CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Samantha Jean Gaglio
Customs Compliance Manager
Lifetime Products
Freeport Center Building, D-12
Clearfield, UT 84016-0010
RE: The tariff classification of a shed from China.
Dear Ms. Gaglio:
In your letter dated November 17, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Assembly instructions were provided and illustrative literature was obtain through the lifetime.com website.
The merchandise concerned is identified as the Lifetime Products, model number 60170, “Horizontal Storage Box.” Lifetime references the merchandise concerned as a horizontal shed.
The Horizontal Storage Box features are:
Rigid Double-Wall High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Construction
Controlled Spring-Hinge Lid
Attractive Appearance and Design
Weather-Resistant Steel Hinges
Lockable Doors with External Hinged Latch that Fits a Standard Padlock
Built to Hold Two Large Garbage Cans
Constructed for a Variety of Reasons
UV-Protected Panels and Lid - Will Not Fade, Crack, or Peel
5-Year Limited Warranty
The Horizontal Storage Box specifications are:
Outside Dimensions
Length: 74" (187,9 cm)
Width: 40.5" (102,8 cm)
Height: 51.7" (131,4 cm)
Inside Dimensions
Length: 70.8" (179,8 cm)
Width: 38.4" (97,5 cm)
Front Height: 42" (106,6 cm)
Back Height: 48" (121,9 cm)
Interior Capacity: 75 ft3 (2,12 m3)
Gallon Capacity: 561.0 Gal. (2123,7 L)
Observation of the photos provided by the illustrative literature indicates that the Horizontal Storage Box does not have the size, storage capacity, or space to stand or walk in, which is usual for “home yard sheds” or similar type use “pre-fabricated buildings.”
It is your position that the horizontal shed is a storage unit, and therefore should be classified in subheading 9403.70.8015 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the subheading for furniture of plastics.
When terms are not defined in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) or the Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the HTSUS, they are construed in accordance with their common and commercial meaning – Nippon Kogasku (USA), Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F.2d 1268 (1982).
According to the Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary a “building” is defined as a structure (such as a house, hospital, school, etc.) with a roof and walls that is used as a place for people to live, work, do activities, store things, etc. An examination of the ENs to the HTSUS, heading 9406 “Prefabricated buildings,” indicate that the uses for a “building” as defined by Merriam-Webster coincide with the uses for prefabricated buildings as listed in the ENs to heading 9406, HTSUS.
Further provided, the Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the following four words: (1) “hutch” a chest or compartment for storage; (2) “chest” a container (such as a box or case) for holding things or moving them from place to place; (3) “cupboard” a piece of furniture used for storage that has doors and contains shelves; and (4) “cabinet” a piece of furniture that is used for storing things and usually has doors and shelves. Another look at the meaning of “cabinet” as defined by the Online Cambridge Dictionary of American English defines “cabinet” as a piece of furniture with shelves or drawers that is used for storing useful things or showing decorative things.
The ENs to heading 9406 state: these buildings (referring to prefabricated buildings) are designed for a variety of uses, such as housing, worksite accommodation, offices, schools, shops, sheds, garages and greenhouses. There are several common denominators that buildings share with prefabricated buildings, particularly in structure, however, only two are readily apparent without knowledge of architecture, and that is both types of buildings have walls and a roof that allow individuals to enter within. Since the horizontal shed has no roof and is only capable of entering into when the lid is raised, it does not fall within the class or kind of goods to be classified as prefabricated buildings of heading 9406, HTSUS.
A further examination of the General ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS, state, in relevant part, with regard to the meaning of furniture, at (A): For the purposes of this Chapter, the term “furniture” means: Any “movable” articles (not included under other more specific headings of the Nomenclature), which have the essential characteristic that they are constructed for placing on the floor or ground, and which are used, mainly with a utilitarian purpose, to equip private dwellings, hotels, theatres, cinemas, offices, churches, schools, cafés, restaurants, laboratories, hospitals, dentists, surgeries, etc., or ships, aircraft, railway coaches, motor vehicles, caravan-trailers or similar means of transport. (It should be noted that, for purposes of this Chapter, articles are considered to be “movable” furniture even if they are designed for bolting, etc., to the floor, e.g., chairs for use on ships). Similar articles (seats, chairs, etc.) for use in gardens, squares, promenades, etc., are included in this category.
With case in point, the horizontal shed is similar to a chest or cabinet, in that the merchandise concerned is movable, floor or ground standing, and capable of storing and holding a variety of goods, and therefore falls within the class or kind of goods to be classified as furniture in heading 9403, HTSUS. The horizontal shed also shares in the functional similarities to a hutch and cupboard, in that all of these articles of furniture are used for the holding and storing of goods. Accordingly, we are in agreement with you that the horizontal shed, composed essentially of plastic, and used for household purposes, is classifiable in subheading 9403.70.8015, HTSUS.
The applicable subheading for the Lifetime Products, model number 60170, Horizontal Storage Box, also referenced as a horizontal shed, will be 9403.70.8015, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of plastics: Other: Other household.” The rate of duty will be free.
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 Neil H. Levy at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division