CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 962945 JAS
Lawrence R. Pilon, Esq.
Hodes & Pilon
33 North Dearborn Street, Suite 2204
Chicago, Illinois 60602-3109
RE: NY C80699 Modified; Industrial Welding Robots Without Welding Heads; HQ 962105
Dear Pilon:
In NY C80699, dated November 7, 1997, which the Director of Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, issued to you on behalf of Genesis Systems Group, certain industrial welding robots, products of Germany, were found to be classifiable in subheading 8515.21.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as machines and apparatus for the resistance welding of metal. We have reconsidered the classification of these robot models and believe that it is incorrect. The metal inert gas (MIG) welding robot models KR6/1, KR15/1, KR30/1 and KR30L15/1, as well as the industrial spot welder model KR125L90/1, also the subject of NY C80699, are not in issue here.
Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed modification of NY C80699 was published on August 11, 1999, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 33, Number 32. One comment was received in response to that notice which opposed certain aspects of the proposed modification. Upon review, Customs determined that the commenter’s objections were not sustainable.
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FACTS:
The industrial robot models in issue here were identified in NY C80699 as the KR125/1, KR125L100/1, KR150/1, KR150L120/1, KR150L150/1 and KR 200/1. The industrial robots each consist of an articulated structure, similar to an arm, on a base with drilled bolt holes for attachment to a fixed surface. Each is imported with a KRC 1 controller, which is a device that utilizes preprogrammed software containing specific operating instructions for the robot’s tooling. Each controller is stand-alone and floor mounted and is connected to its robot by power cables and signal connectors. The six robot models in issue have lifting capacities or load ratings of 100 kilograms or more. The other robot models in NY C80699 were said to have load ratings of less than 100 kilograms. All of the robots were imported without welding heads. These will be added after importation. Although information available to Customs at the time indicated that all of the robots were capable of use in handling, assembling, spraying, deburring and glueing/sealing applications, among others, the six robot models listed above were classified in subheading 8515.21.00, HTSUS, because their load ratings indicated they belonged to a class or kind of machines principally used for welding.
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in [chapter 84]...:
8479.50.00 Industrial robots, not elsewhere specified or included
* * * *
8515 Electric...welding machines and apparatus, whether or not capable of cutting...:
Machines and apparatus for resistance welding of metal:
8515.21.00 Fully or partly automatic
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* * * *
8537 Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases...for electric control or the distribution of electricity...:
8537.10 For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:
8537.10.90 Other
ISSUE:
Whether industrial robots imported with stand-alone controllers, but without welding heads, are classifiable as welding machines of heading 8515.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Under General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), goods are to be classified 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.
GRI 3(b) states, in part, that composite goods made up of different components shall be classified as if consisting of the component which gives them their essential character.
Section XVI, Note 4, HTSUS, states that machines, (including a combination of machines) consisting of individual components (whether separate or interconnected by piping, by transmission devices, by electric cables or by other devices), are intended to contribute together to a clearly defined function covered by a heading in Chapter 84 or in Chapter 85, the whole is classified in the heading appropriate to that function. Chapter 85, Note 6, HTSUS, states that records, tapes and other media of heading 8523 or 8524 remain classified in those headings, whether or not they are entered with the apparatus for which they are intended.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System. Though not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
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An industrial robot imported with its controller, together with appropriate end-of-arm tooling that dedicates the robot to a particular service application, would qualify as a functional unit under Section XVI, Note 4, HTSUS. The exception, of course, is that no functional units are classifiable in heading 8479, as that heading does not specify any particular function. The industrial robots in issue here lack end-of-arm tooling (i.e., welding heads). Note 4 requires that the individual components necessary to the functional unit be imported together. There is no legal authority that provides for incomplete or unfinished functional units. See HQ 087077, dated March 27, 1991, HQ 957150, dated January 30, 1995, HQ 960632, dated October 27, 1997, and related cases. This position was recently affirmed in HQ 962105, dated April 22, 1999, with respect to industrial robots substantially similar to the ones here.
We considered the possibility that the industrial robots, as described, might qualify as composite goods under GRI 3(b), HTSUS. Relative ENs under (IX) on p. 4 state in part that composite goods may include those with separable components, provided the components are adapted one to the other and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole which would not normally be offered for sale separately. We are informed that industrial robots and process controllers are often bought and sold, and imported separately. The available evidence does not support a conclusion that industrial robots without end-of-arm tooling and their controllers, imported together, qualify as composite goods for tariff purposes. For this reason, the components must be separately classified.
Relevant ENs under (3) on p. 1506 include within heading 8537 apparatus using a programmable memory for the storage of instructions for implementing specific functions such as logic, sequencing, timing, counting and arithmetic, to control through digital or analog input/output modules, various types of machines. The KRC 1 controllers conform to this description. The ENs, at pp. 1422-1424, include within heading 8479 machines that have individual functions and which are not excluded by an applicable legal note or are more specifically provided for elsewhere in the HTSUS. Mechanical devices have an individual function even if they must be incorporated into a more complex entity, provided this function is distinct from that which is performed by the entity in which it is incorporated. A robot must be connected to its controller or have a controller incorporated into it in order to operate, but the specific mechanical function a robot performs is distinct from the
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function performed by the controller. The robots in issue have individual functions for purposes of heading 8479, and are not more specifically described in any other heading of the HTSUS. Further, the ENs include within heading 8479 industrial robots for multiple uses, those capable of performing a variety of functions simply by using different tools. However, the heading excludes industrial robots designed to perform a specific function; these are classified in the heading covering their
function. The issue, then, is whether under GRI 2(a), HTSUS, an industrial robot without a welding head - an incomplete or unfinished article - has the essential character of a complete or finished welding machine or apparatus of heading 8515. The nature of a component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or the role of a component in relation to the use of the good are among the factors Customs regards as relevant in essential character determinations. Cost or value information on the robot and welding head is not available. There is some indication, however, that industrial robots with load ratings of 100 kilograms or more, but without welding heads, may be principally designed and used for welding applications. But, other robots designed for material handling applications, for example, may have similar load ratings. Load rating alone, therefore, is inconclusive as to a robot’s essential character. In our opinion, it is the welding head which does the actual work and which establishes the identity of the robot as what it is, a welding robot. It is the welding head, therefore, that imparts the essential character to a complete or finished welding machine or apparatus. The industrial robots in issue, imported without welding heads, do not have the essential character of welding machines or apparatus of heading 8515. They are provided for in heading 8479.
HOLDING:
Under GRI 1, industrial robot models KR125/1, KR125L100/1, KR150/1, KR150L120/1, KR150L150/1, and KR200/1, each consisting of a robot without welding head, but with a KRC 1 controller, are separately classifiable, in subheading 8479.50.00, HTSUS, as industrial robots not elsewhere specified or included, and in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS, as other bases for electric control or the distribution of electricity, respectively. In all cases, the preprogrammed software the KRC 1 controllers utilize is classified in appropriate subheadings of heading 8524, as required by Chapter 85, Note 6, HTSUS.
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NY C80699, dated November 7, 1997, is modified accordingly.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division