CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 951325 EJD
TARIFF NO: 7308.90.00; 9817.00.50
William J. LeClair
Administrative and Regulatory Advisor
Trans-Border Customs Services, Inc.
One Trans-Border Drive
P.O. Box 800
Champlain, New York 12919
RE: Animal Stalls; structures of iron and steel; HQ 089936; HQ
087076; HQ 086706; HQ 086883; HQ 086482; HQ 083930
Dear Mr. LeClair:
In your letter of March 4, 1992, on behalf of J. Houle &
Fils Inc. of Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, you inquire as to the
tariff classification of animals stalls under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Our ruling
follows.
FACTS:
The descriptive literature submitted illustrates the various
models of animal stalls used to contain farm animals, most often
cows. The animal stalls are made of galvanized steel tubing that
is attached to the wall of a barn or stable with the legs
embedded in the cement floor.
It is your opinion that these animal stalls should be
classified in subheading 7308.90.90, HTSUS, which provides for
structures of iron and steel. It is also your belief that these
animal stalls are subject to the special classification under the
subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, which provides duty free treatment
for agricultural machinery, equipment and implements used in
agricultural pursuits.
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification of animal stalls?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states that "for
legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to
the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter
notes...."
Subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, grants duty free treatment for
"[m]achinery, equipment and implements to be used for
agricultural or horticultural purposes...." This is an actual
use provision. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 083930, dated
May 19, 1989. To fall within this special classification the
following three part test must be met:
(1) The article in question must not be excluded
from the heading under Section XXII, Chapter
98, Subchapter XVII, U.S. Note 2, HTSUS.
(2) The terms of the headings must be met in
accordance with GRI 1, which provides that
classification is determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative
section or chapter notes.
(3) The article must comply with the actual use
provision required under 19 CFR 10.131
through 10.138.
See HQ 086883, dated May 1, 1990; HQ 087076, dated June 14, 1990;
and HQ 089936, dated November 15, 1991.
The first part of the test is to determine whether the
animal stalls are excluded from heading 9817, HTSUS. To do this
we must first determine under which subheading they are
classified.
You maintain that the animal stalls should be classified in
subheading 7308.90.90, HTSUS.
In HQ 086482, dated April 3, 1990, Customs dealt with the
classification of livestock corral panels. This case involved
the interpretation of heading 7308, HTSUS, which provides for
structures and parts of structures, of iron or steel.
Subheading 7308.90.90, HTSUS, provides for
[s]tructures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading
9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and
bridge sections, lock gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs,
roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and
thresholds for doors, shutters,balustrades, pillars and
columns) of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes,
sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in
structures, of iron or steel... [o]ther...columns, pillars,
posts, beams, girders and similar structural units...
[o]ther.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
(HCDCS) Explanatory Notes (ENs) for the HTSUS, although not
dispositive, are to be looked to for the proper interpretation of
the HTSUS. In explaining the scope of heading 73.08, the ENs,
at. p. 1020, indicate that the structures are characterized by
the fact that once put into position they are generally (emphasis
added) remain in that position. Further, the ENs state that
"....[a]part from the structures and parts of structures
mentioned in the heading, the heading also includes products such
as: [p]it head frames and superstructures...stalls and racks
...."
We are of the opinion that the galvanized steel animal
stalls are classifiable under subheading 7308.90.90, HTSUS.
Subheading 7308.90, HTSUS, is not excluded from
classification in heading 9817, HTSUS, by operation of Section
XXII, Chapter 98, Subchapter XVII, U.S. Note 2 (ij). U.S. Notes
2 (ij) states that "[t]he provisions of headings 9817.00.50...do
not apply to...articles provided for in chapter 73 (except
subheadings 7308.10, 7308.20, 7308.40 and 7308.90...)."
Accordingly, the first part of the test is satisfied.
The second part of the test calls for the animal stalls to
be included within the terms of the heading as required by GRI 1.
The animal stalls must be "machinery", "equipment" or
"implements" used for "agricultural or horticultural purposes".
For this part of the test, the initial determination to be made
is what agricultural or horticultural pursuit is in question. It
is your position that animal stalls are agricultural in nature.
To support this position, you state that "Webster's Dictionary
defines the word "stall" as `a compartment in a stable for
animals.'"
Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary (1988),
defines machinery, equipment and implement as follows:
Machinery: machines or machine parts in general...the
working parts of a machine...a system of related
elements that operates in a definable way....
Equipment: the act of equipping or state of being
equipped...something with which one is equipped....
Implement: a tool, utensil, or instrument for doing a
task...an article used to outfit or equip....
Inasmuch as heading 9817 does not provide a definition for
agriculture, that tariff term must be considered in accordance
with its common and commercial meaning. Nippon Kogaku (USA) Inc.
v. United States, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). To ascertain the common
[and commercial] meaning [of a tariff term], in addition to
relying upon its own understanding of the terms used, the courts
may consult dictionaries, lexicons, the testimony of record, and
other reliable sources of information as an aid to its knowledge.
Pistorini & Co., Inc. v. United States, 461 F. Supp. 331, 332
(1978).
In determining whether animal stalls were used for
agricultural pursuit, we relied on the definition of agriculture
as stated in Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary.
Agriculture is defined as "the science, art, and business of
cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising
livestock...farming." (Emphasis added.)
Animal stalls are used solely to hold animals, often farm
animals such as cows. Therefore, the agricultural or
horticultural pursuit in question is raising livestock.
The next determination to be made is whether the animal
stalls are "machinery", "equipment" or "implement". It is the
opinion of this office that animal stalls are "agricultural
implements" which are used for agricultural pursuits.
The animal stalls are agricultural implements to be used for
a recognized agricultural purpose, and are not otherwise excluded
from classification in subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, by U.S. Note
2 to Subchapter XVII, Chapter 98, Section XXII, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The various animal stalls in issue are provided for in
heading 7308. They are classifiable as other structures and
parts of structures, of iron or steel, in subheading 7308.90.90,
HTSUS. These various animal stalls would qualify for tariff
treatment under subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, if they meet all
the applicable requirements of section 10.131 through 10.139,
Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.131 through 10.139).
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division