CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084763 TLS
TARIFF NOS.: 5910.00.9000; 3926.90.6000; 3917.39.0050;
3917.32.0050; 3917.31.0000
Mr. Gene Hobson
Belting Industries Co., Inc.
20 Boright Avenue
Kenilworth, New Jersey 07033
RE: Industrial belts and belting
Dear Mr. Hobson:
You request a ruling on the proper classification of
industrial belts and belting under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). Your letter dated May
12, 1989 has been referred to our office for this purpose.
FACTS:
The belts and belting you present are divided into two
sections: Breco synchronous belts and Schlatterer flat endless
belts and belting. The belting is imported in the form of
sleeves, which are very similar to tubes. The belting can be
separated into two groups, according to their particular
compositions.
Group 1 consists of one or two layers of woven polyester
fabrics with a fabric on one surface and a visible plastics layer
on the other surface. Where there are two layers of fabric,
there is a distinct visible layer of plastics between them. The
belting in this group include PU, PU 10, PU 11, PU 20/1, PU-VA
11/12343, PU-VA 11/12343-1, PU VA 1976, PU (flat), PU (flat
poly), PU 4/6, PU 10 (flat), PU 11 (flat), PU 12, PU 17, PU 18,
PU 20, MINI, NE 10, NE 20, NE 20/133, NE 21, NE 133/1, Si 1, Si
1-S, Si, Si 3, HN 1, HG 1, HK 17, and HK 18.
Group 2 consists of one or two woven polyester fabrics that
are completely embedded or entirely coated or covered with
plastics. Included in this group are PU + Si, NE 21 (flat), NE
22, NE 22 (flat), NE 26, NE 17, NE 18, and Si 1-B.
There is one sample of belting that does not belong in
either group 1 or group 2. PU 0/6 consists of only polyurethane
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and does not have any fabric woven into it. Although they are
imported in a variety of lengths and widths, none of the belting
has a thickness of 3 mm or more.
The belts, both Breco and Schlatterer, are either conveyor
or transmission, and all are made of some textile material. All
are reinforced with a cotton/man-made fiber blend or strictly a
man-made fiber. One exception is the Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt,
which has no fiber support in it and is made of only
polyurethane.
ISSUE:
How are the various belts and belting properly classified
under the HTSUSA.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI) govern the
classification of articles under the HTS. GRI 1 requires that
classification be determined according to the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Heading 5910
covers transmission or conveyor belts or belting, of textile
material, whether or not reinforced with metal or other material.
Chapter note 6 (a) of chapter 59 states that heading 5910 does
not apply to transmission or conveyor belting, of textile
material, of a thickness of less than 3 mm. All of the belts,
with the exception of the Schlatterer PU 0/6, fit the description
provided for in heading 5910. They are classifiable under this
heading. However, none of the belting is classifiable under 5910
because all of the belting have a thickness of less than 3 mm.
Heading 3926 covers other articles of plastics and articles
of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914. The Explanatory
Notes (EN) of the HTSUSA are the official interpretation of the
HTS at the international level. The EN for heading 3926 states
that this heading includes transmission, conveyor or elevator
belts, endless, or cut to length and joined end to end, or fitted
with fasteners. The Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt meets the
description of this heading and the EN. It is classifiable under
this heading.
Heading 3917 provides for tubes, pipes and hoses and
fittings thereof, of plastics. All of the belting are imported
in the form of sleeves, which are very similar in construction to
tubes. All are made of a plastic of some sort and all except one
are reinforced or combined with textile materials. All of the
belting are classifiable under heading 3917.
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HOLDING:
All of the belts, with the exception of the Schlatterer PU
0/6 belt, are classified under subheading 5910.00.9000, HTSUSA,
as other conveyor and transmission belts of man-made materials.
The Schlatterer PU 0/6 belt is classified under subheading
3926.90.6000, HTSUSA, as another belt for machinery not
containing textile fibers.
All of the belting, with the exception of the PU 0/6
belting, is classified under subheading 3917.39.0050, HTSUSA, as
tubes other than those which are rigid and not reinforced with
other materials.
The PU 0/6 belting is classified under subheading
3917.32.0050, HTSUSA, as a tube not reinforced or otherwise
combined with other materials, other than those which are rigid,
and other than those of polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene.
Alternatively, any of the belting found to have a minimum
burst pressure of 27.6 MPa is classified under subheading
3917.31.0000, HTSUSA, as flexible tubes having such a minimum
burst pressure.
This ruling letter pertains only to the classification of
the subject articles under the HTSUSA. The Customs Service does
not have authority to rule on the applicability of antidumping or
countervailing (AD/CVD) duties to these articles. The Department
of Commerce has jurisdiction over such matters and therefore is
the appropriate forum to address the AD/CVD issue.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division