CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H201156 EGJ
Jamie L. Davis
Import Coordinator
Interline Brands
3333 Lenox Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32254
RE: Revocation of New York Ruling Letter L89621; Classification of Steel Escutcheons
Dear Mr. Davis:
This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) L89621, dated January 5, 2006, issued to you concerning the tariff classification of steel escutcheons under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the subject article in heading 7324, HTSUS, which provides for steel sanitary ware and parts thereof. We have reviewed NY L89621 and find it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY L89621.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice of the proposed revocation was published on November 12, 2014, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 48, No. 45. CBP received no comments in response to this notice.
FACTS:
In bathroom showers, the shower’s system is used indoors to deliver water from outside water lines. The body of the shower system, consisting of a valve and other connecting parts, is generally installed behind a wall. In contrast, the shower’s trim components are installed on the shower’s surface. Certain trim components enable the user to control the flow of water from the valve and into the shower. Generally, the trim components tend to be ornamental so as to enhance the décor of the bathroom.
The subject merchandise is a chrome-plated steel escutcheon, also known as a shower arm flange. It is designed to cover the hole on the bathroom shower wall where the shower arm projects. The escutcheon is 2.5 inches in diameter. It is not imported together with a shower faucet system or a shower. The escutcheon is imported in bulk and is sold to plumbers and contractors. The escutcheon does not contribute to the function of the shower system. The escutcheon’s function is to hide the hole in the wall around the shower arm and to contribute to the bathroom’s décor.
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification of the steel shower escutcheon?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). 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.
The relevant HTSUS provisions are:
7324 Sanitary ware and parts thereof, of iron or steel…
* * *
7326 Other articles of iron or steel …
* * *
8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof …
* * *
Note 3 to Section XV (which includes Chapters 72-83) states that:
Throughout the schedule, the expression "base metals" means: iron and steel, copper, nickel, aluminum, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten (wolfram), molybdenum, tantalum, magnesium, cobalt, bismuth, cadmium, titanium, zirconium, antimony, manganese, beryllium, chromium, germanium, vanadium, gallium, hafnium, indium, niobium (columbium), rhenium and thallium.
* * *
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 and, therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are thus useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under the Harmonized System. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
EN 73.24 provides, in pertinent part, that:
This heading comprises a wide range of iron or steel articles, not more specifically covered by other headings of the Nomenclature, used for sanitary purposes …
The heading includes, baths, bidets, hip-baths, foot-baths, sinks, wash basins, toilet sets; soap dishes and sponge baskets; douche cans, sanitary pails, urinals, bedpans, chamber pots, water closet pans and flushing cisterns whether or not equipped with their mechanisms, spittoons, toilet paper holders.
* * *
EN 73.26 provides, in pertinent part, that:
This heading covers all iron or steel articles obtained by forging or punching, by cutting or stamping or by other processes such as folding, assembling, welding, turning, milling or perforating other than articles included in the preceding headings of this Chapter or covered by Note 1 to Section XV or included in Chapter 82 or 83 or more specifically covered elsewhere in the Nomenclature
* * *
EN 83.02 provides, in pertinent part, that:
This heading covers general purpose classes of base metal accessory fittings and mountings, such as are used largely on furniture, doors, windows, coachwork, etc. Goods within such general classes remain in this heading even if they are designed for particular uses (e.g., door handles or hinges for automobiles). The heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs.
The heading covers …
(D) Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for buildings
This group includes :
(1) Door guards fitted with chains, bars, etc.; espagnolette or casement bolts and fittings; casement fasteners and stays; fanlight or skylight openers, stays and fittings; cabin hooks and eyes; hooks and fittings for double windows; hooks, fasteners, stops, brackets and roller ends for shutters or blinds; letter box plates; door knockers, spy holes, etc. (other than those fitted with optical elements).
(2) Catches (including ball spring catches), bolts, fasteners, latches, etc., (other than key operated bolts of heading 83.01), for doors.
(3) Fittings for sliding doors or windows of shops, garages, sheds, hangars, etc. (e.g., grooves and tracks, runners and rollers).
(4) Keyhole plates and finger plates for doors of buildings.
(5) Curtain, blind or portière fittings (e.g., rods, tubes, rosettes, brackets, bands, tassel hooks, clips, sliding or runner rings, stops); cleat hooks, guides and knot holders for blind cords, etc.; staircase fittings, such as protectors for staircase treads; stair carpet clips, stair rods, banister knobs. Rods, tubes and bars, suitable for use as curtain or stair rods, etc., merely cut to length and drilled, remain classified according to the constituent metal.
(6) Corner braces, reinforcing plates, angles, etc., for doors, windows or shutters.
(7) Hasps and staples for doors; handles and knobs for doors, including those for locks or latches.
(8) Door stops and door closers (other than those of (H) below).
(E) Mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture
This group includes :
(1) Protective studs (with one or more points) for legs of furniture, etc.; metal decorative fittings; shelf adjusters for book cases, etc.; fittings for cupboards, bedsteads, etc.; keyhole plates.
(2) Corner braces, reinforcing plates, angles, etc.
(3) Catches (including ball spring catches), bolts, fasteners, latches, etc. (other than key operated bolts of heading 83.01).
(4) Hasps and staples for chests, etc.
(5) Handles and knobs, including those for locks or latches.
(F) (1) Fittings and similar articles for trunks, chests, suit cases or similar travel goods, e.g., lid guides (but not including fasteners); handles; corner protectors; lid struts and runners; closing rods for basket trunks; fittings for expanding cases; however, ornaments for handbags fall in heading 71.17 …
(G) Hat racks, hat pegs, brackets (fixed, hinged or toothed, etc.) and similar fixtures such as coat racks, towel racks, dish cloth racks, brush racks, key racks. Coat racks, etc., having the character of furniture, such as coat racks incorporating a shelf, are classified in Chapter 94 …
* * *
Heading 7324, HTSUS, provides for steel sanitary ware and parts of sanitary ware. The term “sanitary ware” is not defined in the HTSUS. The Macmillan Dictionary, available at www.macmillandictionary.com, defines “sanitary” as “relating to people’s health, especially to the system of supply water and dealing with human waste.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1033 (10th Ed. 2001), defines sanitary ware as “ceramic plumbing fixtures (as sinks, lavatories or toilet bowls).” These definitions are consistent with EN 73.24, which states, inter alia, that “baths, bidets ..sinks, wash basins … soap dishes and sponge baskets …urinals, bedpans, chamber pots, water closet pans and flushing cisterns … spittoons, toilet paper holders” are all sanitary ware.
The subject steel escutcheon is a component of a shower system. Baths and showers are types of sanitary ware. Thus, if the steel escutcheon constitutes a “part” within the meaning of the HTSUS, we could classify it as a part of sanitary ware under heading 7324, HTSUS.
In Bauerhin Techs. Ltd. P’ship. United States, 110 F. 3d 774 (Fed. Cir. 1997), the court identified two distinct lines of cases defining the word "part." Consistent with United States v. Willoughby Camera Stores, Inc., 21 C.C.P.A. 322, 324 (1933), one line of cases holds that a part of an article "is something necessary to the completion of that article without which the article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such article." The other line of cases evolved from United States v. Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9, 14 (1955), which held that a device may be a part of an article even though its use is optional and the article will function without it, if the device is dedicated for use upon the article, and, once installed, the article will not operate without it. Under either line of cases, an imported item is not a part if it is “a separate and distinct commercial entity.” ABB, Inc. v. United States, 28 Ct. Int’l Trade 1444, 1452-53 (2004).
Applying the case law, the steel escutcheon is not a “part” under the HTSUS. This trim component is of a strictly decorative nature. The escutcheon does not contribute to the function of the shower into which it is installed, nor does it mount any other necessary parts to the shower system. Accordingly, we cannot classify it as a “part” of sanitary ware under heading 7324, HTSUS.
Heading 8302 provides, in pertinent part, for “Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures …automatic door closers of base metal.” The terms “and the like” and “similar fixtures” require that we apply the rule of ejusdem generis to determine the scope of heading 8302, HTSUS. Under the rule of ejusdem generis, where an enumeration of specific things is followed by a general word or phrase, the general word or phrase is held to refer to things of the same kind as those specified. With respect to classification analysis, ejusdem generis requires that the imported merchandise possess the essential characteristics or purposes that unite the articles enumerated eo nomine in order to be classified under the general terms. See Sports Graphics, Inc. v. United States, 24 F.3d 1390, 1392 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
First, we note that all of the named articles in heading 8302, HTSUS, are of base metal. Note 3 to Section XV (which includes Chapter 83) states that base metal includes steel. Therefore, the steel escutcheon consists of a base metal.
Next, we find that the terms base metal “mountings” and "fittings" must be read in conjunction with the rest of the words of heading 8302. The words "suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like" qualify the meaning of “mountings” and "fittings." EN 83.02 categorizes these articles into mountings suitable for buildings, mountings suitable for furniture, mountings suitable for trunks and other travel goods as well as hat racks, hat pegs and brackets.
The steel escutcheon is immediately distinguishable from mountings suitable for furniture, trunks, chests and travel goods because it does not attach to such articles. Moreover, hat racks, hat pegs and brackets all mount on the wall and support hats or other articles, such as shelves. In contrast, the steel escutcheon attaches to a shower and does not serve as a support. Thus, in order to be classified in heading 8302, HTSUS, the steel escutcheon must be a base metal mounting or fitting for a building.
The steel escutcheon attaches to a shower stall and hides the hole in the shower around the shower arm. Shower stalls are distinguishable from doors, staircases, and windows because they are not architectural elements of a building. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 960428, dated December 15, 1997, we found that the grille cover for an air duct was not classified in heading 8302, HTSUS, because an air vent is distinguishable from the enumerated building components. Similarly, the steel escutcheon does not attach to an article similar to doors, staircases or windows. As a result, the scope of heading 8302, HTSUS, is too narrow to cover all of the escutcheons at importation.
Heading 7326, HTSUS, provides for other articles of iron or steel. EN 73.26 states that this heading covers articles of steel which are not classified elsewhere in the tariff schedule. Based upon the foregoing, the steel shower escutcheon is classified in heading 7326, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the steel shower escutcheon is classified in heading 7326, HTSUS. It is specifically classified under subheading 7326.90.85, HTSUS, which provides for “Other articles of iron or steel: Other: Other: Other…” The 2015 column one, general rate of duty is 2.9 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the Internet at www.usits.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY L89621, dated January 5, 2006, is hereby revoked.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division