CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 960374 JAS
Ms. Catherine F. Winfrey
Fritz Companies, Inc.
3327 N. 7th. St. Trafficway
Kansas City, KS 66115
RE: NY A89809 Affirmed; Rubber Compounding Machines; Machinery for Mixing, Kneading and Stirring Rubber With Carbon Black, Oil, and Other Raw Materials; Machinery for Working Rubber, Common Meaning, THK America, Inc. v. U.S.; Heading 8479, Machines and Mechanical Appliances, n.s.i.e.
Dear Ms. Winfrey:
In a letter, dated March 25, 1997, on behalf of Midwest
Werner & Pfleiderer, Inc., you request reconsideration of a
ruling issued to you on the classification under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of mixing machinery
manufactured in Germany. Descriptive literature was submitted.
FACTS:
In NY A89809, issued to you on December 12, 1996, the
Director, National Commodity Specialist Division, held that the
GK-N and GK-E series internal mixers were classifiable in
subheading 8477.80.00, HTSUS, as other machinery for working
rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these
materials. The ruling described the machines as being used to
mix rubber, carbon black, oil, other raw materials, and chemicals
into a homogeneous mass for the subsequent production of tires,
hoses and gaskets, and other rubber articles. These machines
consist of a feeding unit featuring a hydraulic or pneumatic ram,
a uni-drive reduction gear, a mixing chamber with rotors, and a
hydraulically operated discharge door. - 2 -
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8477 Machinery for working rubber or plastics or for the manufacture of products from these materials, not specified or included elsewhere in [Chapter 84}...:
8477.80.00 Other machinery
* * * *
8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in [Chapter 84]:
Other machines and mechanical appliances:
8479.82.00 Mixing, kneading, crushing, grinding, screening, sifting, homogenizing, emulsifying or stirring machines
You claim that the subheading 8477.80.00, HTSUS,
classification is incorrect because the machines do not
manufacture rubber products. You state that these machines are
sold to manufacturers of rubber tires, hoses and gaskets, but
that they merely discharge the mixed rubber compound onto a
conveyor that transports the mixture to other, separate machines
in the plant that perform the actual manufacturing operations.
You maintain that subheading 8479.82.00, HTSUS, other machines
and mechanical appliances, not specified or included elsewhere in
[Chapter 84] represents the correct classification.
ISSUE:
Whether machines that mix rubber compounds "work" rubber for
purposes of heading 8477.
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.
- 3 -
It is important to note that heading 8477 provides not only
for machines that manufacture products from rubber or plastics
but also for machines for working rubber or plastics. As to the
provision you claim, heading 8479 is restricted to machinery
having individual functions which is not excluded from Chapter 84
by any relevant legal note, and which is not covered more
specifically by a heading in any other Chapter of the
Nomenclature. Therefore, if the mixing machines are described by
heading 8477, or any other heading in the HTSUS, they must be
classified there.
Heading 8477 is a "use" provision. Additional U.S. Rule of
Interpretation 1(a), HTSUS, states in relevant part that a
classification controlled by use is to be determined in
accordance with the use of the class or kind of goods to which
the imported good belongs, and the controlling use is the
principal use.
Tariff terms that are not defined in the HTSUS are to be
construed in accordance with their common and commercial
meanings, which are presumed to be the same, unless a
demonstrated legislative intent indicates another terminology
should govern. See THK America, Inc. v. United States, Slip Op.
97-61 (Ct. Int'l Trade, decided May 19, 1997), and related cases.
The word "working" appearing in heading 8477 is defined neither
in the text of the HTSUS nor in the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes. Therefore, we
must ascertain its common meaning by consulting dictionaries and
other lexicographic sources. The term "mix" is a listed synonym
for the term "work." Several leading dictionaries are in accord
in defining these terms:
mix "to combine or blend into one mass or mixture
...to create or form by adding ingredients together;
" work "to form or shape, to mold."
In our opinion, machines that effectively mix rubber with carbon
black, oil, other raw materials and chemicals, to form a
homogeneous mass, can reasonably be said to work the rubber for
purposes of heading 8477.
- 4 -
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the GK-N and GK-E series
internal mixers are provided for in heading 8477. They are
classifiable in subheading 8477.80.00, HTSUS. NY A89809, dated
December 12, 1996, is affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification
Appeals Division