CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 950123 LTO
District Director of Customs
U.S. Customs Service
US Customhouse
1 East Bay Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
RE: Protest No. 1704-90-000114; partition tiles; 8302.10.60;
9403.90.80; HQ 086482; S.G.B. Scaffolding & Shoring Co.,
Inc. v. United States, 82 Cust. Ct. 197, C.D. 4802 (1979);
EN 73.08; EN 94.03
Dear Sir:
This is our response regarding Further Review of Protest No.
1704-90-000114, dated June 13, 1990, which pertains to the
classification of partition tiles under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
FACTS:
The articles in question are tiles comprised of 24-gauge,
1008 cold rolled steel, with two support brackets and bent edges.
They come in sizes of 24", 30", and 48". Subsequent to
importation, they are lined with fabric or vinyl to cosmetically
enhance their appearance. The bent edges and brackets allow the
tiles to be attached to a free-standing frame to form a partition
wall.
In NY Ruling 847938, issued on December 22, 1989, the
partition tiles were classified under subheading 7308.90.90,
HTSUSA, which provides for "plates, rods, angles, shapes,
sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of
iron or steel . . . ." The importer contends that the tiles are
classifiable under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUSA, which provides
for "[o]ther furniture and parts thereof . . . [p]arts . . .
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[o]ther . . . [o]ther . . . [o]f metal," or, in the alternative,
under subheading 8302.10.60, HTSUSA, which provides for
"[h]inges, and parts thereof."
ISSUE:
Whether the partition tiles are properly classifiable under
subheading 7308.90.90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for
"[s]tructures . . . and parts of structures . . . plates, rods,
angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in
structures, of iron or steel."
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUSA
govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1
states, in pertinent part:
...classification shall be determined according to the terms
of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes...
Heading 7308, HTSUSA, provides for "[s]tructures . . . and parts
of structures (for example, bridges and bridge sections, lock
gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors
and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters,
balustrades, pillars and columns) of iron or steel; plates, rods,
angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in
structures, of iron or steel." The articles in question form
walls which are used to partition off an area into separate
rooms.
In HQ 086482, dated April 3, 1990, this office stated that
"[t]ariff terms are normally interpreted in accordance with their
common and commercial meanings, which are presumed to be the
same." Reference was made in HQ 086482 to S.G.B. Scaffolding &
Shoring Co., Inc. v. United States, 82 Cust. Ct. 197, C.D. 4802
(1979), wherein the court examined the common meaning of the term
"structure" under an equivalent provision in the HTS predecessor
tariff code, the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS),
and determined that the term includes assemblies of structural
members with load-carrying or weight-bearing capability, as well
as the following: "the grouping of various parts of an assembled
entity; any construction, production, or piece of work
artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in
some definite manner; and things made up of more or less
interdependent elements or parts or having a definite or fixed
pattern of organization." In addition, the court rejected the
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criterion of permanence. Based on these principles, this office
classified two styles of portable steel corral panels under
subheading 7308.90.90, HTSUSA. See HQ 086482. Similarly, the
tiles which are the subject of this protest, form partition walls
and thus, part of the structure itself, are provided for under
this subheading.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes constitute the Council's official
interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally
binding, they provide a commentary on the scope of each heading
of the Harmonized System, and are thus useful in ascertaining
classification under the System. In explaining the scope of
Heading 7308, HTSUSA, EN 73.08, pg. 1020, states that it covers
complete or incomplete metal structures, as well as parts of
structures.
The protestant contends that the tiles are classifiable
under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUSA, as parts of furniture, or,
in the alternative, under subheading 8302.10.60, HTSUSA, as
hinges, and parts thereof. The articles in question are neither
parts of furniture nor hinges, nor parts thereof.
EN 94.03, pg. 1578, states that Heading 9403, HTSUSA,
"covers furniture and parts thereof, not covered by the previous
headings." (emphasis in original). As shown above, the tiles are
provided for in subheading 7308.90.90, HTSUSA. Moreover, the
tiles are not a part of any item covered by Heading 9403, HTSUSA.
EN 94.03, pg. 1578, further states that this heading includes
furniture, such as, cabinets, linen chests, bread chests,
dressers, cupboards, desks, play-pens, clothes lockers, filing
cabinets, school-desks, altars, pulpits, counters, dress racks,
microscope tables, laboratory benches, etc. The tiles in
question have bent edges and brackets which allow them to be
attached to a freestanding frame to form a partition wall. Thus,
they are part of the wall, or the "structure," and not a part of
any individual piece of furniture.
As to the protestant's contention that the tiles are
"[h]inges, or parts thereof," and provided for under subheading
8302.10.60, HTSUSA, it is clear that these tiles neither look
like nor function as hinges. They are simply long sheets of
metal in which the edges have been bent under so that they can
become part of a partition wall, and therefore, are not
classifiable under subheading 8302.10.60, HTSUSA.
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HOLDING:
The partition tiles are classifiable within subheading
7308.90.90, HTSUSA, which provides for "[s]tructures . . . and
parts of structures . . . of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles,
shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in
structures, of iron or steel . . . ." The protest should be
denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the
Customs Form 19 and mailed to the protestant as part of the
notice of action on the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division