OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H335773 MFT
Center Director, Electronics C.E.E.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
301 E. Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802
ATTN: Dirik J. Lolkus, Supervisory Import Specialist
RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 2704-23-167714; Classification of a Baby
Monitor Set
Dear Center Director:
The following is our decision on the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest
No. 2704-23-167714, which was filed on August 16, 2023, on behalf of Exclusive Group, LLC,
d/b/a Binatone North America (protestant). The protest concerns the classification by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of a certain baby monitor set under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
We note that the protestant requested an opportunity to orally discuss the issues in this
matter per Section 177.4 of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 177.4) but
failed to respond to several attempts to schedule a conference. Therefore, we are issuing this
decision based on the presented and available facts.
FACTS:
The merchandise under consideration consists of a baby monitor set from China
described as the “Nursery Pal Deluxe.” The Nursery Pal Deluxe includes: a wireless camera
described as the “Baby Unit”; a five-inch touchscreen monitor described as the “Parent Unit”; 1 a
multi-surface mount for the camera; a protective bumper for the monitor; and power adapters.
1
The protestant refers to the subject touchscreen monitor as the “Parental Unit” and “Parent Unit” interchangeably.
Given that the product literature only refers to the touchscreen monitor as the “Parent Unit,” we will refer to the
touchscreen monitor as such.
The retail packaging for the Nursery Pal Deluxe identifies each of the five items listed above in a
section titled “What’s in the box.”
The wireless camera, or “Baby Unit,” consists of: a light sensor; a camera lens; infrared
LEDs; a microphone and speaker; a temperature sensor; screw holes for the multi-surface mount;
a 1,200 mAh rechargeable battery; a “PAIR” button for wireless connectivity; and a privacy
protector to block the camera lens. While the Baby Unit lacks the ability to record images on the
camera itself, it can connect to a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi signal, enabling the user to remotely view the
camera’s live video feed from the “HubbleClub” smartphone app and record the live video feed to
a smartphone’s internal storage. The app also allows users to monitor notifications for temperature
levels, noise, and detected motions.
The touchscreen monitor, or “Parent Unit,” is a device that consists of: a five-inch
touchscreen display; an external, adjustable radio-frequency (RF) antenna; a volume control
switch; a flashlight; a speaker; a reset pinhole; a power socket; a rotatable ring stand for supporting
the device upright on a surface; and a 2,100 mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery. The Parent
Unit can receive and display the live video feed from the camera via an RF signal. When viewing
the video feed from the Parent Unit, users can use the touchscreen to pan and tilt the camera view.
Like the camera, the Parent Unit does not have any in-built capability of recording the images. It
comes equipped with Linux-based software that allows users to play preloaded lullabies, soothing
sounds, digital picture books, and educational games and videos.
The camera and monitor are pre-registered and linked together when put up for retail
sale, obviating the need for end-users to pair the devices together during initial setup. The
monitor can connect to four cameras at a time, and users may switch between the four different
camera feeds from the monitor itself. Upon startup, the monitor defaults to the camera view; no
further input from the user is required to access the camera feed. The secondary media features –
i.e., the lullabies, sounds, books, games, and videos – are accessible from a separate, hidden
menu bar. To access these secondary features, users must swipe up from the bottom of the screen
to reveal the menu bar, and then tap either the “play” symbol (for lullabies, sounds, and books)
or the “Hubble Baby” icon (for games and videos).
We note that the merchandise’s user guide refers to the set as a “baby monitor” and
welcomes users by highlighting the remote monitoring features:
Thank you for purchasing the Smart Video Baby Monitor. Now you can see and
hear your baby sleeping in another room[,] or you can monitor your older children
in their play[]room. Our Connected Baby Monitor let[s] you see your baby from
the hand-held viewer, or from your smartphone. Watch over and communicate with
your baby from anywhere in the world.
ISSUES:
Whether the subject touchscreen monitor, or “Parent Unit,” is classified under heading
8527, HTSUS, as a “reception apparatus for radiobroadcasting,” or under heading 8528, HTSUS,
as a “monitor.”
2
Whether the subject baby monitor set is classified under heading 8525, HTSUS, as a
“television camera,” or under heading 8527, HTSUS, as a “reception apparatus for
radiobroadcasting.”
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 protestant timely filed this protest on August 16, 2023,
within 180 days of liquidation of the first entry pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3). Further
review of Protest No. 2704-23-167714 is properly accorded to the protestant per 19 C.F.R. §
174.24(b), as the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to involve questions of
law or fact which have not been ruled upon by CBP. Specifically, the protestant alleges that there
has not been a previous ruling from CBP involving the classification of a baby monitor set put up
for retail sale consisting of a “Linux-based, RF-enabled smartphone-like device with music and
video-playing capability.” The protestant entered the subject merchandise on June 13, 2022,
under heading 8527, HTSUS, as a “reception apparatus for radiobroadcasting.” On February 24,
2023, CBP liquidated the subject merchandise under heading 8528, HTSUS, which provides for
“monitors [. . .] not incorporating television reception apparatus,” as well as subheading
9903.88.15, HTSUS.
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 Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System, which constitute the official interpretation of the
HTSUS at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally
binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading and are generally indicative of the
proper interpretation of the HTSUS. 2
GRI 3 governs the classification of goods classifiable under two or more headings. GRI
3(a) states that “the heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to
headings providing a more general description.” GRI 3(b) states, in pertinent part, that goods put
up in sets for retail sale that cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3(a) are to be classified as if
they consisted of the component that gives them their essential character. GRI 3(c) states that
when goods cannot be classified by reference to GRIs 3(a) or 3(b), they are to be classified in the
heading that occurs last in numerical order among the competing headings which merit equal
consideration.
The HTSUS headings under consideration are as follows:
8525 Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television,
whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording
2
See Treasury Decision (T.D.) 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127–35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
3
or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital cameras and
video camera recorders
*****
8527 Reception apparatus for radiobroadcasting, whether or not
combined, in the same housing, with sound recording or
reproducing apparatus or a clock
*****
8528 Monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception
apparatus; reception apparatus for television, whether or not
incorporating radio-broadcast receivers or sound or video recording
or reproducing apparatus
GRI 1 requires that we classify the subject baby monitor set in accordance with the terms
of the applicable headings and any relative chapter or section notes. The subject baby monitor set
consists of goods that are classified in more than one heading. Regarding the subject wireless
camera, the protestant accepts that “the current iteration” of the camera, as imported, is prima
facie classifiable as a “television camera” of heading 8525, HTSUS. But while there is no
disagreement that the touchscreen monitor is classifiable outside of heading 8525, HTSUS, the
protestant differs as to that component’s correct heading. As such, before applying the remaining
rules of GRI 3 to the Nursery Pal Deluxe writ large, we must first address the touchscreen
monitor’s classification and sequentially apply the GRIs for that component.
I. Classification of the Touchscreen Monitor, or “Parent Unit”
Note 3 to Section XVI, HTSUS, provides as follows:
Unless the context otherwise requires, composite machines consisting of two or
more machines fitted together to form a whole and other machines designed for the
purpose of performing two or more complementary or alternative functions are to
be classified as if consisting only of that component or as being that machine which
performs the principal function.
The subject touchscreen monitor, or “Parent Unit,” is a machine designed for the purpose
of performing multiple alternative functions. These functions, in the main, include playing
certain media – including lullabies, picture books, games, videos, and sounds – as well as
displaying the live video feed from the wireless camera through an RF signal. Therefore, under
Note 3 to Section XVI, HTSUS, the Parent Unit must be classified “as if consisting only of that
component or as being that machine which performs the principal function.”
We find that the principal function of the subject touchscreen monitor is to display the
live video feed from the wireless camera as a “monitor” of heading 8528, HTSUS. First, the
touchscreen monitor defaults to viewing the live camera footage. Upon startup, the camera’s
footage is the information that the device first and automatically conveys to the user: no further
action on the user’s part is necessary to view the camera feed. In contrast, the secondary media
features are relegated to a separate, hidden menu bar and are not immediately accessible. Users
must instead take the extra steps of swiping up from the bottom of the display to reveal the menu
4
bar and tapping either the “play” symbol (for lullabies, sounds, and books) or the “Hubble Baby”
icon (for games and videos). This prioritization of the live camera feed demonstrates that the
Parent Unit, by design, facilitates baby monitoring first, while the media functions are of
secondary importance.
The importance of the monitoring function over the media functions is also evidenced by
the Parent Unit’s pre-registration and linking to the wireless camera. The two items already
being connected in the first instance, with no additional steps to take for registering the camera,
further suggests that the merchandise was designed to streamline the customer’s usage of the
monitoring function off the shelf. The touchscreen monitor’s support for four wireless cameras
and its ability to switch between the different video feeds point to its ample monitoring
capabilities into the bargain. More than an incidental perquisite, the support for several camera
views pinpoints a deliberately designed and substantial function. If there were any remaining
doubt as to the Parent Unit’s principal function, the first page of the user guide for the subject
merchandise, while not controlling, would help answer such uncertainty, particularly with regard
to its repeated reference to the set as a “baby monitor,” the promotion of the monitoring function
to the user above other capabilities, and the notable silence regarding the secondary media
functions:
Thank you for purchasing the Smart Video Baby Monitor. Now you can see and
hear your baby sleeping in another room[,] or you can monitor your older children
in their play[]room. Our Connected Baby Monitor let[s] you see your baby from
the hand-held viewer, or from your smartphone. Watch over and communicate with
your baby from anywhere in the world. [emphasis added]
Given these facts, we conclude that the principal function of the subject touchscreen
monitor is to “monitor.” However, the protestant contends that the subject touchscreen monitor is
more appropriately classified as a “reception apparatus for radiobroadcasting” under heading
8527, HTSUS. In support of this assertion, the protestant avers that “since the Congress who
drafted the headings and subheadings is presumed to understand the scope of the heading, the
language of the subheadings is instructive as to the scope of the heading,” and that “[i]t would be
unreasonable to assume that Customs did not intend that articles described in a subheading to
heading 8527 would not be considered to be prima facie classified in that heading.” But this
“bottom-up” approach for determining the scope of a heading and Congress’s intent is
“backwards,” to borrow the courts’ phrasing. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has
explicitly rejected the protestant’s proposed analysis, 3 and as the court has reiterated, “a proper
classification analysis starts with the terms of the headings, not the subheadings.” 4 Thus, the
3
“Gerson's and its amici's bottom-up analysis – which begins with a subheading and proceeds upward through the
headings – is backwards. Classification under the GRIs must take a top-down approach, beginning, as it must, with
the language of the headings, and ending with the language of the subheadings.” Gerson Co. v. United States, 898
F.3d 1232, 1239–40 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (emphasis added) (internal quotations omitted). See also Orlando Food Corp.
v. United States, 140 F.3d 1437, 1440 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (“Only after determining that a product is classifiable under
the heading should the court look to the subheadings to find the correct classification for the merchandise”)
(emphasis added).
4
See Magid Glove & Safety Mfg. Co. v. United States, 87 F.4th 1352, 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2023) (quoting Orlando
Food, 140 F.3d at 1440).
5
protestant’s attempt to direct our attention to the language of the subheadings under heading
8527, HTSUS, is flawed.
Moreover, the protestant argues that the subject touchscreen monitor “operates primarily
as an audio receiver and secondarily as a video receiver,” and as such, must be classified under
heading 8527, HTSUS. But the protestant failed to substantiate this claim: nothing in the
submitted facts even hints at why the audio reception functionality is more pronounced or
significant than the video reception functionality, nor why the two should not be considered in
tandem as supporting the monitoring function. Finally, the protestant argues that the subject
touchscreen monitor is simply not classifiable as a “monitor” of heading 8528, HTSUS:
The Parental [sic] Unit was not designed, in ordinary use, to act as either a primary
or secondary monitor. Using the Parental Unit as a monitor of the type covered by
heading 8528 would be a fugitive use. Even as a fugitive use, it could not function
as even a secondary monitor without the addition of specialized software on both
the sending camera unit and the receiving Parental Unit.
The facts disarm these assertions. The Parent Unit directly launches the camera feed; it is
pre-registered and linked with the camera; it supports the viewing of several camera feeds at
once; and it is touted for its monitoring functionality. To take on board the protestant’s view
would be to ignore what is plain, and we decline to do so here: the Parent Unit is a “monitor” of
heading 8528, HTSUS, by application of GRI 1.
II. Classification of the Baby Monitor Set as a Whole
As analyzed above, the subject baby monitor set consists of goods classifiable in more
than one heading: in the main, a “television camera” of heading 8525, HTSUS, and a “monitor”
of heading 8528, HTSUS. Since the subject merchandise is classifiable in more than one
heading, we apply GRI 3. We note that the goods cannot be classified by application of GRI 3(a)
because, for purposes of the subject protest, the provision for “television cameras” under heading
8525, HTSUS, is no more specific than the provision for “monitors” under heading 8528,
HTSUS. Neither provision describes the goods with greater certainty, nor does one provision
contain more difficult requirements to satisfy than the other. Therefore, we turn to GRI 3(b),
which instructs that we classify the goods in the subject baby monitor set “as if they consisted of
the component that gives them their essential character.”
The EN to GRI 3(b) provides the following guidance, in pertinent part, on determining
which component imparts the essential character of a retail set:
The factor which determines essential character will vary as between different
kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material
or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent
material in relation to the use of the goods.
We previously found that for certain goods consisting of a “television camera” of heading
8525, HTSUS, and a “monitor” of heading 8527, HTSUS, the ability to view the camera footage
6
without the presented monitor indicates that the monitor may be the lesser component with
respect to the merchandise’s overall functionality. For example, in Headquarters Ruling Letter
(HQ) H270703, we revoked two ruling letters that considered the classification of certain
“camera inspection systems (or ‘scopes’) for difficult-to-access spaces.” 5 We found that these
scopes were “composite machines” under Note 3 to Section XVI, HTSUS, in that they consisted
of “cameras” of heading 8525, HTSUS, and “monitors” of heading 8528, HTSUS, and were
fitted together to form a whole. Accordingly, we determined that “they [were] to be classified as
if consisting only of that component that perform[ed] the principal function.” The scopes in both
of the revoked ruling letters (New York Ruling Letter (NY) N107616 and NY N225535) were
capable of recording images, and these images could be viewed on displays other than the
included “monitor.” We concluded in HQ H270703 that the “camera components perform[ed]
the essential function of capturing images that enable visual inspection” and held that “[a]s the
monitors merely display[ed] the captured images, and images recorded on a SD storage card may
be displayed on devices other than the monitor, the monitors [did] not perform the principal
function of the subject inspection systems and their role [was] subsidiary to that of the cameras.”
The functionality of the included monitors, we reasoned, was no different from that of the
“optical viewfinder or LCD commonly found on digital video cameras” described in the EN to
heading 8525, HTSUS. 6
We find that the wireless camera analogously imparts the essential character of the
subject baby monitor set. Though the subject wireless camera is incapable of recording the
captured images on the device itself, the images are nonetheless viewable on displays other than
the included touchscreen monitor. The touchscreen monitor here shares the fate of those in HQ
H270703 in that it is not required for viewing the images captured from the camera. Users may
instead view the images from the HubbleConnect smartphone app. The baby monitoring function
can thus occur with or without the touchscreen monitor. The fact that the touchscreen monitor
has secondary media playback features may distinguish it from the monitors at issue in HQ
H270703, which “merely display[ed] the captured images,” but that difference carries little
weight when, as we concluded above, the principal function of the Parent Unit is to act as a baby
monitor. As such, we find that the subject wireless camera “perform[s] the essential function of
capturing images that enable” the baby monitoring function and imparts the essential character of
the baby monitoring set. We note that while the scopes at issue in HQ H270703 were “composite
machines” subject to a principal function analysis, whereas the Nursery Pal Deluxe in this case
consists of goods put up in a set for retail sale under GRI 3(b), the conclusions in both cases
hinge upon the weight of their respective components’ functionality within a given context.
Finally, the protestant maintains that the goods cannot be classified by application of GRI
3(b) because a long line of CBP decisions involving “television cameras” of heading 8525,
HTSUS, and “monitors” of heading 8528, HTSUS, should direct us to classify the subject
5
See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) H270703 (dated Nov. 4, 2020).
6
The EN to heading 8525, HTSUS, provides as follows, in pertinent part: “Generally, the cameras of this group are
equipped with an optical viewfinder or a liquid crystal display (LCD), or both. Many cameras equipped with an
LCD can employ the display both as a viewfinder when capturing images and as a screen for displaying images
received from other sources or for reproducing images already recorded.”
7
merchandise by application of GRI 3(c). 7 Here, the fact pattern is easily distinguishable from the
cited decisions in that the camera footage is able to be viewed without the included monitor. That
feature alone greatly diminishes the role that the subject touchscreen monitor plays in relation to
the use of the goods because the touchscreen monitor is not designed to be the sole means of
executing the monitoring function – a smartphone will suffice. The rulings highlighted by the
protestant are silent on the issue of outside viewability and thus present a significantly different
fact pattern. Therefore, the cited rulings do not control the outcome of this matter.
We conclude that because the subject wireless camera imparts the essential character of
the baby monitor set, the entire set is classifiable as if it consists only of the wireless camera. It is
undisputed that the subject wireless camera is classifiable as a “television camera,” of heading
8525, HTSUS. Therefore, we hold that the subject baby monitor set is classifiable under heading
8525, HTSUS, which provides for “television cameras.”
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1, 3(b), and 6, the subject baby monitor set is classified under
heading 8525, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8525.89.30, HTSUS, which provides for,
“Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating
reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital
cameras and video camera recorders: Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera
recorders: Other: Television cameras: Other.” The general column one rate of duty is free.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China
classified under subheading 8525.89.30, 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., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheading 8525.89.30, HTSUS, listed
above.
You are instructed to DENY the Protest.
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,
for Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
7
These decisions include HQ 958082 (dated September 6, 1995); HQ 957743 (dated September 6, 1995); HQ
957722 (dated May 12, 1995); HQ 955279 (dated November 8, 1993); and New York Ruling Letters (NY) N311935
(dated June 11, 2020) and N308147 (dated December 17, 2019).
8