CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:CPMM H265069 CKG
Shanshan Liang
The Mooney Law Firm LLC
1911 Capital Circle N.E.
Tallahassee, FL 32308
RE: Revocation of NY N259783 and NY N244050; Classification of floor sinks
Dear Ms. Liang:
This is in response to your letter of May 14, 2015 on behalf of Crestline Trading, Inc. requesting reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N259783, issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on December 15, 2014. We have reviewed NY N259783, which involved classification of floor sinks under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), and determined that it is incorrect. For the reasons set forth below, we are revoking that ruling.
We have also reviewed NY N244050, dated August 6, 2013, which similarly involves classification of floor sinks, and determined that it is incorrect. We are accordingly revoking NY N244050.
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 proposing to revoke NY N259783 and NY N244050 was published on July 11, 2018, in Volume 52, Number 28 of the Customs Bulletin. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The subject floor sinks consist of cast iron basins whose top rims and interior surfaces are coated with porcelain enamel, and whose bases contain apertures covered by aluminum strainers. Included with the floor sinks at issue in NY N244050 are grate covers of an unidentified composition. While NY N259783 does not indicate whether grates are similarly included with the floor sinks at issue there, your May 14, 2015 letter (hereinafter “reconsideration request”) states that porcelain top grates are “optional.” Your reconsideration request also states that the cast iron accounts for the “vast majority” of the weight of the floor sinks at issue in NY N259783.
Your reconsideration request provides the following depictions, among others, of the floor sinks at issue in NY N259783:
The floor sinks at issue in both rulings are designed for installment directly in floors for the purpose of collecting liquids directed toward them, separating denser material for separate removal, and channeling the collected liquid to the connected drain pipes for disposal. According to your reconsideration request, and consistent with the descriptions contained in NY N259783, the floor sinks at issue in that ruling are installed in kitchens, supermarkets, grocery stores, and other “commercial spaces” so as “to drain condensed water from large freezers or refrigerators, to drain waste water from floor washdowns, to drain waste water from food preparation areas, and/or to separate food residuals, fats or other large particles from waste water.” Your reconsideration request further states that the floor drains are installed in hospitals and clinics. According to NY N244050, the floor sinks at issue in that ruling are similarly used in a wide range of environments, including kitchens, restrooms, supermarkets, and laundromats.
In both NY N259783 and NY N244050, the subject floor sinks were classified in heading 7326, HTSUS. They were specifically classified in subheading 7326.90.85 of the 2013 and 2014 HTSUS, which provided for “Other articles of iron or steel: Other: Other: Other.” We note that subheading 7326.90.85, HTSUS, was superseded by subheading 7326.90.86, HTSUS, as part of the 2017 revisions to the HTSUS, but that the provisions are substantively identical.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject floor sinks are classified in heading 7324, HTSUS, as sanitary ware of iron, or in heading 7326, HTSUS, as “other” articles of iron.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first 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 heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System 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. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The 2018 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7324 Sanitary ware and parts thereof, of iron or steel:
7324.90.00 Other, including parts
7326 Other articles of iron or steel:
7326.90 Other:
Other:
7326.90.86 Other
As a preliminary matter, the subject floor sinks can only be classified in heading 7326, HTSUS, if they are not more specifically classifiable in heading 7324, HTSUS. See EN 73.26 (“This heading covers all iron or steel articles…other than articles included in the preceding headings of this Chapter.”). Accordingly, we initially consider whether the subject articles fall within the scope of heading 7324.
Heading 7324, HTSUS, applies, inter alia, to sanitary ware of iron. EN 73.24 states, in pertinent part, as follows:
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.
These articles may be cast, or of iron or steel sheet, plate, hoop, strip, wire, wire grill, wire cloth, etc., and may be manufactured by any process (moulding, forging, punching, stamping, etc.). They may be fitted with lids, handles or other parts or accessories of other materials provided that they retain the character of iron or steel articles.
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.
Per its plain language, and as explicated in EN 73.24, heading 7324 applies to articles which are describable both as “sanitary ware” and as “of iron or steel.” With respect to the former criterion, the term “sanitary” is left undefined in the HTSUS. The term must therefore be construed in accordance with its common meaning, which may be ascertained by reference to “standard lexicographic and scientific authorities” and to the pertinent ENs. See GRK Can., Ltd. v. United States, 761 F.3d 1354, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2014). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “sanitary” adjectivally refers to “conditions affecting health, esp. with references to cleanliness and precautions against infection and other deleterious diseases.” Definition Sanitary, Oxford English Dictionary, http://www.oed.com/??view/??Entry/170705?redirectedFrom=sanitary (last visited April 13, 2018); see also Headquarters Ruling Letters (HQ) H201156 and HQ H201157, both dated December 16, 2014 (citing MacMillan Dictionary definition of “sanitary” as “relating to people’s health, especially to the system of supply water and dealing with human waste”). Consistent with this, EN 73.24 lists, as exemplars of “sanitary ware,” various articles used to remove waste that could potentially serve as vectors for disease. See LeMans Corp. v. United States, 660 F.3d 1311, 1320-21 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (holding that use of EN examples to define the scope of a tariff term is permissible). Among these listed exemplars are sinks and wash basins, both of which are used to funnel waste – human, food, or otherwise – from relatively wide receptacles to narrower drainage systems for disposal. See id.; see also HQ H201156 and H201157, supra (finding that inclusion of “sinks” among EN 73.24 exemplars is consistent with definition of “sanitary ware” in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). In consideration of the above, we are of the view that “sanitary ware” applies to basins, wherever positioned, that similarly collect and facilitate the drainage of organic or inorganic waste for the purpose of preventing the incubation and spread of disease.*
The subject floor sinks satisfy this description, insofar as they are designed to assist in the disposal of waste water from areas like bathrooms, food preparation and storage areas, and medical facilities, among others. Like traditional sinks and wash basins, the floor sinks collect broad swaths of waste water directed toward them and funnel this water toward underlying drainage pipes for disposal. In so doing, the floor sinks additionally separate and aggregate denser waste material for subsequent manual removal. In this manner, the floor sinks help mitigate pathological health risks in areas that are particularly effective disease incubators. It is immaterial that they are installed in floors, rather than atop them as upright units, given that their functionality is akin to that of traditional sink bowls or basins. Therefore, the subject floor sinks satisfy the definition of “sanitary ware” for purposes of heading 7324, HTSUS. We note that this determination finds support in prior CBP rulings. See NY R03830, dated May 19, 2006; NY L86937, dated September 2, 2005; and NY 883008, dated February 26, 1993 (all classifying substantially similar floor drains as “sanitary ware” of heading 7324).
As to whether the floor sinks are “of iron or steel,” per the second criterion listed above, EN 73.24 states that sanitary ware of the heading may incorporate components or include accessories made up of “other materials” so long as it “retains the character” of iron or steel. The extent to which incorporation of a non-steel, non-iron material deprives a sanitary ware of its iron or steel character is left unaddressed by the EN, the HTSUS, and CBP precedent alike. However, we have previously determined that steel or iron articles coated with “other materials” are prima facie classifiable in heading 7324, HTSUS. See HQ 958421, dated March 18, 1996. This is also consistent with various decisions involving heading 7323, HTSUS, which similarly pertains to composite goods – albeit “kitchen articles” – which “retain the character” of iron or steel. See EN 73.23 (“These articles…may be fitted with lids, handles or other parts or accessories of other materials provided that they retain the character of iron or steel articles.”). Per the latter rulings, articles with iron or steel bodies retain the character of those metals even when coated with and/or comprised in minor, non-structural part of other substances. See HQ 966953, dated March 25, 2004 (classifying “microradiant cooker consist[ing] of a thermal ceramic [steel] tripod-pedestal and a Teflon-coated steel pan and lid” in heading 3923); see also HQ 963777, dated April 2, 2001 (determining that chrome-plated strainers with plastic handles “retain the character of iron or steel articles” for purposes of heading 3923). However, when accompanied by separate, non-metal items which are in and of themselves distinct articles of commerce, those goods can no longer be classified solely as articles “of iron or steel.” See HQ 966953, supra (classifying oven mitts included with steel pedestal and pan and lid in heading 6304, HTSUS); see also HQ 961935, dated September 25, 1998 (determining that combination of steel or iron spice rack and twelve glass jars could not be classified in heading 7323 because the jars were distinct articles of commerce that imparted the set’s essential character). In view of this, it is our position that sanitary ware retains the character of iron or steel where any “other materials” included are clearly subordinate to the constituent iron or steel in terms of relative size and structural importance, and where those materials lack any independent commercial significance.
In the instant case, the structures of the basins comprising the floor sinks’ bodies are wholly iron. While the basins are coated with porcelain along their rims and interior surfaces, the entirety of their exteriors and bottommost surfaces consist solely of uncoated iron. As such, it cannot be said that the porcelain content forms, or even lends to, the structure of the floor sinks. Nor can the aluminum strainers covering the floor sinks’ base aperture be considered structurally important, as they are merely placed upon the pre-existing structure for purposes of assisting in the filtering of larger waste residue for separate removal. As to your contention that the iron content in the basins vastly exceeds that of porcelain and aluminum, this remains unverified in the absence of supporting evidence. However, a simple inspection of the depictions included in your ruling request, as well as others found in various online retail channels, indicates that the iron content does in fact predominate by surface area and mass. Lastly, even if grates of porcelain or other materials are included with the basins at entry, the grates cannot be considered distinct articles of commerce insofar as their unique form and dimensions narrow their use to that of accessories for the floor sinks. As such, they do not render the character of floor sinks something other than articles of iron. We therefore conclude that the subject merchandise, as sanitary ware of iron, is classified in heading 7324, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the subject floor sinks are classified in heading 7324, HTSUS, specifically in subheading 7324.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for: “Sanitary ware and parts thereof, of iron or steel: Other, including parts.” The 2018 column one general rate of duty is free.
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.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
New York Ruling Letters N259783, dated December 15, 2014, and NY N244050, dated August 6, 2013, are hereby REVOKED in accordance with the above analysis.
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
CC: Toby Chow
215 W. Pomona Blvd., Suite 301
Monterey Park, CA 91754