CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 950676 KCC
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
101 East Main Street
Norfolk, Virginia 23510
RE: Protest No. 1401-91-100153; drawer slides; 9403.90.80; EN
94.03; Note 1(d), Chapter 94; Note 2, Section XV; parts of
general use; EN 83.02; 065403
Dear Sir:
This is in response to the Application for Further Review of
Protest No. 1401-91-100153, dated October 1, 1991, which pertains
to the tariff classification of metal drawer slides under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The articles under consideration are slides for furniture
drawers, file cabinets, kitchen cabinets, T.V. cabinets, etc.
The slides are used to support drawers contained within a
cabinet. The slides were the subject of New York Ruling (NYR)
847270 dated November 24, 1989, which held that the slides are
classified under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, as mountings,
fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture. NYR 847270
stated that articles of heading 8302, HTSUS, are considered
"parts of general use" as defined in Note 2 of Section XV, and
such articles are excluded from classification as furniture parts
by virtue of Note 1(d) of Chapter 94.
Upon importation into the U.S., you liquidated the entries
pursuant to NYR 847270 under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS. The
protestant, Fulterer USA Inc., contends that the slides are
classifiable under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, which provides
for "Other furniture and parts thereof...Parts...Other." The
protestant states that the slides form an essential part of the
structure of the article which excludes classification under
subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Are the slides properly classified under subheading
8302.42.30, HTSUS, as mountings, fittings and similar articles
suitable for furniture, or under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, as
other parts of furniture?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The protestant contends that the slides are properly
classified under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, as other parts of
furniture. Explanatory Note (EN) 94.03 of the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System (HCDCS) states that
"[t]his heading covers furniture and parts thereof, not covered,
by the previous headings. It includes furniture for general use
(e.g., cupboards, show-cases, tables, telephone stands, writing-
desks, escritoires, book-cases, and other shelved furniture,
etc.), and also furniture for special uses." HCDCS, Vol. 4, p.
1578. The Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive, are to be
looked to for the interpretation of the HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg.
35127, 35128 (Aug. 24, 1988). The slides do not satisfy the
terms of this subheading as they are more specifically described
in a previous HTSUS heading, subheading 8302.42.30.
Additionally, subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, falls within
Chapter 94, making Chapter 94 Notes applicable to this tariff
classification. Note 1(d) states that this chapter does not
cover:
Parts of general use as defined in note 2 to section XV, of
base metal (section XV), or similar goods of plastics
(chapter 39), or safes of heading 8303.
Note 2(c) of Section XV states that "[t]hroughout the tariff
schedule, the expression "parts of general use" means:
Articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310 and frames and
mirrors, of base metal, of heading 8306...."
Subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, provides for mountings and
fittings for furniture. EN 83.02 states that heading 8302,
HTSUS, "covers general purpose classes of base metals 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." HCDCS, Vol. 3,
p. 1118.
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 065403 dated November 6,
1980, compared item 647.03, Tariff Schedules of the United States
(TSUS) (the precursor provision to subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS),
which provided for fittings and mountings not specially provided
for, suitable for furniture, and item 722.55, TSUS (the precursor
provision to subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS), which provided for
furniture and parts thereof, not specially provided for, and held
that drawer slides were classified in item 647.03, TSUS.
Congress has indicated that earlier tariff rulings must not
be disregarded in applying the HTSUS. The conference report to
the 1988 Omnibus Trade Bill, states that "on a case-by-case basis
prior decisions should be considered instructive in interpreting
the HTS[US], particularly where the nomenclature previously
interpreted in those decisions remains unchanged and no
dissimilar interpretation is required by the text of the
HTS[US]." H.Rep. No. 100-576, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 548, 550
(1988). Since the subject nomenclature in the TSUS and HTSUS are
essentially the same and the articles at issue in HRL 065403 and
the instant case are essentially the same, we find that HRL
065403 is instructive and supports our conclusion that the
instant slides are classified in subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS.
The slides under consideration and the drawer slides in HRL
065403 are mountings which support a drawer contained within a
cabinet. The slides are general use parts as they can be
installed in any type of cabinet. The only limiting factor is
the size and length of the drawer and cabinet. Since the slides
are general use parts classified in subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS,
they are excluded from classification under subheading
9403.90.80, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The slides are properly classified under subheading
8302.42.30, HTSUS, which provides for "Base metal mountings,
fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors,
staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests,
caskets or the like...Other mountings, fittings and similar
articles, and parts thereof...Other, suitable for furniture."
This protest should be denied in full. A copy of this
decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and provided
to the protestant as part of the notice of action on the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division