CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 956226 JAS
District Director of Customs
300 S. Ferry Street
Terminal Island, CA 90731
RE: PRD 2704-93-102874; Microwave Oven Component for Combination
Microwave/Convection Oven; Unfinished Microwave Oven, GRI
2(a); Subheading 8516.60.40, Cooking Stoves, Ranges and
Ovens; 8516.90.20, Parts of Cooking Stoves, Ranges and
Ovens; Section XVI, Note 2(a); HQ 083850, HQ 953456,
HQ 952019
Dear District Director:
This is our decision on Protest No. 2704-93-102874 filed
against your classification of certain microwave oven components
from Thailand. The entries under protest were liquidated on June
11 and July 2, 1993, and this protest timely filed on September
9, 1993.
FACTS:
The merchandise in issue is a microwave oven module for
either the 27 or the 30-inch combination microwave/convection
ovens. As imported, this module lacks operating controls and a
standard outlet plug and cord. After importation, the microwave
oven module is incorporated into the convection oven chassis and
separate controls for each are added to the combination. In
addition, the microwave module has no conventional wall plug but
must be connected to the convection oven module which we presume
can be plugged into a home electrical outlet.
The microwave module was entered under a duty-free provision
for parts of cooking stoves, ranges and ovens. Alternatively,
counsel for the protestant argues that the microwave module is to
be classified under a provision for other ovens on the theory
that the microwave/convection oven combination is a composite
machine with the convection feature performing the principal
function. - 2 -
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8516 [O]ther electrothermic appliances of a
kind used for domestic purposes; parts
thereof:
8516.50.00 Microwave ovens...4 percent
8516.60 Other ovens; cooking stoves, ranges,
cooking plates, boiling ranges, grillers
and roasters:
8516.60.40 Cooking stoves, ranges and ovens...Free
8516.90 Parts:
8516.90.20 Of cooking stoves, ranges and ovens...Free
ISSUE:
Whether the microwave module is an unfinished good for
tariff purposes; if it is, whether under Section XVI, Note 2(a)
it is included in a subheading of heading 8516.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 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, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
The provision in heading 8516, electrothermic appliances of
a kind used for domestic purposes, is one governed by use. Group
Italglass U.S.A., Inc. v. United States, Slip Op. 93-46 (1993).
The dimensions, capacity, power output and other features of a
complete microwave oven of the type in issue here lead us to
conclude that it is an electrothermic appliance belonging to a
class or kind principally used in the household.
Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to
include that article unfinished, provided that, as entered, the
unfinished article has the essential character of the finished
article. GRI 2(a), HTSUS. A complete microwave oven is an
enclosed chamber or compartment that cooks using electronics, not
applied heat. It defrosts, heats, reheats and cooks utilizing a
magnetron tube to convert household electrical (120V) energy into
high-frequency microwaves that reflect off the walls of the oven. - 3 -
These waves cook the food by agitating the water molecules in it,
creating frictional heat. The microwave module in issue is
complete, lacking only the operating controls and plug and cord.
As imported, is has the aggregate of distinctive component parts
that establishes its identity as what it is, a microwave oven.
We conclude that, as imported, the microwave module has the
essential character of an electrothermic household appliance of
heading 8516.
It is settled that with certain limited exceptions goods
which are parts of machines of chapters 84 and 85 are to be
classified in accordance with Section XVI, Note 2, HTSUS. HQ
952019, dated March 18, 1993. In accordance with Note 2(a),
parts which are goods included in any of the headings of chapters
84 and 85 are in all cases to be classified in their respective
headings. In view of the previous discussion, we conclude that
the microwave module in issue, having the essential character of
a complete or finished microwave oven, is provided for in heading
8516. It is classifiable in subheading 8516.50.20, HTSUS, as a
microwave oven. This obviates any discussion of an alternative
parts claim. In addition, the claim under subheading 8516.60.40,
based on the theory that the convection oven feature performs the
principal function, is not persuasive as the microwave module, as
imported, is not a composite machine under Section XVI, Note 3,
HTSUS. We have ruled that microwave/convection oven
combinations, with both modules being imported together, are
composite machines classifiable in subheading 8516.50.00. The
microwave feature in both cases was held to constitute the
principal function. HQ 083850, dated June 9, 1989, HQ 953456,
dated February 25, 1994.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the microwave oven module
under protest is provided for in heading 8516 as an
electrothermic appliance of a kind used for domestic purposes.
It is classifiable in subheading 8516.50.00, HTSUS.
The protest is DENIED. In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b)
of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject:
Revised Protest Directive, you should mail this decision,
together with the Customs Form 19, to the protestant no later
than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of
the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be
accomplished prior to mailing 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 - 4 -
via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and to the public via the
Diskette Subscription Service, the Freedom of Information Act and
other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division