CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Jeffrey Stapleton
Licensed Customs Broker, Attorney-in-Fact
M.E. Dey & Co., Inc.
700 West Virginia Street, Suite 300
Milwaukee, WI 53204
RE: The tariff classification of module workstations and components from China.
Dear Mr. Stapleton:
In your letter dated August 20, 2018, on behalf of NBF Services LLC, a/k/a National Business Furniture, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Description and illustrative literature were provided.
National Business Furniture will be importing “module workstations,” and “components” which are needed to replenish fallen-off inventories. The workstations are available in a wide array of sizes and configurations, and will be stored after importation until sold to customers in the United States.
The panels of textile covered particle board are surrounded by extruded aluminum frames, and are available in a wide array of sizes. The textile material is made of 100% polyester fabric. The glass panels have extruded aluminum frames too, and can be added to the top of partitions. Extruded aluminum connectors run vertically between the panels to hold them together. No additional hardware is required to combine the panels to form partitions; the connectors are fed into the grooves that exist in the panel frames to connect one to the other. For corners, L-shaped connectors are used and when 4 partitions meet X-shaped connectors are required. Extruded aluminum trim pieces are added to the exposed ends of the partitions.
You specifically seek classification advice on the following (1) finished panels of textile covered particleboard that can be assembled to create cubicle partitions of different heights, (2) finished panels of glass that can be added to the top of a workstation partitions, (3) aluminum connectors used to assemble panels into partitions and (4) aluminum trim pieces used to finish off the exposed ends and tops of complete partitions.
For purposes of this ruling, this office is unable to rule upon [finished] workstations as no identification of specific workstations were provided with their components. We are also unable to rule upon the aluminum connectors used to assemble panels into partitions and the aluminum trim pieces used to finish off the exposed ends and tops of complete partitions, because no schematics were provided, no photographs were provided, no process descriptions were provided, and inadequate details on the function and use of these connectors and trims were provided.
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods 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.
A reading of the Legal Note 2, and 2 (a) and 2 (b) to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS, provides: at 2, that the articles (other than parts) referred to in the headings of 9401 to 9403 are to be classified in those headings only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground; at 2 (a) and 2 (b), the following are, however, to be classified in the above headings even if they are designed to be hung, to be fixed to the wall or to stand one on the other --- 2 (a) Cupboards, bookcases, other shelved furniture (including single shelves presented with supports for fixing them to the wall) and unit furniture, and 2 (b) Seats and beds.
When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The General Explanatory Notes (ENs) to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS state 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.]
(B) The following: (i) Cupboards, bookcases, other shelved furniture and unit furniture designed to be hung, to be fixed to the wall or to stand one on the other or side by side, for holding various objects or articles (books, crockery, kitchen utensils, glassware, linen, medicaments, toilet articles, radio or television receivers, ornaments, etc.) and separately presented elements of unit furniture; and (ii) Seats or beds designed to be hung or to be fixed to the wall.
The term “unit furniture” is not defined in the text of Chapter 94 or its heading 9403 of the HTSUS, nor the ENs to the HTSUS. When terms are not defined, 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).
In Storewall, LLC versus the United States, Slip Op. 09-146, Court No.05-00462 dated December 18, 2009, the United States Court of International Trade (CIT), using relevant sources derived the following meaning for the term unit furniture: An item (a) fitted with other pieces to form a larger system or which is itself composed of smaller complementary items, (b) designed to be hung, or fixed to the wall, or stand one on the other or side by side, (c) assembled together in various ways to suit the consumer’s individual needs to hold various objects or articles, and (d) excludes other wall fixtures such as coat, hat and similar racks, key racks, clothes brush hangers, and newspaper racks. Further, The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), in Storewall, LLC versus the United State, 2010-1193, not only upheld the meaning of unit furniture as defined by the CIT, but also added that unit furniture may be assembled together in various ways to suit the consumer’s individual needs to hold various objects and articles, and it was this versatility and adaptability that was the essence of unit furniture.
When imported separately, the finished panels of textile covered particleboard having aluminum frames that can be assembled to create cubicle partitions of different heights and the finished panels of glass having aluminum frames that can be added to the top of a workstation partitions are separately presented elements of unit furniture, and are classifiable in heading 9403, HTSUS.
The finished panels of textile covered particleboard having aluminum frames and the finished panels of glass having aluminum frames are composed of different components, and are considered composite goods for tariff purposes. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the HTSUS, GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state: “the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.” When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good.
This office finds that the 100% polyester fabric imparts the essential character to the finished panels, in that the textile material covers over all of the MDF, and moreover provides the visual attractiveness to the panels. For similar reasons the glass imparts the essential character to the finished panels, in that the glass panels contribute to the overall attractiveness of the modular workstations.
The applicable subheading for the finished panels of textile covered particleboard having aluminum frames and finished panels of glass having aluminum frames will be 9403.89.60.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of other materials, including cane, osier, bamboo or similar materials: Other: Other: Other.” 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 the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
The finished panels of textile covered particleboard having aluminum frames and finished panels of glass having aluminum frames may be subject to Antidumping (AD) duties under case number A-570-967 (aluminum extrusions from China) and Countervailing Duties (CVD) under case number C-570-968 (aluminum extrusions from China), if manufactured having metallic elements as published by the Aluminum Association commencing with numbers 1, 3 and 6, and determined to be an extruded product. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Enforcement and Compliance office in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
You can contact them at http://trade.gov/enforcement/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and Countervailing Duty” under “Popular Topics” at the top of the screen), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using CBP’s AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division