CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089283 CMS
Mr. David O. Elliot, Esq.
Barnes, Richardson & Colburn
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
RE: Singer Overlock Sewing Machines; Household Use; Request
For Reconsideration Of HQ Ruling 087488 (November 30, 1990)
Dear Mr. Elliot:
This is in response to your request on behalf of Singer
Sewing Machine Company, dated May 2, 1991, for the
reconsideration of HQ Ruling 087488 (November 30, 1990).
FACTS:
HQ Ruling 087488 (November 30, 1990) held that the Singer
14U series of overlock sewing machine is classified as sewing
machines of the household type, in subheading 8452.10.00, HTSUSA.
ISSUE:
Is the Singer 14U series of sewing machines properly
classified as sewing machines of the household type, in
subheading 8452.10.00, HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The classification of the Singer 14U overlock sewing
machines as machines of the household type was based on numerous
factors.
HQ Ruling 087488 recognized that the Singer Sewing Reference
Library publication, More Sewing for the Home, Cy DeCosse Inc.,
1987, created in cooperation with the Singer Education
Department, discussed in detail the applications of the overlock
stitch in household sewing. HQ Ruling 087488 also recognized
that More Sewing for the Home, supra, stated that the overlock
machine is a supplement to a conventional sewing machine.
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HQ Ruling 087488 recognized that the speed of operation of
the 14U was within the operating range commonly associated with
sewing machines of the household type, as stated in Encyclopedia
Americana, Vol 24 (1980).
HQ Ruling 087488 recognized that the warranty card presented
with the 14U (since changed by the manufacturer) stated that
"[t]his sewing machine is warranted only in normal household
(non-commercial) use".
Despite this and other overwhelming support for the finding
that the 14U is a machine of the household type, none of which
the ruling requestor attempts to refute, the ruling requestor
seeks revocation of HQ Ruling 087488 on the sole question of
whether the 14U performs a lockstitch.
HQ Ruling 087488 found that the 14U performed a lockstitch,
quoting the definitions of the term "lockstitch" from The Random
House Dictionary Of The English Language, Unabridged Ed. (1983),
and Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd Ed.
(1983).
The request for reconsideration is based solely on the
argument that the definitions stated in The Random House
Dictionary Of The English Language, supra, and Webster's New
Universal Unabridged Dictionary, supra, should be disregarded in
favor of the definition stated by the Singer Company in a 1971
Singer Company publication, and certain stitch standards of
another government agency.
The Random House Dictionary Of The English Language, supra,
and Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, are
longstanding and highly credible authoritative lexicons. The
ruling requestor has not provided persuasive authority for why
they should be disregarded in favor of the definition fashioned
by a single company (the ruling requestor).
Further, p. 1 of the Federal Stitch Type (FST) standards
referred to by the ruling requestor, as stated by its own terms,
relates to "General Information". The referred to "classes" of
stitches do not determine the classification of imported
merchandise for HTSUSA tariff classification purposes. Even
where another agency makes a finding specifically regarding a
class or kind of imported merchandise, such finding does not
determine the classification of goods by Customs for tariff
classification purposes. See 1 CIT at 87, fn. 18, Royal Business
Machines, Inc. v. U.S., 1 CIT 80, 507 F. Supp. 1007 (1980),
aff'd., 669 F. 2d 692.
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The ruling requestor acknowledges that the stitch in
question is an overlock stitch, and the FST standards, even if
determinative of HTSUSA classification, describe the stitch as a
double locked stitch.
HOLDING:
A showing has not been made that the Singer 14 series of
sewing machine is a machine not of the household type. HQ Ruling
087488 (November 30, 1990) is affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division