CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 087932 CRS
Mr. John Montoya
Import/Export Specialist
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
One Canon Plaza
Lake Success, NY 11042-1113
RE: Modification of HRL 083459; photocopier document feed belt;
Note 7(b), Chapter 59; Notes 1(a), 2(b), Chapter 90; only textile
articles of heading 5911 excluded from Chapter 90 by virtue of
Note 1(a).
Dear Mr. Montoya:
This is further to Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 083459
of March 23, 1990, on the classification of certain photocopier
machinery parts and accessories from Japan under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). We have
recently had occasion to review this ruling. Our decision
follows below.
FACTS:
Three of the four articles at issue in HRL 083459, were
classified in subheading 5911.90.0000, HTSUSA, and have no
further relevance for the purpose of this letter. The fourth
part at issue, a document feed belt (part no. FA2-3600), was
classified in subheading 9009.90.0030, HTSUSA, and is the
subject of this letter.
The belt is used in the automatic document feeder of a
photocopying machine. It feeds paper to, and removes it from,
the copying surface. Document feeders are normally mounted on
the top of the copying machine and sold separately. The belt is
constructed of tetron, a polyester fabric. A ridge or rib of
urethane rubber one-eighth of an inch wide runs lengthwise along
the belt.
In HRL 083459, it was held that the document feed belt was
not a textile product for technical uses of heading 5911, HTSUSA,
and was therefore classifiable in heading 9009, HTSUSA.
ISSUE:
Whether document feed belts are classifiable as conveyor
belts of heading 5910 or as textile products for technical uses
of heading 5911.
If prima facie classifiable in heading 5910, whether Note 2,
Chapter 90, prevails over the terms of heading 5910 such that the
feed belt in question is classifiable as an accessory of heading
9009, HTSUSA.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Three headings are potentially applicable to the instant
merchandise: heading 5911, HTSUSA, which provides for textile
products and articles, for technical uses; heading 5910, HTSUSA,
which provides for transmission or conveyor belts or belting of
textile material; and heading 9009, HTSUSA, which provides for
photocopying apparatus and parts and accessories thereof.
In HRL 083459 we stated that the document feed belt was not
ejusdem generis with the articles of heading 5911, and on this
basis, held that it was classifiable in heading 9009. Although
Customs is still of the opinion that the document feed belt is
classifiable in heading 9009, we no longer adhere to the
rationale for this result as stated in HRL 083459.
Rather, the feed belt is excluded from heading 5911 purely
by operation of the pertinent Chapter Notes. Note 7(b), Chapter
59, HTSUSA, confines heading 5911 to certain textile articles,
other than those of headings 5908 to 5910. The document feed
belt is made from textiles and is similar to a conveyor belt in
that it feeds paper to, and removes it from, the copying surface
of a photocopier. It is therefore prima facie classifiable as a
conveyor belt of heading 5910, HTSUSA. Since it is classifiable,
ceteris paribus, in heading 5910, it is excluded from the scope
of heading 5911 by virtue of Note 7(b).
Thus the classification of the feed belt devolves to a
choice between heading 5910 (belts) and heading 9009 (parts and
accessories of photocopiers). Within Chapter 90, two notes are
relevant for the purposes of this discussion. Note 1, Chapter
90, HTSUSA, is exclusionary, providing in pertinent part that the
chapter does not cover:
(a) Articles of a kind used in machines, appliances or
for other technical uses, of vulcanized rubber
other than hard rubber (heading No. 40.16), of
leather or of composition leather (heading No.
42.04) or of textile material (heading No.
59.11)....
The view has been advanced that the parentheticals of Note 1(a)
are merely illustrative in nature, and that the intent of the
Note was not merely to exclude articles of heading 5911, but to
exclude any article made from the referenced materials, including
those made from textiles. Although the language preceding the
parenthetical reference to heading 5911 does not mimic the terms
of heading 5911 itself, we do not find this persuasive of any
broad intent to exclude all textiles from Chapter 90. Having
consulted the Harmonized System Committee, and construing the
tariff as a whole, in Customs' opinion, Note 1(a) is limited in
scope to the three headings cited therein and thus does not
exclude articles of heading 5910 from classification as parts and
accessories of Chapter 90. Except for certain exclusions
referred to in Note 1, Chapter 90, the articles of the chapter,
including parts and accessories, may be of any material. General
Explanatory Note (I), Chapter 90. In addition, where the
drafters of the Harmonized System intended to exclude conveyor
and transmission belts from classification in a particular
chapter, these articles were specifically referenced. Notes 1(a)
and 1(e), Section XVI. Thus only certain textile articles are
excluded by Note 1(a), i.e., those of heading 5911.
Accordingly, subject to Note 1, parts and accessories of the
machines, apparatus, instruments and articles of Chapter 90 are
classifiable pursuant Note 2 which provides in relevant part:
(b) Other parts and accessories, if suitable for use
solely with a particular kind of machine,
instrument or apparatus, or with a number of
machines, instruments or apparatus of the same
heading...are to be classified with the machines,
instruments or apparatus of that kind....
Document feed belts are not integral components of photocopier
machines but enhancement devices that allow copier machines to
operate more efficiently; they are normally mounted on top of
copiers and are usually sold separately from them. Accordingly,
they are considered to be accessories. As the belt in question
is an accessory for use solely with photocopiers, it is Customs'
opinion that Note 2(b) prevails over the terms of heading 5910
and requires that the instant feed belt be classified in heading
9009.
HOLDING:
This ruling does not alter the classification of the instant
document feed belt (part no. FA2-3600). It remains classifiable
in subheading 9009.90.0030, HTSUSA, under the provision for
photocopying apparatus...; parts and accessories; parts and
accessories of electrostatic photocopying apparatus operating by
reproducing the original image via an intermediate onto the copy
(indirect process). It is dutiable at the rate of 3.9 percent ad
valorem. However, except for photoreceptors or assemblies
containing photoreceptors, photocopier parts and accessories
classifiable in this subheading are subject to a temporary
modification in duty under Chapter 99, Subchapter II, HTSUSA.
Heading 9902.90.90, HTSUSA, provides that parts and accessories
of electrostatic copying machines which operate via an
intermediate process are free of duty if entered on or before
December 31, 1992.
Accordingly, pursuant to section 177.9, Customs Regulations
(19 CFR 177.9) HRL 083459 dated March 23, 1990, is modified in
conformity with the foregoing.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division