CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H088421 LWF
Daniel P. Wendt
Miller Chevalier Chartered
655 Fifteenth Street, NW
Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20005-5701
RE: Reconsideration of NY N013361, dated July 16, 2007; classification of an electronic power steering electric control unit from Japan
Dear Mr. Wendt:
This is in response to your request on behalf of Toyota Tsusho America, Inc. (Toyota) for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N013361, issued to Toyota by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on July 16, 2007. In NY N013361, CBP classified an electronic power steering electric control unit (“EPS ECU”) from Japan in subheading 8537.10.90, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Other.”
You assert that the classification of the subject merchandise was in error and that the correct tariff classification is subheading 9032.89.60, HTSUS, which provides for “Automatic regulating or controlling instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof: Other instruments and apparatus: Other: Other.”
FACTS:
In NY N013361, CBP described the EPS ECU as follows:
The merchandise under consideration is the [EPS ECU]. The [EPS ECU] is a solid-state electronic module that monitors and determines the amount of power assist steering needed in a motor vehicle. The [EPS ECU] uses a combination of torque sensor inputs, vehicle speed input from the Engine Control Module (ECM), calculates system temperature and the steering calibration to determine the amount of steering assist needed. At low speeds more assist is provided for easy turning during parking maneuvers. At high speeds, less assist is provided for improved road feel and directional stability.
The [EPS ECU] utilizes a 12 volt brushed DC reversible servo motor to apply torque to the steering system. The motor assists steering through a worm shaft and reduction gear located in the steering column housing. The steering column has an input shaft, from the steering wheel to the torque sensor, and an output shaft, from the torque sensor to the steering shaft coupler. The input and output shafts are separated by a torsion bar, where the torque sensors are located. As the steering wheel rotates, signal voltage from torque sensors are received by the [EPS ECU], which calculates, controls and delivers the amount of voltage necessary to power the electric servo motor. From the information you provided, the [EPS ECU] consists of a small housing containing integrated circuits of relays, Field Effect Transistors (FET) and other active and passive electrical components. The outside of the housing features several electrical connectors for connecting the [EPS ECU] to the vehicle’s electrical system, servo motor and various sensors. The operating voltage of the PSCM is 9-16V DC.
ISSUE:
Is the electronic power steering electric control unit properly classified in heading 8537, HTSUS, or heading 9032, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods 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 heading 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 2007 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8537: Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517:
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9032: Automatic regulating or controlling instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof:
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Note 1 to Section XVI, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part, that:
This section does not cover:
Articles of chapter 90;
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Note 7 to Chapter 90, HTSUS, provides, in relevant part, that:
Heading 9032 applies only to:
Instruments and apparatus for automatically controlling the flow, level, pressure or other variables of liquids or gases, or for automatically controlling temperature, whether or not their operation depends on an electrical phenomenon which varies according to the factor to be automatically controlled, which are designed to bring this factor to, and maintain it at, a desired value, stabilized against disturbances, by constantly or periodically measuring its actual value; and
Automatic regulators of electrical quantities, and instruments or apparatus for automatically controlling non-electrical quantities the operation of which depends on an electrical phenomenon varying according to the factor to be controlled, which are designed to bring this factor to, and maintain it at, a desired value, stabilized against disturbances, by constantly or periodically measuring its actual value.
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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 Harmonized System and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
Note 7(b) to Chapter 90, pertains to instruments or apparatus for automatically controlling non-electrical quantities. EN 90.32(II) explains, in relevant part:
The automatic regulators of this heading are intended for use in complete automatic control systems which are designed to bring a quantity, electrical or non-electrical, to, and maintain it at, a desired value, stabilized against any disturbances, by constantly or periodically measuring its actual value. They consist essentially of the following devices:
A measuring device (sensing device, converter, resistance probe, thermocouple, etc.) which determines the actual value of the variable to be controlled and converts it into a proportional electrical signal.
An electrical control device which compares the measured value with the desired value and gives a signal (general in the form of a modulated current).
A starting, stopping or operating device (generally contacts, switches or circuit breakers, reversing switches or, sometimes, relay switches) which supplies current to an actuator in accordance with the signal received from the control device.
An automatic regulator within the meaning of Note 7(b) to this Chapter consists of the devices described in (A), (B) and (C) above, whether assembled together as a single entity or in accordance with Note 3 to this Chapter, a functional unit.
…
These regulators are used not only for electrical quantities, such as voltage, amperage, frequency and power, but also for other quantities such as revolutions per minute, torque, traction force, level, pressure, flow or temperature.
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EN 85.37 explains, in relevant part:
This heading also covers:
…
(3) “Programmable controllers” which are digital 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.
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In NY N013361, CBP classified the EPS ECU in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS. Toyota asserts that the EPS ECU is properly classified in 9032.89.60, HTSUS. Pursuant to Note 1 to Section XVI, HTSUS, articles of chapter 90, HTSUS, are excluded from classification in heading 8537, HTSUS. Therefore, the first level of inquiry is whether the merchandise can be classified in chapter 90, HTSUS.
Heading 9032, HTSUS, provides for “Automatic regulating or controlling instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof.” EN 90.32 indicates that the heading covers “automatic regulators… which are designed to bring a quantity, electrical or non-electrical, to, and maintain it at, a desired value, stabilized against any disturbances, by constantly or periodically measuring its actual value.” Specifically, EN 90.32(II)(B) states that the heading includes electrical control devices “which compare[] the measured value with the desired value and give[] a signal (general in the form of modulated current).” As Toyota correctly asserts, CBP has previously classified instruments and apparatus that automatically maintain or return a non-electrical quantity to a desired value and stabilize that value against any disturbances in heading 9032, HTSUS. See, e.g., HQ 966997, dated April 26, 2005 (turbo subassembly in which a central processing unit uses a proportional, integral, derivative (PID) loop controller algorithm to automatically measure deviation from a “set-point” and automatically adjust a variable to hold the measurement at the set-point); and NY N019561 (automatic headlamp leveling system in which a control unit transmits instructions to maintain the inclination angle of the headlamps).
Based on the information provided, we note that the subject EPS ECU receives signals from multiple sensors within the vehicle. The torque sensor detects and measures the magnitude of a twist of the torsion bar and converts the applied torque into an electrical signal. The EPS ECU then processes information received from the torque sensor and skid control electrical control unit and determines the amount of assist current to be applied to the DC motor. The EPS ECU is capable of supplying power assist in either direction and will vary the force of the power assist according to vehicle conditions.
However, the EPS ECU does not bring changes in torque, as measured by the torque sensor, back to a predetermined value. Nor does it maintain torque of the torsion bar at a predetermined or desired value against disturbances. Instead, the EPS ECU uses data from the torque sensor and other sensors to perform instantaneous calculations which determine how much power assist to provide to the driver. The net result of the power assist does not lower the amount of torque measured by the torque sensor, but instead, merely amplifies the effect of the driver’s applied torque on the steering wheel. As the EPS ECU does not return or maintain torque of the torsion bar at a predetermined or desired value, we find that the merchandise fails to satisfy the terms of Note 7(b) to Chapter 90, HTSUS, and is therefore precluded from classification in heading, 9032, HTSUS.
Heading 8537, HTSUS, provides for bases equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90. As the EN to heading 8537, HTSUS, explains, articles of this heading consist of an assembly of apparatus from small switchboards to complex control boards or panels which usually also incorporate meters, transformers, and voltage regulators. The EN to heading 8537, HTSUS, further states that the heading covers “programmable controllers” which use programmable memory for the storage of instructions for implementing logic to control various types of machines and which control apparatus according to the user’s instructions.
CBP has previously held that control equipment and apparatus which function to control machinery, apparatus, or equipment, are classifiable in heading 8537, HTSUS. See, e.g., HQ 085281, dated November 8, 1989 (optimizer system in which dimensions of logs and boards are digitally input to a process controller which makes necessary calculations for optimal method to cut logs, and then instructs the saws how to slice the logs); HQ 950120, dated May 13, 1992 (laser vision system in which controller directs servomotors to move welding apparatus); and HQ 954972, dated January 23, 1994 (brake and steering control unit (BSCU) in which the pilot sends instructions to the BSCU in the form of database signals, which the BSCU processes and transmits to servovalves on each wheel, and sensors on brakes and nose wheel transmit positional data back to the cockpit to insure proper brake function). In HQ H008631, dated March 11, 2010, CBP classified in heading 8537, HTSUS, a process control system designed to control the production, distribution, and transmission of electricity in an electrical power plant by monitoring and switching power loads as needed.
A programmable controller’s ultimate purpose is to control output devices. It does this by reading input signals from pushbuttons, contacts, switches, or sensors and deciding what the outputs should be, based on the merchandise’s program logic. Accordingly, we find that the primary function of the instant EPS ECU is to automatically analyze data from various sensors and control the production and transmission of electricity used to operate the 12-volt DC motor that supplies power assist. As such, we find that the subject EPS ECU is properly classified under heading 8537, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 the electronic power steering electric control unit is classified in heading 8537, HTSUS. The merchandise is specifically classified in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS, which provides for “Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity, including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Other.” The 2007 column one, general rate of duty was 2.7% 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 http://www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N013361, dated July 16, 2007, is hereby AFFIRMED.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division