CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 952561 EJD
TARIFF NO: 9405.99.40
Mr. Robert B. Silverman
Grunfeld, Desiderio,
Lebowitz & Silverman
12 East 49th Street
New York, New York 10017
RE: Ornamental ceramic lamp body; Parts of lamps; GRI 2(a); HQs
076523, 084141, 084142, 086338, 734503, 951963; Subheadings
9405.20.80, 9405.50; Daisy-Heddon; ENs to 94.05
Dear Mr. Silverman:
This is in response to your letter of July 31, 1992, to
Customs in New York, on behalf of Murray Feiss Import Corp.,
concerning the classification of ornamental ceramic lamp bodies
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). Your letter was referred to this office for a response.
You have also furnished a sample of an ornamental ceramic lamp
body for our examination.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is an ornamental ceramic article in
the shape of a vase with a hole drilled in the bottom, converting
it into an article suitable for use as a lamp body. It is
manufactured in China. The article is molded and fired in a kiln
then hand painted and kiln fired several times to achieve the
intricate and multilayered design work reflected in the finished
product.
After importation into the United States, the ornamental
ceramic lamp body is combined with a socket, riser, vase cap,
base, cord set, harp and miscellaneous parts to produce a
finished electrical lamp.
ISSUE:
Is the ornamental ceramic lamp body an unfinished lamp or
part of a lamp?
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 in part
that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section
or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
GRI 2(a) states that:
Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to
include a reference to that article incomplete or
unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or
unfinished article has the essential character of the
complete or finished article. It shall also include a
reference to that article complete or finished (or falling
to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this
rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
You maintain that as imported, by virtue of GRI 2(a), the
subject merchandise should be classified as other lamps under
subheading 9405.20.80, HTSUS, and not as other parts of lamps
under subheading 9405.99.40, HTSUS. You contend that the
imported lamp body should be classified as an unfinished lamp,
based on its cost in relation to the cost of the other parts
required to make a finished lamp.
You then argue that Daisy-Heddon, Div. Victor Comptometer
Corp. v. The United States, 66 CCPA 97, 600 F.2d 799, C.A.D. 1228
(1979) supports your belief that the merchandise has the
essential character of the complete or finished article. You
argue that considerably more time and effort was devoted to
crafting the lamp body than was spent attaching the additional
components after importation. The intricate painting of the lamp
body is a process requiring many hours of skilled labor, while
attaching the remaining components requires only half an hour of
unskilled labor. You state that the lamp body represents
approximately 86.6 percent of the total cost of the components
and labor required to make the finished lamp and that this
supports the proposition that the imported lamp body is a
substantially complete lamp. You believe that the results of
these comparisons clearly support the proposition that the
imported merchandise is a substantially complete lamp.
The foregoing notwithstanding, we are of the opinion that
the ornamental ceramic lamp body is not an unfinished lamp but a
part of a lamp. Regardless of the guidelines set forth in Daisy-
Heddon, the Court clearly stated that the outcome of each case
will always depend on the particular merchandise. It is our
position that in this instance the lamp body is just one of a
number of parts which make up a lamp regardless of its value or
ornate character. Absent the hole drilled in the bottom, the
article appears to be the type of item used as an ornamental
vase.
You maintain that Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 734503,
dated July 20, 1992, supports your position. In HQ 734503,
Customs determined the country of origin marking for a crystal
lamp assembled in the United States. In that case, like here,
the crystal piece was imported into the U.S. ready to be
incorporated into a finished lamp. In HQ 734503, the issue was
whether the cut crystal piece was substantially transformed when
assembled with other lamp components. Customs ruled that the
"crystal base piece is not substantially transformed when it is
combined together with other components to make a lamp."
However, in HQ 734503 Customs dealt with the issue of
substantial transformation of lamp parts, not with the
classification of lamp parts. It is our opinion that this case
has minimal application to the instant case.
Finally, you argue that although the merchandise may not be
capable of radiating light as imported, the configuration of the
hole in the ceramic lamp body precludes using the merchandise in
any capacity other than as a lamp. You state that Customs has
classified other imported merchandise as "lamps" under heading
9405, HTSUS. See HQ 076523, dated August 29, 1985; HQs 084141
and 084142, dated July 3, 1990 (brass or silver-plated brass
candlesticks); and HQ 086338, dated April 6, 1990 (candlestick
holder of base metal).
Inasmuch as the articles which are the subject of these
rulings are different from the subject article (they are finished
candlestick holders without holes), we fail to see how these
rulings apply in this case. The cited cases stand for the well
known rule that merchandise is classifiable in its condition as
imported. Furthermore, in HQ 951963, dated September 1, 1992,
Customs stated the following:
While we do not dispute what the importer does with
this article after importation, this item [a candlestick
holder] is a not a "part" as defined in the ENs to Chapter
94. The candlestick holder is not solely or principally
designed as a base for the finished table lamp. It is an
established rule of Customs law that merchandise is
classifiable in its condition as imported. In its imported
form, the product is a finished candlestick holder. It is
not a "part" of a lamp or lighting fitting classifiable
under subheading 9405.99.20, HTSUS. The fact that many of
the candlesticks will undergo manufacturing into an electric
lamp after importation is irrelevant for classification
purposes.
It is our position that the candlestick holders are
properly classified under subheading 9405.50, HTSUS...[.]
(Emphasis added.)
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (HCDCS), although not dispositive,
are to be looked to for the proper interpretation of the HTSUS.
The ENs to heading 94.05, HTSUS, state, in pertinent part, that:
The heading also covers identifiable parts of lamps and
lighting fittings, illuminated signs, illuminated name-
plates and the like, not more specifically covered
elsewhere....
* * *
Non-electrical parts of articles of this heading,
combined with electrical parts, remain classified here.
* * *
HCDCS, pp. 1581-1582.
It is our position that the ornamental ceramic lamp body is
a non-electrical part of a lamp and is classifiable under the
provision for parts of lamps.
HOLDING:
The subject ornamental ceramic lamp body is classifiable
under subheading 9405.99.40, HTSUS, which provides for:
Lamps and lighting fittings including searchlights and
spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or
included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the
like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts
thereof not elsewhere specified or included...[p]arts...
[o]ther...[o]ther[,]
with a rate of duty of 7.6 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director