CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H237855 EGJ
M. Seredinsky
Import Manager
SCAC Transport (USA), Inc.
Building 75 North Hangar Road
JFK International Airport
Jamaica, NY 11430
RE: Modification of HQ 088500 and NY D82549: Classification of Hand Pumps
Dear Mr. Seredinsky:
This is in reference to Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 088500, dated April 4, 1991, issued to you concerning the tariff classification of two different models of tops for bottles of cosmetic and medicinal preparations: the VP series and the “Piston Pump SP 30” series. The VP series has a sprayer head and the SP 30 series has an actuator head. This letter only addresses the SP 30 series bottle tops.
In HQ 088500, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the SP 30 series in subheading 8424.89.00, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for “Mechanical appliances (whether or not hand operated) for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids or powders …: other appliances: other …” We have reviewed HQ 088500 and find it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby modify HQ 088500 and one other ruling on substantially similar merchandise: New York Ruling Letter (NY) D82549, dated September 28, 1998, issued to Avon Products, Inc.
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 September 4, 2013, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 47, No. 37. CBP received no comments in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The SP 30 series of tops dispenses cosmetic gels and emulsions. The tops have three main components: a long plastic feed tube, a spring-loaded piston pump, and an actuator head. After importation, the tops will be incorporated onto bottles and tubes. The long plastic feed tube will extend into the bottle’s reservoir, the pump will send the solution up the tube and the actuator head will dispense the liquid onto the consumer’s hand or body in a measured quantity. You state that the tops act as "liquid elevators" to bring the liquid to the top of the bottle or tube. The tops vary in size and design.
ISSUE:
Are the SP 30 series of tops classified as pumps for liquids under heading 8413, HTSUS, or as mechanical appliances for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids under heading 8424, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). 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 GRI’s 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
8413 Pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device; liquid elevators; part thereof:
8413.20.00 Hand pumps, other than those of subheading 8413.11 or 8413.19 …
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8424 Mechanical appliances (whether or not hand operated) for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids or powders; fire extinguishers, whether or not charged; spray guns and similar appliances; steam or sand blasting machines and similar jet projecting machines; parts thereof:
8424.90 Parts:
8424.90.90 Other …
* * *
Note 2 to Section XVI (Chapters 84-85) states that:
Subject to note 1 to this section, note 1 to chapter 84 and note 1 to chapter 85, parts of machines (not being parts of the articles of heading 8484, 8544, 8545, 8546 or 8547) are to be classified according to the following rules:
(a) Parts which are goods included in any of the headings of chapter 84 or 85 (other than headings 8409, 8431, 8448, 8466, 8473, 8487, 8503, 8522, 8529, 8538 and 8548) are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings;
(b) Other parts, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine, or with a number of machines of the same heading (including a machine of heading 8479 or 8543) are to be classified with the machines of that kind or in heading 8409, 8431, 8448, 8466, 8473, 8503, 8522, 8529 or 8538 as appropriate. However, parts which are equally suitable for use principally with the goods of headings 8517 and 8525 to 8528 are to be classified in heading 8517 …
* * *
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither 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 at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
EN 84.24 states, in pertinent part:
PARTS
Subject to the general provisions regarding the classification of parts (see the General Explanatory Note to Section XVI), the heading includes parts for the appliances and machines of this heading. Parts falling in this heading thus include, inter alia, reservoirs for sprayers, spray nozzles, lances and turbulent sprayer heads not of a kind described in heading 84.81.
* * *
Applying GRI 1, the first issue is whether HQ 088500 properly classified the Series 30 tops under heading 8424, HTSUS, as mechanical appliances for projecting or dispersing liquids. In Trumpf Medical Systems, Inc. v. United States, 753 F.Supp. 2d 1297, 1307 (CIT 2010), the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) defined “appliances” as follows:
These dictionary definitions indicate that an "appliance" constitutes a "device, apparatus or instrument for performing or facilitating the performance of a particular function." Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary 116 (27th ed. 1988). See also 1 Oxford English Dictionary 575 ("[A] thing applied as a means to an end" or an "apparatus"); Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology 140 ("[I]n general, any tool or machine that is used to carry out a specific task or produce a desired result.").
CBP has classified finished hand pump soap and lotion dispensers in heading 8424, HTSUS. See, e.g. HQ H012731, dated March 27, 2008, HQ 956530, dated August 29, 1994, and HQ 956529, dated August 29, 1994. However, in their condition as imported, the tops are not finished appliances for projecting or dispersing liquids. The tops cannot perform the specific function of projecting or dispersing a liquid because they lack reservoirs to hold the liquid.
EN 84.24 lists goods which are considered parts of mechanical appliances for projecting or dispersing liquids. EN 84.24 lists examples such as reservoirs for sprayers, spray nozzles and sprayer heads. The Series 30 tops are similar to these examples of parts. As such, we find that the tops are parts of goods of heading 8424, HTSUS.
Under Note 2(a) to Section XVI, parts which are goods included in any of the headings of chapter 84 or 85 are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings. Only when a part is not a good in its own right is it classified with the machine of which it is a part. See Note 2(b) to Section XVI. Heading 8413, HTSUS, provides for pumps for liquids. In Hancock Gross, Inc. v. United States, 64 Cust. Ct. 97, 100-101 (1970) (Hancock Gross), the U.S. Customs Court (predecessor to the CIT) interpreted the scope of Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) item 660.90, which provided for pumps for liquids. The U.S. Customs Court provided the following definition of “pumps”:
A pump may be defined as a mechanical device or machine designed for elevating or conveying liquids against the action of gravity * * *. A pump for liquids may be intended primarily for elevating the liquid from a source of supply below the pump up to the pump, or the principal purpose may be to force the liquid either to a much higher level or to some distant point by connecting the pump with suitable pipes. Id. citing Engineering Encyclopedia 1010 (2d Ed.).
Decisions by the courts interpreting nomenclature under the HTSUS' predecessor tariff code, the TSUS, are not deemed dispositive under the HTSUS. However, on a case-by-case basis, such decisions should be deemed instructive in interpreting the HTSUS, particularly where the nomenclature previously interpreted in those decisions remains unchanged and no dissimilar interpretation is required by the text of the HTSUS. Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, Public Law 100-418, Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1107, 1147; H.R. Rep. No. 576, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 549-550 (1988); 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1547, 1582-1583. In this instance, we find instructive the court’s definition of pumps in Hancock Gross, 64 Cust. Ct. at 100-101.
In Hancock Gross, the subject merchandise was a plumbing apparatus called the “Drain or Fill.” Id. at 99. It included a female-threaded connector designed to screw onto a male-threaded water faucet. Id. The apparatus raised fluid coming out of the water faucet against the action of gravity by suction. Id. If the water faucet was turned off, no suction was produced, and the "Drain or Fill" could not pump water. Id. The U.S. Customs Court found that the “Drain or Fill” was classifiable as a pump for liquids because it raised liquids against the action of gravity. Id. at 103-104.
Like the “Drain or Fill,” the Series 30 tops are not attached to reservoirs, faucets or other sources of liquids. They consist of a long plastic feed tube, a spring-loaded piston pump and an actuator head. Once attached to a reservoir, the tops are designed to raise liquids against the action of gravity. As such, we find that the Series 30 tops are prima facie classifiable as pumps for liquids under heading 8413, HTSUS.
This determination is consistent with prior CBP rulings which classified similar pump assemblies under heading 8413, HTSUS. See NY N099836, dated April 28, 2010, and NY L89330, dated February 8, 2006. By application of Note 2(a) to Section XVI, the Series 30 tops cannot be classified as parts of mechanical appliance of heading 8424, HTSUS, because they are classifiable as pumps of heading 8413, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 and Note 2(a) to Section XVI, the “Piston Pump SP 30” series tops in HQ 088500, dated April 4, 1991, are classified under heading 8413, HTSUS. Specifically, they are classified under subheading 8413.20.00, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for “Pumps for liquids …: Hand pumps, other than those of subheading 8413.11 or 8413.19…” The 2013 column one, general rate of duty is free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and 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:
HQ 088500, dated April 4, 1991, is hereby modified with regard to the “Piston Pump SP 30” series of tops.
NY D82549, dated September 28, 1998, is hereby modified with regard to the tariff classification of the plastic lotion dispensers.
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