CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 966169 DSS
Mr. Stephen L. Gibson
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036-5339
RE: Steel Bars with Chamfered Ends for use as Precision Linear Shafts;
NY I85075 Affirmed
Dear Mr. Gibson:
In your letter to the Director, National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, dated December 6, 2002, on behalf of INA USA Corporation, you submitted supplemental material to your June 14, 2002 request as to the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of certain chamfered precision linear shafts. We have considered this submission as a request for reconsideration of New York Ruling letter (NY) I85075, dated September 19, 2002. Your letter was forwarded to this office for reply. A sample was provided for our examination. After review of NY I85075, Customs and Border Protection (Customs) has determined that the classification of the chamfered precision linear shafts under subheadings 7215.50.00, 7222.20.00, 7228.50.50, HTSUS, is correct.
FACTS:
In NY I85075, in response to your classification request, certain nonalloy steel bars of circular cross section were classified under subheading 7215.50.00, HTSUS, certain stainless steel bars of circular cross section were classified under subheading 7222.20.00, HTSUS, and the other alloy steel bars of circular cross section were classified under subheading 7228.50.50, HTSUS. In your December 6, 2002, letter, you argue that those steel shafts are properly classified under subheading 8482.99.35, HTSUS, as parts of ball bearings. You argue alternatively that the steel shafts should be classified as tapered bars and rods of steel under subheading 7326.90.85 (currently 7326.90.85), HTSUS.
2
You state that the shafts are manufactured in Germany. In the original June 14, 2002 classification request, you noted that the input material for the shafts is high grade steel rod (for solid shafts) or seamless steel tube (for hollow shafts). In the December 6, 2002 letter, you do not request reconsideration of NY I85075 with respect to hollow steel tubes. Therefore, we have treated your December 6, 2002 request as abandoning your claim regarding the steel tubes, (namely that Chapter 72 Note 1(m) requires that bars and rods have uniform, solid cross section).
The steel may be alloy, non-alloy, or stainless, depending on the specifications of the particular bars to be produced. You state that the instant steel shafts have chamfered ends, which reduces the diameter, typically, between 1/64th and 1/16th inch, for the purpose of removing sharp edges and giving the ends a more finished appearance; are normally sold as imported; and undergo little or no additional processing. Prior to importation, the shafts are ground to specific tolerances and are surface hardened through heat treatment.
In NY I85075, we stated in relevant part:
[T]he products to be imported are solid steel bars of circular cross section. You state that the bars may be nonalloy, alloy or stainless steel. . . . These bars will ultimately be used in linear bearing applications. You state that the physical characteristics of the bars reflect that they are designed and intended for use as parts of linear ball bearings and that the chemistry, grinding and heat treating impart essential characteristics that make them uniquely suited for use as parts of linear ball bearings. However, you don't elaborate on how these characteristics make the bars uniquely suited for use as such parts. Neither specific Grades/Types of steel nor chemical compositions were provided. Cold-finished and heat treated steel bars are used for a multitude of purposes in almost every major industry.
You argue that in NY I85075 we did not address the effect that chamfering the ends of the bars would have on their classification and that chamfering the bars precludes classification under headings 7215, 7222, and 7228, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Whether steel bars with chamfered ends assume the character of other articles of iron and steel under heading 7326, HTSUS, or as parts of ball bearings under heading 8482, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied. GRI 3 is utilized when, by application of GRI 2(b), a good consists of materials or components which are prima facie classifiable under two or more headings. In such a case, classification of the goods shall be effected as follows: "[GRI 3](a) [t]he heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description." According to GRI 6, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. The relative section, chapter and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7215 Other bars and rods of iron or nonalloy steel:
* * * *
7215.50.00 Other, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished
* * * *
7222 Other bars and rods of stainless steel; angles, shapes and sections of stainless steel:
* * * *
7222.20.00 Bars and rods, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished
* * * *
7228 Other bars and rods of other alloy steel; angles, shapes and sections, of other alloy steel; hollow drill bars and rods, of alloy or non-alloy steel;
* * * *
7228.50.00 Other bars and rods, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished:
* * * *
7228.50.50 Other
* * * *
7326 Other articles of iron or steel:
* * * *
7326.90 Other:
* * * *
Other:
* * * *
Other:
* * * *
7326.90.85 Other
* * * *
8482 Ball or roller bearings, and parts thereof:
* * * *
Parts:
* * * *
8482.99 Other:
* * * *
Other:
8482.99.35 parts of ball bearings (including parts of ball bearings with integral shafts)
In interpreting the headings and subheadings, Customs looks to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs). Although not legally binding, they provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS. It is Customs practice to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-90, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
Chapter 72, Note 1(m), HTSUS, states, in part, that the phrase "other bars and rods" means: "[p]roducts which do not conform to any of the definitions at (ij), (k) or (l) above or to the definition of wire, which have a uniform solid cross section along their whole length in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), triangles or other convex polygons . . . . " EN 72.15 states in part that heading 7215 covers bars and rods other than those of heading 72.13 or 72.14. The bars and rods of this heading may:
(1) be obtained by cold-forming or cold-finishing, i.e., have been subjected either to a cold pass through one or more dies (cold-drawn bars) or to a grinding or turning process (grinded or sized bars).
(2) have been subjected to working (such as drilling or sizing, or to further surface treatments than are allowed for products of heading 72.14, such as plating, coating, or cladding (see Part (IV) (C) of the General Explanatory Note to this Chapter), provided that they do not thereby assume the character of articles or of products falling within other headings; [emphasis added].
The term "chamfer" is not defined in the HTSUS. A tariff term that is not defined in the HTSUS or in the ENs is construed in accordance with its common and commercial meaning. Nippon Kogasku (USA), Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F.2d 1268 (1982). According to the Metals Handbook (8th ed.) published by the American Society for Metals, in pertinent part a chamfer is, "a beveled surface to eliminate an otherwise sharp corner. . . ," as it relates to metalworking. Chamfering is defined in the same source, as "making a sloping surface on the edge of a member."
As stated previously, you advised that the sole purpose of chamfering the ends of the shafts is to remove burrs/sharp edges, thereby giving them a more finished end. Chamfering the ends of the shafts for a smooth finish does not preclude classification of these products as bars of steel. The legal notes to Chapter 72 state that bars may be subjected to certain processing operations and remain classified as bars so long as they do not assume the character of articles of other headings. For example, bars may have indentations, ribs, grooves, or other deformations and may be twisted after rolling. They may be subject to mechanical working, such as turning, milling, grinding, perforation, punching, folding, sizing or peeling. They may also be subject to surface treatments or other working. See Chapter 72 General Note (IV)(C). Yet, such articles would remain articles of chapter 72.
The legal notes do not list chamfering as one of the exemplars of working permitted under Chapter 72. However, because the cited notes and EN are silent on the issue of chamfering, they are simply inconclusive in that regard. Because for the instant articles, chamfering is done simply to deburr the shafts, we consider the instant shafts to be of a uniform, solid cross section along their entire length. We believe that the instant steel shafts meet the definition of Note 1(m) to Chapter 72 and EN 72.15. The chamfering or deburring that the instant shafts undergo is similar to rough turning, which the Chapter 72 ENs consider a type of mechanical working, and which is not regarded as a finishing operation that would lead to a change in classification. See Chapter 72 General Note (IV)(C). Chamfering is thus the functional equivalent of mechanical working or surface treatment to ensure that the shaft is of a uniform cross section.
We note that the shafts made of stainless steel and other alloy steel are specifically provided for by heading 7222 and 7228, HTSUS, respectively. The ENs to headings 7222 and 7228 apply, mutatis mutandis, to the products of these headings. Based on the foregoing analysis, through application of GRI 6, the stainless steel shafts are thus classifiable in subheading 7222.20.00, HTSUS, as other bars and rods of stainless steel, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished. The alloy steel shafts are classifiable under subheading 7228.50.50, HTSUS, as other bars and rods of alloy steel, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished.
You argue that the steel shafts should be classified as tapered bars and rods of steel under subheading 7326.90.85 (currently 7326.90.85), HTSUS, which provides for "Other articles of iron and steel: Other: Other." According to GRI 3(a), when goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, "[T]he heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description." See also Better Home Plastics Corp v. United States, 20 C.I.T. 221, 222; 916 F. Supp. 1265, 1266 (1996). Moreover, heading 7326, HTSUS, is a general heading or basket provision, as evidenced by the word "other." See The Item Company v United States, 98 F. 3d 1294, 1296 (Fed. Cir. 1996). Classification of imported merchandise in a basket provision is only appropriate if there is no tariff provision that covers the merchandise more specifically. See EM Industries v. United States, F. Supp. 1473, 1480 (1998) ("'Basket' or residual provisions of HTSUS Headings . . . are intended as a broad catch-all to encompass the classification of articles for which there is no more specifically applicable subheading"). However, as stated above, the shafts are more specifically provided for in headings 7215, 7225, and 7228, HTSUS, as other bars of steel and are classified therein.
Alternatively, you argue that the shafts are classified under subheading 8482.99.35, HTSUS, as parts of ball bearings. As stated in NY I85075, we do not believe that the instant shafts fall under heading 8482, as parts of ball bearings. However, even assuming arguendo that the instant steel shafts could be considered parts of ball bearings, they still would not be classified under heading 8482, HTSUS. The instant steel shafts fall within Chapter 72 as other bars of steel. Note 2 to Section XVI appears to direct classification of parts of machines of Chapters 84 and 85. However, in this case we also have language as to the classification of a named product, other bars of steel. We believe that, in such cases, Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c), HTSUS, provides us with the necessary guidance:
In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, a provision for parts of an article covers products solely or principally used as a part of such articles but a provision for "parts" or "parts and accessories" shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory.
In this case, HTSUS headings 7215, 7222, and 7228 are not residual provisions for articles of steel, they are specific provisions for other bars of steel. Therefore, notwithstanding Note 2 to Section XVI, we believe that Additional U.S. Note 1(c) controls and headings 7215, 7222, and 7228, HTSUS, specifically describe the instant merchandise as bars of steel.
Based on the foregoing analysis, the nonalloy steel shafts are classified under subheading 7215.50.00, HTSUS; the stainless steel shafts are classified under subheading 7222.20.00, HTSUS; the alloy steel shafts are classified under subheading 7228.50.50, HTSUS. As indicated in NY I85075, steel products classified under HTSUS subheadings 7215.50.00 and 7228.50.50, unless specifically excluded, are subject to additional so-called "Section 201 Duties," pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 7529, issued on March 5, 2002.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the instant steel bars are provided for in headings 7215, 7222, and 7228, HTSUS, respectively. The nonalloy steel bars are classified under subheading 7215.50.00, HTSUS, as "[o]ther bars and rods of iron or nonalloy steel, . . . not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished." The stainless steel shafts are classifiable under subheading 7222.20.00, HTSUS, as "[o]ther bars and rods of stainless steel, . . . not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished." The alloy steel shafts are classifiable under subheading 7228.50.50, HTSUS, as "[o]ther bars and rods of alloy steel, . . . not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished."
EFFECT ON OTHER HOLDINGS:
NY I85075 is AFFIRMED.
Sincerely,
/s/
Myles B. Harmon
Director,
Commercial Rulings Division
3