OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H338331 CMD
Center Director
Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
610 S. Canal Street, Room 300
Chicago, IL 60607
Attn: Brenda Cruz, Supervisory Import Specialist
RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 5201-23-103631; screw covers and
panel clip shims
Dear Center Director:
This is in reply to the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No.
520123-103631, filed on September 20, 2023, by Nakachi Eckhardt & Jacobson, P.C.,
on behalf of HTM MBS LLC (“Protestant”), contesting U.S. Customs and Border
Protection’s (“CBP”) classification of screw covers and panel clip shims under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”).
The subject merchandise was entered on October 12, 2022, and was liquidated
on March 24, 2023. The subject merchandise was entered under heading 8306,
HTSUS, and was liquidated under heading 7616, HTSUS. This protest was timely filed
on September 20, 2023. Protestant contends that the correct classification of the
merchandise is in heading 8306, HTSUS, as statuettes and other ornaments, of base
metal, specifically in the statistical suffix provision 8306.29.0000, HTSUS Annotated
(“HTSUSA”).
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Products of China classified under subheading 7616.99.5190, HTSUSA, unless
specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty
under subheading 9903.88.03, HTSUS.
FACTS:
This protest involves two types of products, a screw cover and a panel clip shim.
The protest includes 160 models of screw cover, and 15 models of panel clip shim.
Protestant describes the screw covers as follows:
Each protested screw cover model consists of a set of four screw covers. Each
individual screw cover consists of an aluminum screw cover, and a brass insert.
Although the different models vary in size, color and design, all are made of the
same essential materials and are used for the same purpose and in the same
manner. The sole purpose of the protested screw covers is to conceal the
exposed head of a screw under a decorative cover.
The brass insert is threaded on its interior and exterior surfaces. The interior
threading corresponds to the threading on the screw that is to be covered; the
exterior threading corresponds to the screw cap. During the mounting process,
the brass insert is threaded on the screw flush against the head, in between the
screw and the item to be mounted.
The screw cap has interior threading that matches the exterior threading of the
brass insert. Once the screw is fully installed with the brass insert attached, the
screw cap is screwed onto the brass insert, which secures it over the screw head.
In some cases, the screw covers include set screws to lock the screw caps in
place after installation.
The purpose and function of the screw caps is purely ornamental. Their use is
superfluous to the mounting process, which operates in the same manner with or
without screw caps; the only role of the screw caps is to cover exposed screw
heads and thereby to enhance the decorative nature of the displayed picture.
While Protestant states that each screw cover model at issue includes an
aluminum screw cover, information provided by Protestant and information available on
Protestant’s website indicates that several models include a brass screw cover (screw
covers which list the material as brass, regardless of finish). For models with a screw
cover made of brass, the combination with the brass insert means that for those models
brass predominates - it is the only constituent metal.
The Protestant describes the 15 models of panel clip shims as follows:
Each panel clip shim model consists of a set of four flat aluminum discs with a
3M™ adhesive backing. The diameter of the discs varies by model, from 5/8 inch
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to 1.25 inches, and the aluminum comes in different finishes and colors. Each
imported model consists of a pack of four matching panel clip shims.
Like the screw caps, panel clip shims are designed as an ornamental cover to
conceal the exposed head of a screw that has been used to mount a sign to the
wall.
The protested panel clip shims are designed for use in two different contexts.
First, they can be used in conjunction with panel clips, to cover the exposed
screw head on the surface of the panel clip after it has been mounted to the wall.
The panel clip shim diameters match the diameters of the corresponding panel
clips. Second, panel clip shims can be used on their own to conceal a recessed
but visible screw head, by being placed directly over the recessed screw head.
The purpose and function of the panel clip shims is purely ornamental, as a
decorative cover to an exposed screw head.
Protestant argues that the screw covers and panel clip shims are purely
ornamental, which warrants classification in heading 8306, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Whether the instant merchandise is classified in heading 7616, HTSUS, which
provides for “Other articles of aluminum,” heading 8302, HTSUS, which provides for
“Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors,
staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like;
base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of
base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof,”
heading 8306, HTSUS, which provides for “Bells, gongs, and the like, nonelectric, of
base metal; statuettes and other ornaments, of base metal; photograph, picture or
similar frames, or base metal; mirrors of base metal and base metal parts thereof,” or
heading 8309, HTSUS, which provides for “Stoppers, caps and lids (including crown
corks, screw caps and pouring stoppers), capsules for bottles, threaded bungs, bung
covers, seals and other packaging accessories, and parts thereof, of base metal.”
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The matter protested is protestable under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2) as a decision
on classification. The subject merchandise entered on October 12, 2022, and was
liquidated on March 24, 2023. The protest was timely filed, within 180 days of
liquidation, on September 20, 2023. (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act
of 2004, Pub.L. 108-429, § 2103(2)(B)(ii),(iii) (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. §
1514(c)(3) (2006)). Further Review of Protest No. 5201-23-103631 was properly
accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(a) as the protest involves an
alleged inconsistent ruling by CBP.
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Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of
Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification 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 2 through
6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7616 Other articles of aluminum.
8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture,
doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests,
caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar
fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of
base metal; and base metal parts thereof.
8306 Bells, gongs and the like, nonelectric, of base metal; statuettes and other
ornaments, of base metal; photograph, picture or similar frames, of base
metal; mirrors of base metal; and base metal parts thereof.
8309 Stoppers, caps and lids (including crown corks, screw caps and pouring
stoppers), capsules for bottles, threaded bungs, bung covers, seals and
other packing accessories, and parts thereof, of base metal.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes
(EN), 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 the headings. It is CBP’s practice to follow, whenever possible, the
terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127,
35128 (August 23, 1989).
Section Note 2 to Section XV states that “[s]ubject to the preceding paragraph
and to Note 1 to Chapter 83, the articles of Chapter 82 or 83 are excluded from
Chapters 72 to 76 and 78 to 81.”
Section XV Note 3 defines “base metals” as: iron and steel, copper, nickel,
aluminum, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten (wolfram), molybdenum, tantalum, magnesium,
cobalt, bismuth, cadmium, titanium, zirconium, antimony, manganese, beryllium,
chromium, germanium, vanadium, gallium, hafnium, indium, niobium (columbium),
rhenium and thallium. Note 5(a) to Section XV states that “[a]n alloy of base metals is to
be classified as an alloy of the metal which predominates by weight over each of the
other metals.”
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The ENs for Heading 8306 state in relevant part:
(B) STATUETTES AND OTHER ORNAMENTS
This group comprises a wide range of ornaments of base metal (whether or not
incorporating subsidiary nonmetallic parts) of a kind designed essentially for
decoration, e.g., in homes, offices, assembly rooms, places of religious worship,
gardens.
It should be noted that the group does not include articles of more specific
headings of the Nomenclature, even if those articles are suited by their nature or
finish as ornaments. The group covers articles which have no utility value but
are wholly ornamental, and articles whose only usefulness is to contain or
support other decorative articles or to add to their decorative effect, for
example:
(1) Busts, statuettes and other decorative figures…wall ornaments incorporating
fittings for hanging (plaques, trays, plates, medallions other than those for
personal adornment); artificial flowers, rosettes and similar ornamental goods
of cast or forged metal (usually of wrought iron); knickknacks for shelves or
domestic display cabinets (bold emphasis added) .
The Explanatory Notes for heading 8309 state in relevant part:
The heading covers a range of articles of base metal (often with washers or other
fittings of plastics, rubber, cork, etc.) used for corking or capsuling drums, barrels,
bottles, etc. or for sealing cases or other packages.
* * * *
Pursuant to Section Note 2 to Section XV, articles of Chapter 83 are excluded
from Chapter 76. Therefore, if the merchandise is determined to be an article of either
heading 8302, 8306, or 8309 HTSUS, then it may not be classified in heading 7616,
HTSUS.
The Protestant relies entirely on New York Ruling Letter (NY) N283871, dated
March 22, 2017, for the contention that their screw covers are products of heading
8306, HTSUS. The products under consideration there were “self-adhesive, skull-theme
embellishments that are composed predominantly of zinc alloy, with slight amounts of
glass, acrylic and plastic. The trendy embellishments are used to decorate various
objects sch as shoes, electronics and the like.” CBP classified the “embellishments” in
subheading 8306.29, HTSUS, as “Statuettes and other ornaments, and parts thereof:
Other.” NY N283871 does not include a picture of the item, but distinctions are clear
from the description alone. Neither the legal text of heading 8306 nor the ENs define
“ornament.” When a tariff term is not defined in the legal text, it is construed according to
its common commercial meaning. See Millennium Lumber Distrib. Ltd., v. United States,
558 F.3d 1326, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2009). To ascertain the common commercial meaning of
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a tariff 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).
Ornament is defined as “something that lends grace, beauty, or festivity.”
Ornament, MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
ornament#dictionary-entry-1, (last visited November 19, 2024). While it was clear in NY
N283871 that the “skull-theme[d]” embellishments were ornaments, the same cannot be
said for the screw covers and panel clip shims at issue here. In contrast to the items in
NY N283871, in which the embellishments had elements of glass and plastic which
contributed to the ornamental nature and completed the overall skull theme, Protestant’s
screw covers and panel clip shims are plain, simple discs with no decorative features.
They do not lend grace, beauty, or festivity when used as intended.
They may contribute to an orderly appearance, but they are not ornaments of heading
8306, HTSUS. Additionally, while the Protestant argues that the articles provide no
utility, a “shim” does typically offer some utility in levelling a surface.1 These items are
not articles of heading 8306, HTSUS.
Nor are the screw covers and panel clip shims classifiable as articles of heading
8309, HTSUS. Heading 8309, HTSUS, provides for “stoppers, caps and lids” among
other articles, of base metal. In Jing Mei Automotive (USA) v. United States, the Court of
International Trade found that stoppers, lids, and caps of heading 3923, which provides
for “[a]rticles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics; stoppers, lids, caps
and other closure, of plastics,” must be closures “for use with some type of container or
other similar article used for packing, supporting, or the conveyance of goods.” Jing Mei
Auto. (USA) v. United States, 682 F. Supp. 3d 1354, 1382 (2023). Headings 3923 and
8309 cover similar articles of plastic and base metals, respectively, and the logic of the
decision applies equally. The stoppers, caps, and lids of heading 8309, HTSUS, are
those meant for use with containers. This is further supported by the specific mention, in
heading 8309, HTSUS, of bottles, bung covers, seals, and other packaging. Protestant’s
screw covers and panel clip shims are not designed to be used with a container or any
item to be used for packing, supporting, or the conveyance of goods. Jing Mei precludes
their classification in heading 8309, HTSUS.
Heading 8302, HTSUS, provides for base metal mountings, fittings and similar
articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, among other articles. In HQ 966001,
dated October 12, 2003, CBP defined a “fitting” as “[a] small part used to join, adjust, or
adapt other parts, as in a system of pipes” as well as “[s]omething used in fitting up:
accessory, adjunct, attachment. . . A small often standardized part (as a coupling, valve,
gauge) entering into the construction of a boiler, steam, water or gas supply installation
or other apparatus.” The screw covers and panel clip shims at issue here are intended
1 Shim is defined as a thin, often tapered piece of material (such as wood, metal, or stone) used to fill in
space between things (as for support, leveling, or adjustment of fit). Shim, Merriam-Webster.com (last
visited November 19, 2024), https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shim.
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solely for wall-mounted, art hanging and signage systems. While this use is not
expressly covered by the text of heading 8302, HTSUS, substantially similar products
are used in furniture. Screw covers and panel clip shims similar or identical to those
under consideration here are often used in furniture like tables, mirrors, and other
pieces of furniture which feature glass plates. Because Protestant’s screw covers and
panel clip shims are of the same class or kind of articles as the examples in the heading
of 8302, HTSUS, they are classified in heading 8302, HTSUS. The instant articles are
not classifiable in heading 7616, HTSUS, because they are classifiable in the more
specific heading of 8302, HTSUS.
Subheading 8302.42.30 provides for other mountings and fittings suitable for
furniture, which are made of iron, steel, aluminum, or zinc. Brass is not included in this
list. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.2 Both of these metals are defined as base
metals in Note 3 to Section XV. Note 5(a) to that section requires that alloys of base
metals be classified as if they were the base metal which predominates, by weight,
within the alloy. Copper predominates in brass used for industrial uses.3 Therefore, for
classification purposes, brass should be treated as copper. Classifying brass as if it
were copper prevents the classification of the subject brass screw covers in subheading
8302.42.30, because copper is not among the listed metals in that subheading. The
brass screw covers must be classified in 8302.42.6000, HTSUSA, which provides for
other mountings and fittings suitable for furniture, other. The subject screw covers which
are composed of aluminum, as well as the panel clips shims, are classified in
8302.42.3065, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The screw covers and panel clip shims made of aluminum are classified in
heading 8302, HTSUS, and specifically in subheading 8302.42.3065, HTSUSA, which
provides for “Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture,
doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the
like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with
mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal part
thereof: Other mountings, fittings and similar articles, and parts thereof: Other, suitable
for furniture: Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc: Other.” The column one ad valorem
duty rate is 3.9%. Products of China classified under subheading 8302.42.3065,
HTSUSA, are, unless specifically excluded, subject to an additional 7.5% ad valorem
rate of duty under subheading 9903.88.15, HTSUS.
2 Brass, Encyclopedia Brittanica (last visited February 14, 2025), https://www.britannica.com/technology/brass-
alloy.
3 Brass, Encyclopedia Brittanica (last visited February 14, 2025), https://www.britannica.com/technology/brass-
alloy.
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The screw covers made of brass are classified in subheading 8302.42.6000,
HTSUSA, which provides for “Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable
for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests,
caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors
with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal
part thereof: Other mountings, fittings and similar articles, and parts thereof: Other,
suitable for furniture: Other.” The column one ad valorem duty rate is 3.4%. Products of
China classified under subheading 8302.42.6000, HTSUSA, are, unless specifically
excluded, subject to an additional 7.5% ad valorem rate of duty under subheading
9903.88.15, HTSUS.
You are instructed to DENY the protest, except to the extent reclassification of
the merchandise as indicated above results in a partial allowance. You are instructed to
notify the protestant of this decision no later than 60 days from the date of this decision.
Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be
accomplished prior to this notification. 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 Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS)
at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, which can be found on the CBP website at
http://www.cbp.gov and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
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