CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 950832 AJS
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
555 Battery St
P.O. Box 2450
San Francisco, CA 94126
RE: Protest 2809-91-100892; CWS portable unit; Subheading
9903.41.20; Subheading 8471.91.00; GRI 2(a); Section XVI, General
ENs (IV); HQ 087695; HQ 088118.
Dear District Director:
Protest for further review number 2809-91-100892, dated
5/15/91, was filed against the classification of the "CWS
Portable Unit" within subheading 9903.41.20, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The merchandise under protest is the CWS (Compact
Workstation) portable unit. It does not contain a central
processing unit (CPU) microprocessor or ROM (Read Only Memory).
The CWS itself does include all of the other components of a
high-end digital processing unit such as the input, output,
storage and processor portion (main board). The CWS also
contains adapters, cables, power supply, and recorded diskettes.
ISSUE:
Whether the CWS portable unit is properly classifiable
within subheading 8471.91.00, HTSUS, which provides for "other"
"[d]igital processing units, whether or not entered with the rest
of a system, which may contain in the same housing one or two of
the following types of units: storage units, input units, output
units."; or classifiable within subheading 8473.30.40, HTSUS,
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which provides for "[p]arts and accessories of the machines of
heading 8471: [n]ot incorporating a cathode ray tube."
Whether the CWS portable unit is additionally classifiable
within subheading 9903.41.20, HTSUS, which provides for
"[a]utomatic data processing machines, of the type of which the
constituent units are separately housed, whether finished or
unfinished, which incorporate a microprocessor-based calculating
mechanism, are capable of handling data words of at least 16-
bits off the micro-processor, designed for use while affixed to
or placed on a table, desk, or similar place: [h]aving a micro-
processor-based calculating mechanism capable of directly
handling memory of over 8 megabits (provided for in subheading
8471.91)."
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Subheading 8471.91.00, HTSUS, provides for digital
processing units, whether or not entered with the rest of an
automatic data processing [ADP] system. The CWS portable unit
does not satisfy this description. It is incomplete because it
does not contain the CPU microprocessor and ROM chips which are
essential for data processing. General Rule of Interpretation
(GRI) 2(a) states that "[a]ny reference in a heading to an
article shall be taken to include a reference to that article
incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as presented, the
incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of
the complete or finished article." In reference to GRI 2(a), the
Harmonized Commodity and Description Coding System Explanatory
Notes (ENs) state that throughout this Section [XVI] any
reference to a machine or apparatus covers not only the complete
machine, but also an incomplete machine (i.e., an assembly of
parts so far advanced that it already has the main essential
features of the complete machines). Section XVI, General ENs
(IV), p. 1132 (1991). The CWS portable unit lacks the essential
character or main essential feature (i.e., the data processing
chips) of a digital processing unit. Therefore, it is not
classifiable as a incomplete or unfinished digital processing
unit within subheading 8471.91.00, HTSUS.
Customs has previously discussed the issue of essential
character for incomplete or unfinished ADP machines which lack
data processing capabilities. In HQ 087695 (3/6/91), Customs
addressed the classification of an incomplete or unfinished main
printed circuit board (motherboard) without any processing chips.
See also HQ 088118 (2/22/91). We stated that this type of device
did not possess the essential character of an ADP machine because
it lacked the essential chips required for data processing.
Accordingly, we similarly ruled that this motherboard also could
not be considered an incomplete or unfinished ADP machine.
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Heading 8473, HTSUS, provides for parts and accessories
suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of
heading 8471. In HQ 087695, we classified the incomplete or
unfinished motherboard within heading 8473, HTSUS, as a part and
accessory of an ADP machine. The subject CWS portable unit also
satisfies this description. It is suitable for use solely or
principally with the CWS, which itself is an ADP machine. More
specifically, the subject CWS portable unit is described within
subheading 8473.30.40, HTSUS, which provides for parts and
accessories of ADP machines which do not incorporate a cathode
ray tube.
Subheading 9903.41.20, HTSUS, provides for "automatic data
processing machines . . . (provided for in subheading 8471.91)."
The subject CWS portable unit does not satisfy this description.
It is not an ADP machine because it lacks the essential character
of an ADP machine. As discussed previously, it is a part of an
ADP machine. Accordingly, the subject CWS portable unit is not
properly classifiable within subheading 9903.41.20, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The CWS portable unit is properly classifiable within
subheading 8473.30.40, HTSUS, which provides for parts and
accessories of ADP machines, not incorporating a cathode ray
tube. You should grant the protest 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