CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 963775AM
Ms. Michele Smith
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Import Department #733IMP
3333 Beverly Road, BC 172A-A
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Re: NY F80626 revoked; wood spade bit set and lock installation kit
Dear Ms. Smith:
This is in reference to NY F80626, issued to you by the Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, on December 14, 1999, concerning the classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of a three piece wood spade bit set and a lock installation kit. We have reviewed the decision in NY F80626 and have determined that the classification set forth, for both products, is in error. This ruling revokes NY F80626.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1) Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1)) as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, (Pub. L. 103-82, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186), notice of the proposed revocation of NY F80626 was published on October 18, 2000, in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN, Volume 34, Numbers 41 & 42. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
Both products are used with a power drill. Samples have been provided. The three piece wood spade bit set (Stock # 73302) (made in China) includes ½”, ¾” and 1” bits said to be for drilling holes in wood plate. All are 3 point style, 6” long with a 5.4mm hex shank and made of heat treated medium carbon steel. The cutting part of the bits does not contain any chromium, molybdenum, tungsten or vanadium. The wood spade bit set is blister packed on a cardboard backing.
The lock installation kit (Stock #73324) (made in Taiwan) includes a 2 1/8” cup type hole saw, a 1” wood spade bit and mandrel (1/4” HSS pilot drill bit plus arbor). The drill bit is attached to the arbor. The arbor has a threaded part and a nut to attach and lock the hole saw to the arbor. In operation, the arbor with the pilot drill and hole saw mounted to it is attached to a power drill. The hole is cut for the lock mechanism first. A template is used to indicate where to start the hole with the pilot drill on one side of the door, with the hole saw following. The process is then repeated on the other side. The wood spade bit is then used to drill the hole for the latch mechanism. The cutting part of the wood spade bit contains no chromium, molybdenum, titanium or vanadium. The cutting part of the pilot drill bit contains less than .2% chromium and molybdenum and no tungsten or vanadium. The lock installation kit is contained in a molded clear plastic with a cardboard backing stapled to the plastic.
In NY F80626, Customs classified both products in subheading 8205.30.60, HTSUS, which provides for handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included: planes, chisels, gouges and similar cutting tools for working wood, and parts thereof: other.
ISSUES:
Whether a kit consisting of three wood spade bits and a kit consisting of a 2 1/8” cup type hole saw, a wood spade bit and mandrel (drill bit plus arbor) are classified under heading 8205, HTSUS, which provides for handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included, or under heading 8207, HTSUS, which provides for interchangeable tools for handtools, whether or not power operated or for machine tools.
Whether the components of either kit are classified as a set.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the U.S. is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context that requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any related section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs. In interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUSA. See T.D. 89 80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The following HTSUS headings are under consideration:
Handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included; blow torches and similar self-contained torches; vises, clamps and the like, other than accessories for and parts of machine tools; anvils; portable forges; hand- or pedal- operated grinding wheels with frameworks; base metal parts thereof:
8207 Interchangeable tools for handtools, whether or not power-operated, or for machine-tools (for example, for pressing, stamping, punching, tapping, threading, drilling, boring, broaching, milling, turning or screwdriving), including dies for drawing or extruding metal, and rock drilling or earth boring tools; base metal parts thereof:
The ENs for heading 8205 indicate that the heading excludes: "(b) interchangeable tools designed for use in hand tools, mechanical or not, in machine tools or in power-operated hand tools. (e.g., screwdriver bits and rock drilling bits) (heading 8207)." While wood spade bits are not specifically included in the examples, they are, ejusdem generis, a type of bit closely related to those specified. Wood spade bits are interchangeable in power drills, a hand tool. Hence, the wood spade bits are excluded from classification in heading 8205, HTSUS. Rather, the wood spade bits are classified in heading 8207, HTSUS. Specifically, they are classified in subheading 8207.50.60, HTSUS, which provides for "[I]nterchangeable tools for handtools, whether or not power operated or for machine-tools …: tools for drilling, other than rock drilling, and parts thereof: other: not suitable for cutting metal, and parts thereof: For handtools, and parts thereof."
Similarly, the wood spade bit and the pilot drill bit of the lock installation kit are also classified in heading 8207, HTSUS. The hole saw falls in heading 8202, HTSUS, the provision for "[H]andsaws, and metal parts thereof; blades for saws of all kinds (including slitting, slotting or toothless saw blades), and base metal parts thereof: . . ." The arbor falls under heading 8466, HTSUS, the provision for " . . .tool holders for any type of tool for working in the hand: . . ."
GRI 3(b) provides for the classification of goods put up in sets for retail sale. The rule states in pertinent part:
(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
The EN to GRI 3(b) state:
(VII) In all these cases the goods are to be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
(VIII) The factor which determines the 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.
* * *
(X) For the purposes of this Rule, the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" shall be taken to mean goods which:
(a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings;
(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and
are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking.
GRI 3(c) states: "When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration."
Although the wood spade bit set is stated to be and is sold as a "set", it is not classified as a "set" for tariff purposes under rule 3(b) because all of the bits are classifiable in the same heading (discussed above), thus failing the first requirement of EN (X) to GRI 3(b). The lock installation kit is classified as a "set" because the items meet all three requirements of EN (X). The kit consists of at least two different articles that are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings (discussed above). The items in the kit are used in conjunction with one another to carry out the specific activity of installing a lock. The items are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking.
However, three of the articles in the set, the wood spade bit, the drill bit and the hole saw equally impart to the set its essential character because each are used equally in the installation of a lock. The arbor does not merit equal consideration with the other articles as it is simply used to fit the hole saw to the pilot drill bit. As provided, it is inseparable from the pilot drill bit and is essentially an extension to the bit. Hence, the set is classified by means of GRI 3(c) in heading 8207, HTSUS, that heading which comes last in numerical order amongst those headings that merit equal consideration.
HOLDING:
The kit is classified in subheading 8207.50.60, HTSUS, the provision for "[I]nterchangeable tools for handtools, whether or not power operated or for machine-tools …: tools for drilling, other than rock drilling, and parts thereof: other: not suitable for cutting metal, and parts thereof: For handtools, and parts thereof."
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY F80626, issued December 14, 1999, is revoked.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division