CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084811 VEA
Steve Sanders
Border Brokerage Company
P.O. Box B
Blaine, Washington 98230
RE: Choker grapple and slack-pulling carriages, which are used
in the logging industry.
Dear Mr. Sanders:
Your letter of April 27, 1989, to our New York office,
on behalf of Johnson Industries Ltd., requests a ruling on the
classification of equipment used in the logging industry under
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA). The equipment was classified in headings 8431 and
8483, and the request was forwarded to Headquarters to
determine whether the articles could be classified as
machinery, equipment and implements used for agricultural or
horticultural purposes in subheading 9817.00.5000.
FACTS:
The articles at issue consist of a choker grapple and
slack-pulling carriages, which are used in the logging
industry. The choker grapple and slack-pulling carriages are
used with log yarders.
The choker grapple consists of two curved hinged metal
jaws, a cable operated system to open and close the grapple
jaws and a slider mechanism. It is used with a log yarder to
transport trees from the logging area to a central collection
point.
The slack-pulling carriages are also used with a log
yarder. They consist of several sheaves mounted in a block or
housing with an opening to which choker cables holding logs can
be suspended. The sheaves allow the carriage to be pulled
horizontally along the yarder line in order to transport the
logs. The carriages include other features such as double
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driver sheaves, non-twist line infeed and extended side-block
capacity.
Our New York office classified these articles in the
following subheadings: the choker grapple in subheading
8431.49.1090 and the slack pulling carriage in subheading
8483.50.8080. You ask whether these articles could be
classified as machinery, equipment and implements to be used
for agricultural or horticultural purposes in subheading
9817.00.5000.
ISSUE:
Whether the choker grapple and slack pulling carriage
are machinery, equipment and implements to be used for
agricultural or horticultural purposes classifiable in
subheading 9817.00.5000.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs), the legal
principles by which merchandise is classified, govern
classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUSA). GRI 1 states, in part, that the
primary consideration in the classification of goods is the
terms of the heading and any relative section or chapter notes.
The subheading at issue provides:
9817.00.5000 Machinery, equipment and implements to
be used for agricultural or
horticultural purposes
Pursuant to GRI 1, classification in subheading
9817.00.5000 requires that the articles be used for
agricultural or horticultural purposes. U.S. Note 2(t),
Subchapter XVII states that the provisions of subheadings
9817.00.5000 and 9817.00.6000 do not apply to articles provided
for in various headings. Headings 8431 and 8483 are not
included in this note. Thus, the choker grapple and slack
pulling carriage are eligible for classification under
9817.00.5000 if they are "machinery, equipment and implements
to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes."
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Courts have classified equipment used in the logging
industry as agricultural implements in item 666.00 under the
Tariff Schedule of the United States (TSUS). See: The United
States v. Norman G. Jensen, Inc., 76 Cust. Ct. 42, C.D. 4634,
408 F. Supp. 1379 (1976) aff'd. 550 F. 2d 662 (1977); Border
Brokerage Co., Inc., v. United States, 2 CIT 326 (1981) and
Border Brokerage Co., Inc., v. United States, 6 CIT 262 (1983).
In these decisions, the courts held that the growing and
harvesting of trees constituted an agriculture pursuit and
merchandise used for such purposes was within the provision for
agricultural implements. Thus, both the choker grapple and
slack pulling carriage would be entitled to free entry under
heading 9817 if there is actual use certification in compliance
with 19 CFR 10.138.
HOLDING:
The choker grapple and slack pulling carriage are
machinery, equipment and implements to be used for agricultural
or horticultural purposes classifiable in subheading
9817.00.5000.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division