CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H319259 SKK
Kari Rasheed
Southworth Products
11 Gray Rd
Falmouth, ME 04105
RE: Request for reconsideration of NY N315819 (12/03/20); Tariff classification of a structural frame for a portable container tilter from China
Dear Ms. Rasheed:
This letter is in response to a request for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N315819, issued to Southworth Products (“Southworth”) on December 3, 2020, in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified a steel sub-assembly from China under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) heading 8431, specifically subheading 8431.39.00, which provides for “[P]arts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 8425 to 8430: Of machinery of heading 8428: Other.” As a product of China, 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.
Southworth initiated a request for reconsideration via counsel in December 2020. Counsel supplemented the initial reconsideration request on May 7, 2021. This decision also takes into consideration the substance of a discussion held via teleconference between attorneys from this office and counsel on March 21, 2022, as well as an additional submission by counsel, dated March 29, 2022.
The subject sub-assembly at issue in NY N315819, referenced part number 60023969, is described as a structural frame for a portable container tilter. The sub-assembly consists of a base weldment, tipper weldment, retaining ring, and pivot shaft. Post-importation, the sub-assembly will be combined with additional components (including hydraulic power unit, hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic fittings, hoses, battery, battery charger, swivel casters, wheels, hand controller, push bar, and miscellaneous mounting hardware) to form a portable container tilter, model PTU-4, that is used to tilt containers or bins at angles of up to 85 degrees to permit easier access to their contents.
Counsel submits that the subject merchandise is properly classified under subheading 8431.20.00, HTSUS, which provides for “[P]arts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 8425 to 8430: Of machinery of heading 8427.” In support of this classification, counsel submits that the subject merchandise is a part of a “portable container tilter”, which it describes as a works truck fitted with lifting and handling equipment and classified under heading 8427, HTSUS. As such, counsel argues that classification of the subject steel sub-assembly under subheading 8431.39.00, HTSUS, as “parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of heading 8428” is inappropriate.
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. As there is no dispute that the subject merchandise is properly classified under heading 8431, HTSUS, the instant matter is governed by GRI 6, which provides:
For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the relative section, chapter and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration in this case are as follows:
8427 Fork-lift trucks; other works trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment:
8428 Other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, lifts, escalators conveyors, teleferics):
8431 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 84.25
to 84.30:
8431.20.00 Of machinery of heading 8427:
Of machinery of heading 8428:
***
8431.39.00 Other…
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HS. While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the ENs 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).
EN 84.27 states, in pertinent part:
With the exception of straddle carriers and works trucks fitted with a crane of heading 84.26, this heading covers works trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment.
Works trucks of this description include, for example:
(A) FORK-LIFT AND OTHER ELEVATING OR STACKING TRUCKS
(1) Mechanically propelled fork-lift trucks, which are sometimes of large size, carry the load on an elevating carriage sliding on a vertical mast. This lifting mechanism is normally situated in front of the driver’s seat; it is designed to support the load during movement and to lift it for stacking or to place it on a vehicle.
This group also includes side-loading stacking trucks, which are designed to handle long loads (girders, planks, pipes, containers, etc.) and are usually equipped with a platform to support the load during transport over short distances.
The lifting device of the above trucks is normally powered by the motive power unit of the vehicle, and is usually designed to be fitted with various special attachments (forks, jibs, buckets, grabs, etc.) according to the type of load to be handled.
(2) Other stacking machines, usually mounted on a truck, are equipped with a platform or fork which can be raised and lowered in a vertical support, by hand or power-operated winch or rack systems. They are used for stacking sacks, crates, casks, etc.
Some stacking machines which work on the same principle as elevators are classified in heading 84.28.
(B) OTHER WORKS TRUCKS FITTED WITH LIFTING OR HANDLING EQUIPMENT
This group includes:
***
(2) Other trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment including those specialized for use in particular industries (e.g., in the textile or ceramic industries, in dairies, etc.).
EN 84.28 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 subject sub-assembly serves as the base of a portable container tilter, and is described by heading 8431, HTSUS, which provides for “[P]arts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of either headings 84.27 or 84.28.” Classification at the 6-digit subheading level within heading 8431, HTSUS, requires a determination as to whether the subject sub-assembly is a part of “other works trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment” heading 8428, HTSUS. As such, the classification of the portable container tilter with which the sub-assembly is used is relevant.
Heading 8427, HTSUS, covers both “fork-lift trucks” and “other works trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment.” Therefore, to fall within the scope of heading 8427, HTSUS, a portable container tilter must be a “works truck,” either fitted with fork-lifts or other lifting or handling equipment.
The term “works truck” is not clarified in EN 84.27 or defined in the legal text. In interpreting the scope of an HTSUS term, 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). Lexicographic definitions of the terms “works” and “truck” are as follows:
works: (often functioning as singular) a place where a number of people are employed, such as a factory.
See https://www.dictionary.com/browse/works. (site last visited March 29, 2022).
The same lexicographic source defines “truck” as follows:
truck: 1. any of various forms of vehicle for carrying goods and materials, usually consisting of a single self-propelled unit but also often composed of a trailer vehicle hauled by a tractor unit. 2. any of various wheeled frames used for transporting heavy objects.
Based on the above, the term “works trucks” is understood for to mean any of various forms of vehicle or wheeled frames for transporting goods in a factory or industrial setting (i.e., not primarily on public roads). This understanding comports with the ENs to heading 8709, which describe the scope of heading 8709, HTSUS, as covering “self-propelled trucks for the transport of goods which are fitted with, for example, a platform or container on which the goods are loaded” [emphasis added].
While the subject container tilters are described as “portable,” and feature wheels and a handle to permit users to position containers for tilting, they are not designed to transport loads to different locations in a manner similar to works trucks. Their “portability” references the fact that they may be wheeled to different container staging areas, rather than transporting loads to different locations. This finding aligns with Southworth’s description of its portable container tilter in its products brochure (Exhibit B in Counsel’s request for reconsideration), instructional/promotional videos, and operating manual. In its product brochure, Southworth describes its portable container tilters as allowing “staged containers to be picked up, moved into position, and tilted for easy access.” In a series of instructional/promotional videos produced by Southworth, its portable container tilters are described as for the “positioning” of containers “to the advantage of the worker.” Neither the product brochure nor the videos describe or show the portable container tilters being used to transport loads. Southworth’s “Operating and Maintenance Manual for the PTU-4 Series E-Z Reach 4000 Lb. Capacity Portable Container Tilter,” at page 14, instructs, “[B]efore moving the unit, always lower the tilt platform to the lowest possible level. You should do this even if the unit is not loaded. WARNING! If you try to move the unit while the tilt platform is raised more than a few inches, the unit may be unstable. You may be hurt, and the lift or load may be damaged. See https://www.southworthproducts.com/images/documents/manuals/Tilters/ptu_4.pdf (site last visited March 29, 2022). Southworth’s instructions indicate that the PTU-4 portable container tilter cannot safely or practically be used in the manner of a works truck to transport containers as it is necessary to position the tilt platform to its lowest level prior to moving the unit and that transporting a container at a tilt creates an unstable load.
Based on the foregoing, the PTU-4 portable container tilter is not a works truck and does not fall within the scope of heading 8427, HTSUS.
Southworth cites several rulings in support of classification in heading 8427, HTSUS, including NY G81956, dated October 5, 2000, and NY G88958, dated April 19, 2001, both pertaining to “pallet trucks.” Although the pallet trucks at issue in those rulings utilize a forked-frame, as does the PTU-4 portable container tilter, their function is distinct from the portable container tilter as they are solely used to lift and transport palletized loads. Southworth also cites NY N019061, dated November 8, 2007, which involved a hand-operated lifting trolley, and NY N013054, dated July 20, 2007, which ruled on a mini lifter/skip hoist, both classified in heading 8427, HTSUS. Both rulings concern lifting machines with platforms that, unlike the subject portable container tilters, can be vertically raised and lowered. Moreover, the article at issue in NY N019061 is a “trolley,” which is defined as a wheeled cart for conveying or transporting loads. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trolley (site last visited March 29, 2022). The merchandise at issue in NY N013054 is described as for lifting and “transport” activities. As such, the articles at issue in NYs N019061 and N013054 are not analogous to the portable container tilter.
As the PTU-4 portable container tilter is not a works truck of heading 8427, HTSUS, and functions to handle (i.e., tilt) containers, classification is proper under heading 8428, HTSUS, which provides for, in pertinent part, other handling machinery. As the subject sub-assembly, referenced part number 60023969, is a part of a machine that falls under heading 8428, HTSUS, classification is proper under heading 8431, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8431.39.00, HTSUS. This classification is consistent with NY 870252, dated January 16, 1992, in which the U.S. Customs Service (now CBP) classified “a mobile hydraulic drum positioner,” which lifts and tilts 55 gallons drums, under heading 8428, HTSUS. In Counsel’s submission dated March 29, 2022, it is argued that the current website for the product at issue in NY 870252 (https://mullerprocessing.aicontainer.com/products/lift-systems/drum-lifters/ -- site last visited March 29, 2022) features stationary drum lifters and therefore that merchandise is not similar to the instant portable container tilters. We note, however, that NY 870252 describes the subject drum positioners as “mobile,” and therefore we view the merchandise as substantially similar to the instant portable container tilters.
Based on the foregoing, we hereby affirm NY N315819 as regards the classification of the subject steel sub-assembly, referenced part number 60023969. The subject merchandise remains classified in heading 8431, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8431.39.00, which provides for “[P]arts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 8425 to 8430: Of machinery of heading 8428: Other.”
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division