CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H024878 RM
Ms. Patricia A. Fell
Klein International, Ltd.
Parkside Business Center
7970 S.W. Cirrus Drive, Bldg. 13
Beaverton, OR 97008
RE: Revocation of New York Ruling Letter 816502; Tariff Classification of an LED module from China
Dear Ms. Fell:
This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) 816502, dated December 19, 1995, concerning the tariff classification of a light-emitting diode (“LED”) module. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified the merchandise under heading 8541, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), in the provision for “light-emitting diodes.” We have reviewed NY 816502 and found it to be incorrect.
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 revocation was published on December 10, 2009, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 43, No. 50. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
In NY 816502, CBP described the product as follows:
The item described … consists of two light-emitting diodes connected by coated wires to a module assembly power source with a switch. According to your letter, the item, as imported, is placed in merchandise manufactured in the United States as a component part to add a lighted feature to … various holiday display ornaments.
ISSUE:
Whether the LED module is classified under heading 8541, HTSUS, as a “light-emitting diode,” or under heading 9405, HTSUS, as a “lamp … not elsewhere specified or included.”
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 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8541 Diodes, transistors and similar semiconductor devices; photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes; mounted piezoelectric crystals; parts thereof:
Photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells
whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes:
8541.40.20 Light-emitting diodes (LED’s)
* * *
9405 Lamps and lighting fittings including searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included:
Other electric lamps and lighting fittings:
Other
* * *
Note 8 to Chapter 85, HTSUS, provides in part:
For classification of the articles defined in this note, headings 8541 and 8542 shall take precedence over any other heading in the Nomenclature, except in the case of heading 8523, which might cover them by reference to, in particular, their function.
Note 1 to Chapter 9405, HTSUS, provides in part:
This chapter does not cover:
Lamps or lighting fittings of chapter 85
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While not legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The ENs to heading 8541, HTSUS, provide, in part:
(C) LIGHT EMITTING DIODES
Light emitting diodes … are devices which convert electric energy into visible, infra-red or ultra-violet rays. They are used, e.g., for displaying or transmitting data in control systems.
The ENs to heading 9405, HTSUS, provide, in part:
LAMPS AND LIGHTING FITTINGS, NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED OR INCLUDED
Lamps and lighting fittings of this group can be constituted or any material (excluding those material described in Note 1 to Chapter 71) and use any source of light (candles, oil, petrol, paraffin (or kerosene), gas, acetylene, electricity, etc). Electrical lamps and lighting fittings of this heading may be equipped with lamp-holders switches, flex and plugs, transformers, etc.
Heading 8541, HTSUS, provides, in part, for “light-emitting diodes.” The term “light-emitting diode” is not defined in the tariff. When a tariff term is not defined by the HTSUS or its legislative history, “the term’s correct meaning is its common meaning.” Mita Copystar Am. v. United States, 21 F.3d 1079, 1082 (Fed. Cir. 1994). The common meaning of a term used in commerce is presumed to be the same as its commercial meaning. Simod Am. Corp. v. United States, 872 F.2d 1572, 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1989). To ascertain the common meaning of a term, a court may consult “dictionaries, scientific authorities, and other reliable information sources” and “lexicographic and other materials.” C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 673 F.2d 1268, 1271 (CCPA 1982); Simod, 872 F.2d at 1576.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term “light-emitting diode” as “a semiconductor diode that emits light when a voltage is suitably applied.” See www.oed.com. The McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, (5th Ed., 2005 at 1252) defines an LED as “a rectifying semiconductor device which converts electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation.” The website of the Lighting Research Center, a university-based research organization devoted to lighting, explains the process as follows:
LEDs are semiconductor diodes, electronic devices that permit current to flow in only one direction. The diode is formed by bringing two slightly different materials to from a PN junction [Figure 1]. In a PN junction, the P side contains excess positive charge (“holes,” indicating the absence of electrons) while the N side contains excess negative charges (i.e., electrons).
Figure 1: a P-N junction
When a forward voltage is applied to the semiconducting element forming the PN junction, electrons move from the N area toward the P area and holes move toward the N area. Near the junction, the electrons and holes combine. As this occurs, energy is released in the form of light that is emitted by the LED.
See John Bullow, LED Lighting Systems (May, 2003) available at http:///www.lrc.rpi.edu/researchAreas/leds.asp.
In keeping with the common meaning of the term and the ENs, CBP has previously determined that the provision for LEDs in heading 8541, HTSUS, covers individual LEDs (i.e., the semiconductor diodes without other components). See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H011693, dated December 18, 2007, HQ H010636, dated December 3, 2007, and HQ H003215, dated October 10, 2007. To that effect, in HQ 966401, concerning the classification of the “Epoch light,” a battery-operated LED floodlight, we stated that:
EN 85.41 only refers to a "Light-emitting diode or electroluminescent diode" alone or by itself. There is no mention of the diode with any other components or within any housing or any device such as the Epoch light. Because the Epoch light is a complete battery-operated floodlight, which contains an LED, it is beyond the scope of heading 8541, HTSUS and classification under this heading is, therefore, precluded.
Similar to the Epoch light, the instant LED module consists of LEDs connected by wires to a power supply unit. As such, the device is beyond the scope of heading 8541, HTSUS.
Heading 9405, HTSUS, provides in relevant part for “Lamps and light fittings … not elsewhere specified or included.” Relying on the common meaning of the term, CBP has previously determined that lamps are devices which provide an isolated source of heat or light. See HQ H042586, dated January 29, 2009 (fiber optic lamp), HQ 966952, dated August 18, 2004 (litecube), and HQ 965248, dated July 26, 2002 (bubble lights) (citing The Random House College Dictionary (1973) at 752 and Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1979) at 639). The subject LED module satisfies the above definition of a lamp in that, as imported, it is a stand-alone illumination device. Therefore, as the merchandise is not specified elsewhere in the Nomenclature, it is classified by application of GRI 1 under heading 9405, HTSUS.
Inasmuch as the device is not classified under heading 8541, HTSUS, Note 8 to Chapter 85, which gives priority to merchandise classifiable under heading 8541, HTSUS, does not apply.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the LED module is classified under heading 9405, HTSUS, specifically in subheading 9405.40.80, which provides in relevant part for “Lamps … not elsewhere specified or included: Other electric lamps and light fittings: Other.” The 2009, column one, general rate of duty is 3.9 % ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for convenience only and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:2
NY 816502, dated December 19, 1995, is hereby revoked.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division