OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H333673 MFT
Center Director, Machinery Center of Excellence and Expertise
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Service Port of Chicago
5600 Pearl Street
Rosemont, IL 60018
Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3901-23-129760; Classification of a Rain-Light-Solar-Humidity Sensor from China
Dear Center Director:
The following is our decision on the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest No. 3901-23-129760, which was filed on June 30, 2023, on behalf of Rivian Automotive, LLC. The protest pertains to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of a certain rain-light-solar-humidity sensor from China.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is a rain-light-solar-humidity (RLSH) sensor from China. It is a device that mounts behind the windshield of a motor vehicle. The RLSH sensor houses four ancillary sensors which are each designed to detect certain environmental conditions surrounding the vehicle and individually control specific vehicle functions.
The first ancillary sensor is a rain sensor for automatic windshield wiper control. The rain sensor uses an infrared emitter and receiver diode to detect rain on a windshield. It further calculates the intensity of the rain and uses an Application Programming Interface (API) to calculate the appropriate wiper speed. A receiver diode on the rain sensor collects light that reflects off the windshield’s exterior. Raindrops accumulating on the windshield can decouple that light beam and reduce the amount of light the receiver diodes collect. An electronic evaluation unit records this decoupling effect as a change in light intensity, and this measurement determines the wiping frequency. The sensitivity of the rain sensor’s windshield wiper activation depends on the sensitivity setting selected by the driver, ambient brightness, dirt and salt on the windshield, the vehicle’s speed, and other conditions.
The second and third ancillary sensors are light sensors: one ambient light sensor and one front light sensor. According to the protestant’s submitted specification for the RLSH sensor, the ambient light sensor measures and “records the illuminance around the vehicle in a solid angle as big as possible without emphasizing any direction in particular.” The ambient light sensor only measures light within the visible light spectrum and with a spectral range of photosensitivity of 475 to 650 nanometers. In contrast, the front light sensor measures illuminance from directly in front of the vehicle and in the spectrum of 700 to 1,100 nanometers. This spectrum corresponds to the infrared light spectrum. The front light sensor uses infrared receiver diodes and is primarily designed for detecting when the vehicle enters and exits a tunnel. Together, the light sensors detect the brightness of the surrounding environment and, in response, automatically control the vehicle’s low beams and instrument lighting.
The fourth ancillary sensor is a solar sensor that measures solar radiation. Although a vehicle’s interior temperature sensor measures the warmth of the vehicle’s interior, it does not measure the warmth the passengers feel from absorbing the sun’s radiation. To account for this radiation and increase passenger comfort, the solar sensor acts as an additional reference variable for automatically adjusting the vehicle’s air conditioning system. The solar sensor uses an infrared receiver diode and operates within a spectral range of 750 to 1,050 nanometers, which corresponds to the infrared light spectrum.
The RLSH sensor can also support an ancillary humidity sensor and heads-up display. The humidity sensor detects the relative humidity and temperature of the windshield, which can provide another reference variable for controlling the vehicle’s air conditioning system. In addition, the specification for the subject merchandise indicates that the automatic wiper control, light control, and air conditioning control systems “are to be regarded exclusively as comfort functions” or driver assistance functions, and that “[t]he highest priority for switching on” the respective functions “belongs to the corresponding operating switch.”
The protestant entered the subject merchandise from April 22, 2022, to January 15, 2023, under subheading 8543.70.98, HTSUS, which covers “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Other: Other.” The protestant also claims that the subject merchandise is excluded from additional Section 301 duties under Note 20(ttt)(ii)(25) to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject RLSH sensor is described in statistical reporting number 8543.70.9860, HTSUS Annotated (HTSUSA), as an “[a]pparatus using passive infrared detection sensors designed for turning lights on and off.”
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
A decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable is a protestable matter under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2). The subject protest was timely filed on March 9, 2021, within 180 days of liquidation of the first entry, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3). Further review of Protest No. 3029-21-100294 is properly accorded pursuant to 19 CFR § 174.24(a), as the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with NY N025432.
Classification under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods will 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 will then be applied in order. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) may be utilized. The ENs, though not dispositive or legally binding, provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level.
GRI 6 provides that 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 heading and subheadings under consideration are as follows:
8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof:
8543.70 Other machines and apparatus:
Other:
8543.70.98 Other:
Note 20(ttt)(ii)(25) to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, provides as follows:
Apparatus using passive infrared detection sensors designed for turning lights on and off (described in statistical reporting number 8543.70.9960 prior to January 27, 2022; described in statistical reporting number 8543.70.9860 effective January 27, 2022)
In NY N025432 (April 15, 2008), we considered the tariff classification of a control unit that mounts to certain automobile windshields. The merchandise at issue in that ruling was described as follows:
The article concerned is referred to as a Sensor, Lighting Control unit (Part Number 8634A001). This item is a dual function sensor unit which is to be installed on the windshields of certain Mitsubishi automobiles. This unit incorporates two lighting sensors (a forward light sensor and an ambient light sensor) and a rain sensor which consists of an infrared emitter and receiver.
In operation, this sensor module sends data to the vehicle’s electronic module, referred to as the ETACS. Based on the information supplied by the Sensor, Lighting Control unit, the ETACS will then automatically control the performance of the windshield wipers and/or the headlights and taillights.
We ultimately found that the control unit at issue was described under statistical reporting number 8543.70.9650, HTSUSA (2008), which provides for “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Other: Other: Other: Other.”
The EN to heading 8543, HTSUS, states that the introductory provisions of the EN to heading 8479, HTSUS, concern machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions apply, mutatis mutandis, to the appliances and apparatus of heading 8543, HTSUS. Those introductory provisions state the following, in relevant part:
For this purpose the following are to be regarded as having “individual functions”: [. . .]
Mechanical devices which cannot perform their function unless they are mounted on another machine or appliance, or are incorporated in a more complex entity, provided that this function :
(i) is distinct from that which is performed by the machine or appliance whereon they are to be mounted, or by the entity wherein they are to be incorporated, and
(ii) does not play an integral and inseparable part in the operation of such machine, appliance or entity.
Example: A chain cutter is a device which is mounted on an industrial sewing machine and which automatically cuts the thread so that the machine can run without interruption. This device performs an individual function because it plays no part in the “sewing” function of the machine; as there is no other more specific heading, the chain cutter falls to be classified here.
On the other hand, the function of a carburettor [sic] for an internal combustion engine is distinct from that of the engine but it is not an “individual function” as defined above because the operation of the carburettor is inseparable from that of the engine. Separately presented carburettors are therefore to be classified as parts of engines in heading 84.09.
Applying GRIs 1 and 6, the subject RLSH sensor must meet both the terms of statistical reporting number 8543.70.9860, HTSUS, and the language of the related exclusion to be classifiable therein. There is no dispute that the subject merchandise constitutes an “electrical machine” of Chapter 85, HTSUS. Importantly, the subject merchandise exhibits “individual functions,” as the terms are understood by the EN to heading 8543, HTSUS. First, the RLSH sensor cannot engage the windshield wipers or control a vehicle’s air conditioning system unless it is “incorporated in a more complex entity,” specifically a vehicle and its electrical system. Second, the automatic control of the windshield wipers and the control of the air condition system are functions that are distinct from the functions performed by the vehicle and its electronic system. The wiper control, lighting, and air conditioning functions play no part in the functioning of the larger “entity” – the vehicle itself; the RLSH sensor does not interact with the powertrain. Third, the RLSH sensor’s functions do not play an integral and inseparable part in the operation of the vehicle. “The highest priority for switching on” each of the RLSH sensor’s respective functions “belongs to the corresponding operating switch,” indicating that the vehicle can operate entirely without the ancillary sensors. Taking these factors into consideration, then, we find that the subject merchandise constitutes an “electrical machine having individual functions.” Because no other more specific heading or subheading exists, the RLSH sensor is classifiable under subheading 8543.70.98, HTSUS.
The next issue we must address is whether the RLSH sensor constitutes an “[a]pparatus using passive infrared detection sensors designed for turning lights on and off.” It does not. Out of the four ancillary sensors, only the front light sensor uses passive infrared detection to turn lights (i.e., the vehicle’s low beams) on and off. The front light sensor certainly operates within the infrared spectrum, and it is certainly designed to trigger a vehicle’s low beams on and off, but the remaining ancillary sensors (1) do not operate within the infrared spectrum, (2) do not utilize passive infrared detection, or (3) are not designed for turning lights on and off. The rain sensor may operate within the infrared spectrum, but it does not utilize passive infrared detection, nor is it designed for turning lights on and off. The ambient light sensor only operates within the visible light spectrum, and therefore cannot utilize passive infrared detection. In any case, the ambient light sensor is designed to support the automatic air conditioning system, and it is not designed for turning lights on and off. Finally, the solar sensor may operate within the infrared light spectrum, but it is also only used for the air conditioning system.
In considering the entire device, we hold that because the subject RLSH sensor exhibits multiple functions beyond the use of passive infrared detection sensors to turn lights on and off, it fails to meet the terms of the exclusion.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the subject rain-light-solar-humidity sensor is classified under heading 8543, specifically subheading 8543.70.98, HTSUS, which provides for, “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Other: Other: Other.” The general column one rate of duty is 2.9 percent ad valorem.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 8543.70.98, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.02, in addition to subheading 8543.70.98, HTSUS, listed above.
The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment, so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including information on exclusions and their effective dates, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china, respectively.
You are instructed to DENY the Protest.
In accordance with Sections IV and VI of the CBP Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (HB 3500-08A, December 2007, pp. 24 and 26), you are to mail this decision, together with the CBP Form 19, to the Protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing the decision.
Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP website at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division