CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H095040 DAC
Port Director
Attn: Russell Hack
Service Port – Cleveland
6747 Engle Road
Middleburg Heights, OH 44130
Re: Internal Advice regarding fasteners of heading 7318, HTSUS
Dear Port Director:
The following is our response to your request for Internal Advice regarding fasteners of heading 7318, HTSUS, for Earnest Machine Products (“Earnest”). The request for advice regards the classification of fasteners of heading 7318, HTSUS, specifically bolts and screws, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The subject merchandise consists of fasteners under heading 7318, HTSUS. We note that the importer of such fasteners, Earnest, has protested against the classification by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) of certain fasteners of heading 7318, HTSUS, specifically screws or bolts (also referred to by importer as “hex tap bolts”), under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
The fasteners have been entered by importer as bolts under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment”.
CBP determined that the fasteners at issue conform to an accepted standard for screws, and classified the fasteners of heading 7318, HTSUS, as screws under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Other: Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more”.
The importer submitted a protest, requesting classification as bolts under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment”.
The fasteners are typically of iron or steel construction. The subject fasteners may vary in length and are threaded along at least part of their shanks. The importer has provided two representative samples, sample fastener A and sample fastener B. Sample fastener A does not have a washer face. Sample fastener B does have a washer face. The fasteners have hex heads, which are fastener heads in the shape of a hexagon with six flat sides. The two fastener samples do demonstrate that one of the representative samples, sample fastener B, does have a washer face. Washer faces are large, flat bearing surfaces on the underside of the heads of the fasteners.
ISSUE:
Whether the fasteners under heading 7318, HTSUS, are classified as bolts of subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, or as screws of subheading 7318.15.80, 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 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The relevant HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel:
Threaded articles:
* * *
7318.15 Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers:
7318.15.20 Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment
* * *
Other:
7318.15.80 Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more
* * * * *
There is no dispute the subject merchandise, the fasteners, are classified under heading 7318, HTSUS, and under subheading 7318.15, HTSUS. The distinguishing feature between the two representative sample fasteners A and B, provided by the importer, is the absence (sample fastener A) or presence (sample fastener B) of a washer face on the fastener.
The importer maintains that the subject fasteners are within the common and commercial meaning of the term bolt(s) contained both in standard dictionaries and in more technical lexicons, and that these sources do not rely on the standards used by CBP in classifying threaded fasteners. The importer also maintains the fasteners conform to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for bolts. The importer claims that since many of the fasteners of heading 7318, HTSUS, are manufactured, bought, sold and referred to in the trade by their metric dimensions, rather than by inches, the referenced ISO standards are the appropriate measure of their tariff classification.
The HTSUS does not define the terms bolt or screw. These terms must therefore be construed in accordance with their common and commercial meanings. In such cases, the courts consult industrial or commercial standards within the affected industry, particularly those sanctioned by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). When there is a recognized fastener standard available to cover a particular article, CBP will accept that standard as establishing the fastener’s identity. In Rocknel Fastener v. United States, 24 C.I.T. 900, 118 F. Supp. 2d 1238 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2000), the court stated ANSI/ASME Standard B18.2.1 “provides a well-recognized, comprehensive basis for the common and commercial meaning of bolt and screw.” Rocknel Fastener v. United States, 24 C.I.T. 900, 906, 118 F. Supp. 2d 1238, 1243 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2000). The court did not adopt the importer’s assertion that an international (ISO) standard should be applied. The Rocknel court stated “[t]he Court has determined that under ANSI/ASME Standard B18.2.1, ‘[a] screw is an externally threaded fastener capable of being inserted into holes in assembled parts, of mating with a preformed internal thread or forming its own thread, and of being tightened or released by torquing the head.’” Id. at 913. See also Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 959280, dated December 19, 2000.
In addition, the United States Court of International Trade’s predecessor, the United States Customs Court, sanctioned Customs longstanding practice of distinguishing cap screws from bolts based on the presence of a washer face or its equivalent on the underside of the head. See Heads and Threads v. United States, 60 Cust. Ct. 430 (1968). A washer face is an embossed circle on the bearing surface, the surface underneath the head of the fastener or such a circle with chamfered corners which would be the equivalent of a washer face. The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals affirmed in Heads and Threads and stated, “The weight of testimony reveals that hexagon head cap screws require either a raised boss washer face or the equivalent in chamfered corners to prevent marring of mating surfaces. … The smooth bearing surface beneath the screw head performs the same function. A review of the substantial evidence of record convinces us that the merchandise in question is a cap screw possessing the equivalent of a washer face within the meaning of the language employed by the Tariff Commission.” Heads and Threads v. United States, 56. C.C.P.A. 95, 99 (1969). See also Heads and Threads v. United States, 60 Cust. Ct. 430 (1968). See also HQ 959280, dated December 19, 2000.
The CBP Informed Compliance Publication entitled What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About Fasteners of Heading 7318, February 2010, explicitly states, “A cap screw can have a slotted flat countersunk head, slotted fillister head, socket head, slotted round head or hex head. If the fastener has a washer face or its equivalent on the underside of the head, it is considered a cap screw. Chamfered corners on the underside of a hex head are the equivalent of a washer face.” What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About Fasteners of Heading 7318, February 2010, p. 10, n.12. See also Heads and Threads v. United States, 56. C.C.P.A. 95, 99 (1969). CBP has consistently followed the determination in Heads and Threads v. United States, 56. C.C.P.A. 95, 99 (1969), and found that a fastener with a washer face is classified as a screw under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS. See also HQ 959280, dated December 19, 2000.
There are numerous rulings that are consistent with the classification of fasteners with a washer face, or fasteners with the characteristics of a screw, under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, to include, but not limited to: NY H84287, dated August 2, 2001; HQ 966789, dated June 21, 2004; HQ 966412, dated September 3, 2003; HQ 959280, dated December 19, 2000; HQ 962055, dated March 22, 1999; HQ 951801, dated September 2, 1992; HQ 087743, dated November 30, 1990. See also Heads and Threads v. Unite States, 56 C.C.P.A. 95 (1969). Heads and Threads v. United States, 60 Cust. Ct. 430 (1968).
The sample fastener A submitted by the importer does not have a washer face. By application of GRI 1, and in light of all of the above, the fasteners without a washer face are classified as bolts under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers
(including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment”. See also HQ 959280, dated December 19, 2000.
The sample fastener B submitted by the importer does have a washer face. Such a fastener of heading 7318, HTSUS, with a washer face has been consistently held to be classified as a screw. By application of GRI 1, and in light of all of the above, the fasteners with a washer face are classified as screws under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Other: Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more”. See also HQ 959280, dated December 19, 2000.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the subject fasteners substantially similar to representative sample fastener A, that is fasteners without a washer face, are classified under subheading, 7318.15.20, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment”.
By application of GRI 1, the subject fasteners substantially similar to representative sample fastener B, that is the fasteners with a washer face, are classified under subheading, 7318.15.80, HTSUS, which provides for “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: Other: Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more”.
You are to mail this decision to the Internal Advice requester no later than sixty days from the date of the decision. At that time, the Office of International Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public, on the CBP website located at www.cbp.gov by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division