, teleferics): Other machinery…Other.” The subject merchandise was also subject to additional ad valorem duties pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, subheading 9903.88.01, HTSUS.
Attorneys from this office participated in a teleconference with you on March 18, 2021, in which you provided additional arguments for CBP’s consideration. Upon review of NY N306427, and consideration of the arguments presented in both your written and oral submissions, this office has determined that NY N306427 is correct. For the reasons set forth below, we are affirming NY N306427.
Model numbers AR14, ARO14, CR14, SM14, and SMO14 are drive on, four-post vehicle lifts used in garages or other commercial settings. The lifts are anchored to the floor, have 14,000 pound lift capacity, and rise to approximately 78 inches to lift vehicles for sustained periods of time. The lifts operate with a single actuating hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic force is applied to a synchronizing pull bar that has four cables that are attached to the end of the hydraulic cylinder within the platform. Each cable runs through a pulley system to the top of a post. When the cylinder is activated each corner of the lift is raised at the same time. Each post has its own cable and pulley.
You submit that the subject four-post vehicle lifts are commonly and commercially known as “jacks,” and therefore classified in heading 8525, HTSUS, which provides for “[P]ulley tackle and hoists other than skip joists; winches and capstans; jacks.” In the alternative, you submit that the subject lifts are classified in heading 8528, HTSUS, as “hoists.” You state that as heading 8528, HTSUS, is a general heading or residual provision, as evidenced by the word “other” in its description of lifting/handling machinery, the subject lifts are precluded from classification therein as they are more specifically classified as jacks of heading 8425, HTSUS. In support of your claim that the subject lifts are commonly and commercially known as jacks, you reference several online sources that generally describe “jacks” as devices for lifting heavy objects off the ground, such as cars. On the basis of these references, as well as several section 301 exclusion requests in which several products identified as “auto lifts” were classified under heading 8525, HTSUS, you claim that NY N306427 incorrectly held that four-post vehicle lifts are not commonly or commercially known as jacks.
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of
Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If
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 GRI may then be applied.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration in this case are as follows:
8425 Pulley tackle and hoists other than skip joists; winches and capstans; jacks.
8428 Other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, lifts,
escalators conveyors, teleferics).
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (EN’s) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System (HS). While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the EN’s provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HS and are useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 8425, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part:
The pulley tackle and hoists classified in this heading consist of more or less complex systems of pulleys and cables, chains, ropework, etc., designed to give a mechanical advantage to facilitate lifting (e.g., by use of pulleys of different diameter, toothed wheels, gearing systems). This group includes, inter alia: (1) Tackle and hoists in which the chain engages in specially designed projections on the pulley rims. (2) Drum type pulley hoists in which the cable is wound on a drum enclosing the pulley mechanism. This self contained type of hoist, usually pneumatic or electric, is often mounted on a trolley or crab running on an overhead rail. (3) Hoists consisting of a roller chain running over a geared system of sprocket wheels operated by a crank handle or lever, somewhat as in a jacking system.
Jacks are designed to raise heavy loads through short distances. The heading includes rack and pawl jacks, screw jacks in which the screw is raised by rotation or by rotating a nut fixed in the jack base, and telescopic screw jacks operated by the action of two or more concentric screws, the outer screw turning in the nut in the jack base. In hydraulic or pneumatic jacks, the lifting piston is forced along a cylinder by pressure generated in a pump or compressor which may be separate or built-in. Special type of jacks include: (3) Garage type built-in jacking systems, usually hydraulic.
The EN to heading 8428, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part:
With the exception of the lifting and handling machinery of headings 84.25 to 84.27, this heading covers a wide range of machinery for the mechanical handling of materials, goods, etc. (lifting, conveying, loading, unloading, etc.). They remain here even if specialized for a particular industry, for agriculture, metallurgy, etc.
The heading covers lifting or handling machines usually based on pulley, winch or jacking systems, and often including large proportions of static structural steelwork, etc.
As the text of heading 8428, HTSUS, covers “other” lifting and handling machinery, the threshold issue is whether the subject four-post vehicle lifts fall under the scope of heading 8425, HTSUS, as “jacks” or, as you submit in the alternative, “hoists.” As an initial matter, we note that the HTSUS differentiates between various types of lifting and handling equipment classified under headings 8425, HTSUS, through 8428, HTSUS. The ENs provide guidance to distinguish the various types of lifting equipment covered by these headings. In this regard, we note that the EN to heading 8425 describes “jacks” as “designed to raise heavy loads through short distances” (emphasis added).
Heading 8425, HTSUS, is an eo nomine provision and, as such, includes all forms of its named exemplars. As the term “jack” is not defined in the tariff schedule, it may be construed for tariff classification purposes according to its common commercial meanings. See Millennium Lumber Distrib. Ltd., v. United States, 558 F.3d 1326, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2009). To ascertain a tariff term’s common commercial meaning, CBP may rely on its own understanding of the term as well as lexicographic and scientific authorities. See Lon-Ron Mft. Co. v. United States, 334 F.3d 1304, 1309 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
As noted supra, the jacks contemplated by heading 8425 are those designed to raise heavy loads through short distances. This EN description aligns with lexicographic sources that define “jack” as “a: a usually portable mechanism or device for exerting pressure or lifting a heavy body a short distance.” See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jack (site last visited March, 2021). It is further noted that industry sources distinguish between “jacks” and other vehicle lifting devices such as the four-post lifts at issue. See https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/materials-handling/understanding-pneumatic-and-hydraulic-lifts/ (site last visited March, 2021) which, in its “Industrial Delineation of Lifting Equipment,” notes:
Jacks, such as bottle jacks and drum jacks, can employ similar lifting mechanisms and are used in similar applications to that of lifts. However, despite these similarities, industrial standards typically classify jacks in a category of lifting equipment and devices separate from that of lifts.
Commercial grade retailers also distinguish between vehicle lifts and jacks, and identify jacks as separate accessories to vehicle lifts that permit “wheels free” servicing (e.g., to enable short distance lifting of a vehicle’s wheels). See https://www.derekweaver.com/learn/4-post-lift/. See also https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/4-post-bridge-jacks/ (sites last visited March, 2021).
As the subject vehicle lifts are capable of raising heavy loads to elevations of approximately 78 inches, they are not designed to lift through “short distances” in the manner of jacks. We further find that the common commercial identify of jacks is distinct from that of vehicle lifts, as noted above. For these reasons, we do not consider the subject merchandise to be “jacks” of heading 8425, HTSUS.
In your request for reconsideration, you alternatively submit that the subject merchandise is classified as “hoists” of heading 8425, HTSUS. CBP has previously examined the issue of whether four-post vehicle auto lifts, substantially similar to those under review in this reconsideration, are classified as hoists of heading 8425, HTSUS. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) H310333, dated June 26, 2020. In that ruling, CBP determined that vehicle lifts are not hoists of heading 8425, HTSUS, in that they do not pull a load up, but rather raise a load from below and use platforms to carry the weight of the cargo. We view that analysis as applicable to the instant merchandise and do not consider the subject lifts to be hoists of heading 8425, HTSUS.
As the subject vehicle lifts cannot be classified as a jack or hoist of heading 8425, HTSUS, they are classified under heading 8428, HTSUS, which provides for other lifting and handling machinery. This is consistent with prior rulings in which CBP classified vehicle lifts under heading 8428, HTSUS. See NY K85073 (May 4, 2004) (scissor type motorcycle lift); NY N008193 (Apr. 5, 2007) (four post lift); NY N119135 (Aug. 20, 2010) (car stacker); NY N287695 (July 24, 2017) (motorcycle lift); NY N299553 (Aug. 15, 2018) (car lift system), and: HQ H312614 (Dec. 14, 2020) (modification of NY N008193 (Apr. 5, 2007), two-post vehicle lift).
Based on the foregoing, we hereby affirm NY N306427 as regards the classification of four-post vehicle lifts (model numbers AR14, ARO14, CR14, SM14, and SMO14). The subject articles remain classified in heading 8428, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8428.90.02, HTSUS, which provides for “[O]ther lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, elevators, escalators, conveyors, teleferics): Other machinery.”
Sincerely,
Nataline Viray-Fung
for Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division