CLA–2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H072515 AMM
Ms. Saima Litt
Polybrite International
1751 West Diehl Road Suite 110
Naperville, IL 60563
RE: Revocation of New York Ruling Letter L84113; Tariff Classification of a Light Emitting Diode Lamp
Dear Ms. Litt,
This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) L84113 dated April 19, 2005, regarding the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of a light-emitting diode (LED) lamp. In that ruling, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the LED lamp under heading 8539, HTSUS, which provides for “Electrical filament or discharge lamps, including sealed beam lamp units and ultraviolet or infrared lamps; …”. We have reviewed NY L84113 and found it to be incorrect. For the reasons set forth below, we are revoking that ruling.
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 treatment relating to the tariff classification of certain light emitting diode lamps was published on November 2, 2011, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 45, Number 45. In that notice, CBP proposed that the instant lamps were classified in heading 9405, HTSUS. Comments from one interested party were received on this proposal. The commenter disagreed with the proposed classification of the instant LED lamps, urging that they be classified under heading 8543, HTSUS. Upon further consideration, and as discussed below, CBP has concluded that the instant lamps are classified in heading 8543, HTSUS.
FACTS:
In NY L84113, CBP described the merchandise as follows:
The item in question is an LED (light emitting diode) light bulb. It is designed to be used both as a bulb used as an indicator light and also in standard household lighting fixtures. They have a standard screw-in base and operate between 1 and 3 watts. The LED within the glass light bulb emits an ultraviolet light when activated.
The instant LED lamps are pictured below.
ISSUE:
What is the correct classification under the HTSUS of the LED lamp?
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 2014 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8539 Electrical filament or discharge lamps, including sealed beam lamp units and ultraviolet or infrared lamps; arc lamps; parts thereof:
Discharge lamps, other than ultraviolet lamps:
8539.39.00 Other
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8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof:
8543.70 Other machines and apparatus:
8543.70.70 Electric luminescent lamps
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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:
9405.40.80 Other
Note 1 to Chapter 94, HTSUS, states, in part: “This chapter does not cover: … (f) 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).
EN 84.79 states, in pertinent part:
For this purpose the following are to be regarded as having “individual functions”:
(B) Mechanical devices which cannot perform their function unless they are mounted on another machine or appliance, or are incorporated in a more complex entity, provided that this function:
(i) is distinct from that which is performed by the machine or appliance whereon they are to be mounted, or by the entity wherein they are to be incorporated, and
(ii) does not play an integral and inseparable part in the operation of such machine, appliance or entity.
* * *
EN 85.39 states, in pertinent part:
Electric light lamps consist of glass or quartz containers, of various shapes, containing the necessary elements for converting electrical energy into light rays (including infra red or ultra violet rays). The heading covers all electric light lamps, whether or not specially designed for particular uses (including flashlight discharge lamps). The heading covers filament lamps, gas or vapour discharge lamps and arc lamps.
* * *
EN 85.43 states, in pertinent part:
This heading covers all electrical appliances and apparatus, not falling in any other heading of this Chapter, nor covered more specifically by a heading of any other Chapter of the Nomenclature, nor excluded by the operation of a Legal Note to Section XVI or to this Chapter.
* * *
The electrical appliances and apparatus of this heading must have individual functions. The introductory provisions of Explanatory Note to heading 84.79 concerning machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions apply, mutatis mutandis, to the appliances and apparatus of this heading.
* * *
The heading includes, inter alia:
* * *
(16) Electro-luminescent devices, generally in strips, plates or panels, and based on electro-luminescent substances (e.g., zinc sulphide) placed between two layers of conductive material.
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The General ENs to Chapter 94, state, in pertinent part:
This Chapter covers, subject to the exclusions listed in the Explanatory Notes to this Chapter:
* * *
(3) Lamps and lighting fittings and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included, of any material (excluding those of materials described in Note 1 to Chapter 71)
* * *
CBP has previously determined that a “lamp” is a device which provides an isolated source of heat or light. See HQ H024878, dated March 31, 2010 (LED module for ornaments); HQ H024876, dated March 31, 2010 (LED modules for promotional buttons and displays); HQ H095035, dated March 31, 2010 (LED light set for bike handlebars); HQ H024874, dated March 31, 2010 (various LED modules); HQ H042586, dated January 29, 2009 (fiber optic lamp); and HQ 966952, dated August 18, 2004 (litecube). See also The Random House College Dictionary (1973) at 752; Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1979) at 639). As entered, the subject LED lamps comprise the light source of a lighting fixture. The instant LED Lamps are designed with an Edison type screw in base to replace a standard size light bulb. When installed into a lighting fixture, and connected to a power source, it emits light. As such, we conclude that the instant LED lamps meet the definition of “lamp” as enunciated in earlier CBP Rulings, in that they are devices which provides an isolated source of light.
If the instant LED lamps are lamps or lighting fittings of Chapter 85, then they are excluded from heading 9405, HTSUS by Note 1 to Chapter 94, HTSUS. Therefore, our analysis begins with headings 8539 and 8543, HTSUS.
Heading 8539, HTSUS, provides in relevant part for: “Electric filament or discharge lamps, including sealed beam lamp units and ultraviolet or infared lamps; arc lamps; …”. By its terms, the heading only covers filament, discharge, and arc lamps. See NY L82536, dated March 4, 2005 (filament lamp) and NY L87569, dated October 6, 2005 (metal halide lamp). See also EN 85.39. It does not include LED lamps, which function differently. An LED is a rectifying semiconductor device which converts electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation when current is applied. McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 5th Ed., 2005 at 1252. In contrast, a filament lamp produces light by heating a filament to incandescence by the passage of an electric current. A discharge lamp does so by sending an electric discharge through a gas or vapor producing substance. An arc lamp does so by sending a current through a gas between two electrodes. Therefore, as the instant LED Lamps are not filament, discharge, or arc lamps, they cannot be classified under heading 8539, HTSUS.
Heading 8543, HTSUS, provides in relevant part for: “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter.” The instant products are “electrical apparatus.” See Whirlpool Corp. v. United States, 505 F. Supp. 2d 1358, 1362 (Ct. Int’l. Trade 2007) (defining the term “apparatus” as “a group of devices, or a collection or set of materials, instruments or appliances to be used for a particular purpose or a given end.”). The definition of “individual functions” is contained in the EN to Heading 84.79. See EN 85.43. EN(B) to heading 84.79 provides that “Mechanical devices which cannot perform their function unless they are mounted on another machine or appliance, or are incorporated in a more complex entity, provided that this function: (i) is distinct from that which is performed by the machine or appliance whereon they are to be mounted, or by the entity wherein they are to be incorporated, and (ii) does not play an integral and inseparable part in the operation of such machine, appliance or entity.” The instant LED Lamps are designed to fit into any lighting fixture which uses an Edison type screw base. These lamps cannot perform their function of light generation unless they are connected to a power source. The lighting fixture supplies power to the instant products. As such, the instant lamps must be mounted on another machine or appliance, or incorporated into a more complex entity. The function of the lighting fixture is to hold the instant lamps, supply power to them, and to direct their light. These functions are separate from the function of the lamp, whose function is to generate light. Because the lighting fixture performs these functions whether or not a lamp has been inserted, the lamp itself does not play an integral and inseparable part of the operation of the lighting fixture. Therefore, the instant LED lamps have an “individual function” as defined in EN(B) to 84.79 and within the meaning of heading 8543, HTSUS.
Heading 8543, HTSUS, covers “[e]lectro-luminescent devices, generally in strips, plates or panels, and based on electro-luminescent substances (e.g., zinc sulphide) placed between two layers of conductive material.” See EN(16) to Heading 85.43. “Luminescence” is defined as:
Light emission that cannot be attributed merely to the temperature of the emitting body. Various types of luminescence are often distinguished according to the source of the energy which excites the emission.
* * *
There are also types of luminescence that are initiated by the flow of some form of energy into the body from the outside. According to the source of the exciting energy, the luminescences are designated as … electroluminescence if the energy comes from the application of an electric field.
* * *
See McGraw Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 6th Edition (2009) at 1361.
CBP also notes that an LED is considered an electroluminescent substance. See Van Nostrand's Encyclopedia of Chemistry, 5th Edition (2005) at 947, which defines the operation of LEDs:
Recombination or injection electroluminescence was first observed in 1923 by Lossew, who found that when point electrodes were placed on certain silicon carbide crystals and current passed through them, light was often emitted. Explanation of this emission has been possible only with the development of semiconductor theory. If minority charge carriers are injected into a semiconductor, i.e., electrons are injected into p- type material or "positive holes" into n-type material, they recombine spontaneously with the majority carriers existing in the material. If some of these recombinations result in the emission of radiation, electroluminescence results.
* * *
The instant LED lamps are “electroluminescent devices” as described above because passing electric current through them will generate light that cannot be attributed merely to temperature. Furthermore, they are based on an “electroluminescent substance,” namely their internal light-emitting diodes. Accordingly, the instant LED lamps are properly classified under heading 8543, HTSUS. They are therefore, pursuant to Note 1(f) to Chapter 94, HTSUS, excluded from classification in heading 9405, HTSUS. With regard to classification at the subheading level, the instant products are properly classified under subheading 8543.70.70, HTSUS, which provides for “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Electric luminescent lamps”.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the instant LED Lamps are classified under heading 8543, HTSUS, specifically in subheading 8543.70.70, HTSUS, which provides for “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Electric luminescent lamps”. The column one, general rate of duty is 2% 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:
NY L84113, dated April 19, 2005, is hereby revoked. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division