CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N1:102
Elisabeth Lee
Global Fairways Inc.
6680 Brandt Street Suite 100
Romulus, MI 48174
RE: The tariff classification of a high voltage heater from Germany.
Dear Ms. Lee:
In your letter dated March 30, 2015 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The Wesbasto High Voltage Heater (HVH), item number 9031166, is an electrically driven heat source designed to be placed in the engine room or the underfloor of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The HVH is described as a heater that uses radiant energy from the vehicle’s battery to heat coolant that circulates into the vehicle’s heater core, dispensing warm air into the cabin compartment of the vehicle. Depending on the circuit scheme, the heated coolant may circulate through the vehicle’s engine. The HVH consists of a heat exchanger, low and high voltage electric connectors, a coolant inlet tube, a coolant outlet tube, a printed circuit board and a ground post. The HVH weighs 2 kilograms and measures 284 millimeters in length by 200 millimeters in width by 54 millimeters in height.
In your letter, you suggest subheading 8419.19.0060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated (excluding furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514) for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating…Instantaneous water heaters and storage water heaters, nonelectric. The HVH under consideration is an electric heater that heats coolant instead of water. Thus, classification under subheading 8419.19.0060, HTSUS, is precluded.
Consideration was also given to subheading 8419.50, HTSUS. The HTSUS Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level (for the 4-digit headings and the 6-digit subheadings) and facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and the General Rules of Interpretation. While neither legally binding nor dispositive of classification issues, the ENs provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127-28 (Aug. 23, 1989). In this instance, the ENs to HTSUS heading 8419 provide examples of heating and cooling plants or machinery. Included are Heat Exchange Units in which a hot fluid (hot gas, steam or hot liquid) and a cold fluid are made to traverse parallel paths, but usually in opposite directions, separated by thin metal walls in such a manner that the one fluid is cooled and the other heated. These units are usually of the three following types, viz., in the form of:
(i) Concentric tube systems: one fluid flows in the annular interval, the other in the central tube.
(ii) A tubular system for the one fluid, enclosed in a chamber through which flows the other fluid or
(iii) Two parallel series of interconnected narrow chambers formed of baffle plates.
Hot and cold fluids do not transverse parallel paths in the HVH and thus, subheading 8419.50, HTSUS, is also precluded.
The applicable subheading for the Wesbasto High Voltage Heater, part number 9031166, will be subheading 8419.89.9585, HTSUS, which provides for Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated (excluding furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514) for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, cooking, roasting…Other; Other; Other; Other; For other materials. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Sandra Martinez at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division