CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 955081 MMC
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
300 S. Ferry Street
Rm. 1001
Terminal Island, CA 90731
RE: Protest No. 2704-93-102469; Commercial Front Mowers; EN 84.33;
HRL 952244, 066221
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding the request for
further review of Protest No. 2704-93-102469, which concerns the
classification of commercial front mowers under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The protestant, Ford New Holland, Inc. (FNH), has been
importing commercial mowers from the Ishikawajima Shibaura
Machinery Co., Ltd. of Japan, for the past several years. These
articles are identified as models CM 222, CM 224, CM 272, and CM
274. The first two digits refer to the net engine horsepower, and
the third digit designates two or four-wheel drive.
According to protestant's catalogue, all of these models are
4 wheeled riding mowers, with a driving seat, a 3 cylinder liquid-
cooled rear-mounted diesel engine, power hydrostatic steering, two
forward and two reverse speeds, a front mounted power take off,
independent right and left break drums, two pedal foot speed
controls, front and rear turf tires, drawbar, and a standard two-
post foldable rollover protective structure.
Four different mower decks may be suspended from the cab's
front carriers. They are a 60 or 72 inch side-discharge mower, a
72 inch rear-discharge mower which, according to the catalogue,
keeps clippings off sidewalks and roadways, or a 60 inch flail
mower which uses cupped blades to shred clippings for better
mulching and decomposition. The decks may be hydraulically lifted
and lowered for ease of transport, servicing and repair.
Additionally, the catalogue states that the mowers "...are
designed specifically for production mowing", but "...options and
attachments are provided that stretch an investor's dollar". Such
options and attachments include, a hydraulically operated grass
collection system for the side-discharge mowers, a 52 or 62 inch
wide heavy-duty two stage snow thrower that allows for clearing
snow from drives, walkways or parking lots, a 60 inch front blade
for clearing snow or other light-duty blade work and a leaf and
debris blower which blows air at 260 mph to clear sidewalks,
parking lots, and golf greens of litter and leaves.
From the literature, it appears the mowers are designed
specifically to mow lawns on large estates, commercial grounds,
golf courses and the like.
The mowers were entered under heading 8701, HTSUS, which
provides, in pertinent part, for tractors. The entries were
liquidated under heading 8433, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent
part, for grass or hay mowers, on June 4, and 11, 1993. A protest
was timely filed on August 2, 1993.
The subheadings at issue are as follows:
8433.11.00 [h]arvesting or threshing machinery, including straw
or fodder balers; grass or hay mowers; machines for
cleaning, sorting or grading eggs, fruit or other
agricultural produce, other than machinery of
heading 8437; parts thereof: [m]owers for lawns,
parks or sports grounds: [p]owered with the cutting
device rotating in a horizontal plane.
8701.90.10 [t]ractors (other than those of heading 8709):
[o]ther: [s]uitable for agricultural use.
ISSUE:
Are the commercial mowers classifiable as tractors or grass
mowers?
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, HTSUS, states in part that for legal purposes,
classification shall be determined according to the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be
consulted. The Explanatory Notes (EN), although not dispositive,
are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the HTSUS.
54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128, (August 23, 1989). En 84.33, pg. 1211-
1212, states, in pertinent part, that:
(A) [h]arvesting or threshing machinery, including straw or
fodder balers; grass or hay mowers
These include:
(1) [l]awn mowers, whether worked by hand or motor driven.
They may have a cutter bar like an agricultural mower, rotary
blades which cut the grass against a fixed horizontal blade,
or a rotating disc with knives on the outer edge...
[t]his heading also covers lawn mowers, known as riding
mowers, consisting of three or four wheeled basic machines
fitted with a driving seat and having a permanently attached
cutter, i.e., one which is removed only for repair or
maintenance. Since their principal function is the mowing of
lawns, they remain in this heading even if they have a
coupling device for hauling or pushing light attachments such
as a trailer.
The protestant argues that since their mowers do not have
permanently attached cutters, they are not lawn mowers, but are
instead tractors suitable for agricultural use. We disagree.
En 87.01, pg. 1425, states, in pertinent part, that:
[t]he heading does not cover propelling bases specially
designed, constructed or reinforced to form an integral part
of a machine performing a function such as lifting,
excavating, levelling, etc., even if the propelling base uses
traction or propulsion for the execution of this function...
[a]s a general rule, propelling bases forming an integral part
of a machine designed for handling, excavating, etc., can be
distinguished from the tractors of this heading by their
special constructional features (shape, chassis, means of
locomotion, etc.). For propelling bases of the tractor type,
various technical features relating essentially to the
structure of the complete unit and to equipment specially
designed for functions other than hauling or pushing should
be taken into consideration.
We are of the opinion that the present articles are designed
and intended to operate as an integrated unit, a propelling base
and a mowing deck, for the principal function of mowing.
Additionally, the mowers meet the description of lawn mower.
Despite the EN proviso for permanently attached blades, the
models in question are by design and function, of the class or kind
of machine known as riding lawn mowers or sometimes lawn tractors.
All models in question are 4 wheeled riding mowers, with a driving
seat. While the cutter is not permanently attached, the principal
function of the mower is the mowing of lawns. The only reason the
blade is removable is to accommodate ancillary coupling devices,
which, on occasion, remove snow or blow leaves. Additionally, it
appears from the pictures in the literature, that the commercial
front mowers are designed specifically to mow lawns on large
estates, commercial grounds, golf courses and the like, and are
marketed to people responsible for mowing those areas.
This finding is consistent with Headquarters Ruling Letter
(HRL) 952244, dated October 5, 1992. The subject of this ruling,
a 92" mower was sold exclusively to sod farms and operated with its
cutting blades in a horizontal plane, and was powered from the
power take off of a tractor. It was pulled behind a tractor for
the purpose of cutting grass on sod farms. The ruling held that
the term "lawn" is defined as "ground (as around a house or in a
garden or park) that is covered with grass and is kept mowed.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, pg. 652 (1977). Because the
92" mower was used to cut lawns it was classified under subheading
8433.11.00, HTSUS. See also, HRL 066221, dated February 24, 1982,
which classified mowers under item 666.10 of the Tariff Schedules
of the United States (TSUS), the precursor provision to subheading
8433.11.00, HTSUS. Therefore, the articles in question are
classifiable under subheading 8433.11.00, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
Models CM 222, CM 224, CM 272, and CM 274 are classifiable
under subheading 8433.11.00, HTSUS, as [h]arvesting or threshing
machinery, including straw or fodder balers; grass or hay mowers;
machines for cleaning, sorting or grading eggs, fruit or other
agricultural produce, other than machinery of heading 8437; parts
thereof: [m]owers for lawns, parks or sports grounds: [p]owered
with the cutting device rotating in a horizontal plane, with a
general column one duty rate of 4% ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division