CLA-2 RR:CTF:TCM 967525 JAS
Ms. Lori Aldinger
Import Coordinator
Rite Aid Corporation
P.O. Box 3165
Harrisburg, PA 17105
RE: Surge Protector; PD B89475 Revoked
Dear Ms. Aldinger:
In PD B89475, which the Port Director, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Phoenix, AZ, issued to you on September 25, 1997, a surge protector was found to be classifiable in subheading 8536.30.8000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), as other apparatus for protecting electrical circuits, for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V.
Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed revocation of PD B89475 was published on October 5, 2005, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 39, Number 41. No comments were received in response to that notice.
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FACTS:
The article in question, designated item number 972924, is a six-outlet surge
protector with a 33-inch heavy-duty line cord. All outlets are grounded and
polarized for safety. The article has a safety overload circuit breaker which shuts
off immediately.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8536 Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:
8536.20.00 Automatic circuit breakers
Other apparatus for protecting electrical circuits:
Motor overload protectors
Other
* * * *
8537 Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other
bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of
heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the
distribution of electricity…:
For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:
8537.10.90 Other
ISSUE:
Whether the surge protector, as described, is a good of heading 8536 or heading 8537.
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LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Under General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), goods are to be classified according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. Though not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The 85.36 ENs, under (II) APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, discusses fuses and indicates further that the heading includes other devices for preventing overload of circuits (e.g., electro-magnetic devices which automatically break the circuit when the current exceeds a certain value). Both the
six-outlet surge protector and the safety overload circuit breaker in the article under consideration are devices that prevent overload of circuits. They constitute apparatus for protecting electrical circuits of heading 8536.
In Universal Electronics, Inc. v. United States, 112 F.3d 488 (Fed. Cir.,1997), articles incorporating two kinds of devices of heading 8536, i.e., switches and terminals, were found to be classifiable in heading 8537. See also HQ 964608, dated April 18, 2001, which noted that boards and panels were provided within the 8537 heading text, and classified video jacks having two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, i.e., connectors and switches, in heading 8537. Therefore, the device at issue, which incorporates a surge protector and a circuit breaker (two kinds of apparatus of heading 8536) on a board panel, console or other base, principally used for electric control, is provided for in heading 8537.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the surge protector designated item number 972924 is provided for in heading 8537. It is classifiable in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS.
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EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
PD B89475, dated September 25, 1997, is revoked. In accordance with
19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Gail A. Hamill
for Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division