CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954820 DWS
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
1 East Bay Street, Room 104
Savannah, GA 31401
RE: Protest No. 1703-93-100104: "Linerflex" Flexographic Printing
Press; Various Parts; Main Printing Head; U.S. v. Baldt
Anchor, Chain & Forge Division of Boston Metals Co.;
GRI 2(a); Complete and Unassembled Article; Unfinished
Article; Explanatory Note 3(b)(VIII); 8443.30.00
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding the request for
further review of Protest No. 1703-93-100104 concerning your action
in classifying and assessing duty on various parts of a "Linerflex"
flexographic printing press under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of various parts for a "Linerflex"
flexographic printing press. The parts which are the subject of
this protest, valued at $3,255,000, arrived at the port of Savannah
on December 27, 1992, on the M/V Bonn Express. The main printing
head to the machine, which was intended to shipped with the rest
of the parts on the M/V Bonn Express, arrived at the port of
Savannah, Georgia, on January 3, 1993, on the M/V Nurnberg
Atlantic. The main printing head is valued at $1,107,638. At the
time of entry, it was assigned a different entry number and is not
the subject of this protest. It is claimed that the main printing
head was to be included in the same shipment as the other parts on
the M/V Bonn Express, however, due to various occurrences, this was
not possible.
The merchandise was entered under subheading 8443.30.00,
HTSUS, as flexographic printing machinery. The entry was
liquidated on April 23, 1993, under the various subheadings of the
HTSUS which specifically describe the parts. The protest was
timely filed on July 20, 1993.
Besides the various subheadings of the HTSUS which
specifically describe the flexographic printing press parts, the
remaining subheading under consideration is as follows:
8443.30.00: [f]lexographic printing machinery.
The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
under this provision is 3.3 percent ad valorem.
ISSUE:
Whether the shipment of the various parts of the flexographic
printing press, and the shipment of the main printing head, each
shipment having been entered on different dates, constitute a
complete and unassembled flexographic printing press under the
HTSUS.
Whether the shipment of the various parts, excluding the
shipment of the main printing head, constitutes an unfinished
flexographic printing press.
Whether the various parts are classifiable under subheading
8443.30.00, HTSUS, as flexographic printing machinery, or under
the various HTSUS subheadings which specifically describe the
parts.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance
with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order.
GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
It is well settled that articles which are not imported
together are precluded from being an entirety. U.S. v. Baldt
Anchor, Chain & Forge Division of Boston Metals Co., 59 CCPA 122,
C.A.D. 1051, 429 F.2d 1403 (1972).
The term "entirety", which was used in the Tariff Schedules
of the United States (TSUS), is embodied in GRI 2(a) of the HTSUS.
GRI 2(a) states that:
[a]ny reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to
include a reference to that article incomplete or
unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or
unfinished article has the essential character of the
complete or finished article. It shall also include a
reference to that article complete or finished (or falling
to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this
rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
The shipment of the various parts and the shipment of the main
printing head do not together constitute a complete and unassembled
flexographic printing press. The two shipments arrived at the port
of Savannah on two different dates, and, under Baldt Anchor, they
cannot together constitute a complete printing press as if the
shipments were entered at the same time. The fact that the main
printing head was intended to be included in the subject shipment
is irrelevant as to the classification of the subject parts. See
HQ 081999, dated December 10, 1990.
It is also our position that, under GRI 2(a), the shipment of
the various parts, without the main printing head, does not
constitute an unfinished flexographic printing press. In
understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized.
The Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive, are to be used to
determine the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg.
35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). Explanatory Note 3(b)(VIII) (p.
4) states that:
[t]he factor which determines essential character will vary
as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example,
be determined by the nature of the material or component,
its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a
constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.
The essential character of the printing press is not imparted
by the shipment of the various parts, but by the main printing
head. Without the main printing head, it would be impossible for
the printing press to function as intended. Therefore, the main
printing head plays the primary role in relation to the use of the
printing press.
Consequently, because the shipment of the various parts does
not constitute an unfinished printing press, the parts together
are not classifiable under subheading 8443.30.00, HTSUS. They are,
however, classifiable under the subheadings of the HTSUS which
specifically describe the parts.
HOLDING:
The various parts of the flexographic printing press are
classifiable under the subheadings of the HTSUS which specifically
describe the parts.
The protest should be denied in full. In accordance with
Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August
4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision,
together with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office
to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this
letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the
decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision.
Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations
and Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to
Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the
public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Lexis, Freedom of
Information Act, and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director