CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 950437 LTO
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
880 Front Street, Room 5-S-9
San Diego, California 92188
RE: IA 51/91; Rollbars; Truck Bars; 8302; EN 83.02; EN 87.08; HQ 087542
Dear Sir:
Your memorandum of September 9, 1991 [CLA-1-01:C:SD HW] requested internal advice on the classification of rollbars and truck bars under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Our decision follows.
FACTS:
The articles in question are rollbars and truck bars produced in Mexico. The rollbars, which are used on automotive passenger cars, strengthen the frame of the vehicle and provide cosmetic enhancement. They are constructed of tubular steel having a .125 inch thick wall and a diameter of 2 1/4 inches in a four point design. They are available in deep chrome or competition black. These rollbars are not sold as protection devices and are not intended for competition use, but once installed, they enhance the structure of the vehicle.
The truck bars are used principally to provide a medium for the installation of overhead, auxiliary driving lights and for cosmetic enhancement. They are constructed of 3 inch diameter, heavy wall steel tubing and heavy duty 3/16 inch attaching plates. The truck bars are designed to follow a pickup truck's body and bed contour, and they have two welded tabs to accommodate a light bar or other aftermarket lights. These truck - 2 -
bars are not fabricated for protection purposes.
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification for the rollbars and truck bars under the HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1 states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes . . . ." The competing headings in this case are Heading 8302, HTSUS, and Heading 8708, HTSUS.
Heading 8302, HTSUS, describes base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for coachwork or the like. Subheading 8302.30.30, HTSUS, specifically describes mountings, fittings and similar articles of iron or steel suitable for motor vehicles. This heading can be broken down into the following groups of articles:
(1) mountings that are principally decorative (i.e., ornamental beading strips);
(2) interior mountings which serve some utilitarian function, but which are not principally designed for use in the actual operation of the vehicle (i.e., foot rests, grip bars, rails and handles, interior luggage racks, window operating mechanisms);
(3) fasteners and similar articles for body parts which are not principally designed for use in the actual operation of the vehicle (i.e., brackets and fastening fittings for blinds and tail-boards).
See HQ 087542, dated October 31, 1990; Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Note (EN) 83.02, pgs. 1118-1120. This heading "does not . . . extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs [emphasis in original]." EN 83.02, pg. 1118. Neither the rollbar nor the truck bar form an essential part of the vehicle's structure, and thus, they are not excluded by this note.
Heading 8708, HTSUS, describes parts and accessories of the - 3 -
motor vehicles of Headings 8701 to 8705, HTSUS. The rollbars and truck bars under consideration are principally used on motor vehicles classified in Headings 8703 and 8704, HTSUS. Subheading 8708.29.00, HTSUS, describes other parts and accessories of motor vehicle bodies. This heading includes the following groups of articles:
(1) articles which form the bodies of the vehicles (i.e., floor boards, side panels, doors, window frames);
(2) interior mountings which are principally designed for use in the operation of the vehicle, or fasteners for
such articles (i.e., visors, steering column brackets);
(3) articles principally designed for safety purposes (i.e., seat belts);
(4) interior articles not mounted or fitted (i.e., floor mats);
(5) exterior mountings that perform significant utility
functions (i.e., exterior luggage racks, number plate brackets).
See HQ 087542; EN 87.08, pgs. 1432-1433.
1. Rollbars
Group 2 under Heading 8302, HTSUS, comprises interior mountings which serve some utilitarian function, but which are not principally designed for use in the actual operation of the vehicle. While the rollbars are interior mountings and are not principally designed for use in the actual operation of the vehicle, they serve more than "some utilitarian function."
The rollbars, which are used on automotive passenger cars, strengthen the frame of these vehicles and provide cosmetic enhancement. The importer states that they are not protection devices and are not intended for competition use, but the rollbars were engineered for maximum strength, and, once installed, enhance the structure of the vehicle.
The exemplars listed in Group 2 under Heading 8302, HTSUS, include the following: foot rests; grip bars; rails and handles; rods and spring mechanisms for blinds; interior luggage racks; window operating mechanisms; specialized ash trays. Unlike the exemplars listed in this group, the rollbars perform a significant utilitarian function--they enhance the structural integrity of the vehicle.
The rollbars are also not described by the remaining groups listed above under Heading 8302, HTSUS. They are not principally - 4 -
decorative, and they are not fasteners or similar articles for body parts which are not principally designed for use in the actual operation of the vehicle.
The rollbars are similar to the articles described by group 5 under Heading 8708, HTSUS--exterior mountings that perform significant utility functions. In HQ 087542, wind deflector blades, which were designed to deflect wind and influence the aerodynamic behavior of the vehicle, were found to be in this group, despite the fact that "[s]ome persons may install wind deflectors on vehicles for ornamental purposes." As the wind deflectors, the rollbars "remain in a class or kind of merchandise which is principally used for utility purposes."
However, unlike the wind deflectors and the articles described by group 5, the rollbars are mounted on the interior of vehicles. It is, therefore, necessary to determine whether this factor precludes the classification of the rollbars in Heading 8708, HTSUS. We believe that it does not.
The rollbars are very similar to those articles described by group 5 of Heading 8708, HTSUS. Moreover, they clearly perform a more significant utilitarian function than those articles described by group 2 of Heading 8302, HTSUS. Thus, it is our opinion that the rollbars most closely resemble the articles described in EN 87.08, pgs. 1432-1434, and are, therefore, classifiable in Heading 8708, HTSUS. Thus, where an article mounted on the interior of a vehicle performs a significant utilitarian function, such as enhancing the structural integrity of the vehicle's body, it falls under Heading 8708, HTSUS, rather than Heading 8302, HTSUS. The rollbars are classifiable under subheading 8708.29.00, HTSUS, which provides for "[p]arts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 . . . [o]ther parts and accessories of bodies . . . [o]ther."
2. Truck Bars
Group 1 under Heading 8302, HTSUS, comprises articles that are principally decorative, such as ornamental beading strips. Group 5 under Heading 8708, HTSUS, comprises exterior mountings that perform significant utility functions.
The truck bars, which are mounted on the exterior of vehicles, are used principally to provide a medium for the installation of overhead, auxiliary driving lights and for cosmetic enhancement. They also enhance the structural integrity of the vehicle. It is clear that the truck bars - 5 -
are not "principally decorative." They are not comparable to ornamental beading strips, rather they are exterior mountings that perform a significant utilitarian function. Thus, the truck bars are also classifiable under subheading 8708.29.00, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The rollbars and the truck bars are classifiable under subheading 8708.29.00, HTSUS, which provides for "[p]arts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705
. . . [o]ther parts and accessories of bodies . . . [o]ther." The corresponding rate of duty for articles of this subheading is 3.1% ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division