CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 953669 DWS
Mr. Peter Mueck
Netmark International Ltd.
136 Simcoe Street, Suite 201
Toronto, Ontario M5H 3G4
RE: Door Security System; GRI 3(b); Explanatory Note 3(b)(X);
HQ 088490; 8531.10.00
Dear Mr. Mueck:
This is our response to your letter of February 15, 1993, to
the Area Director of Customs, New York Seaport, concerning the
classification of a door security system under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of a door security system. The
system is comprised of two separate components: a steel bar which
attaches to a wall and a door in order to keep the door from being
opened, and a battery operated 120 db alarm which is activated
should the door be forced open.
The bar is a sprung telescopic bar finished in stainless steel
or brass. It is compression operated and can withstand 1 and 1/2
tons of pressure. The bar allows the door to be opened
approximately 5 inches, sufficient to allow letters or small
packages to be passed through. The alarm is triggered whenever the
door is forced open wider than 5 inches. While a door is being
forced, if force pressure is momentarily released, the spring in
the bar slams the door shut.
ISSUE:
Whether the door security system constitutes a set under the
HTSUS? Whether the system is classifiable under heading 8302,
HTSUS, as an automatic door closer, or under heading 8531, HTSUS,
as a burglar alarm?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance
with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order.
GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
If imported separately, the bar would be classifiable under
subheading 8302.60.30, HTSUS, which provides for: "[a]utomatic door
closers." If imported separately, the alarm would be classifiable
under subheading 8531.10.00, HTSUS, which provides for: "[b]urglar
or fire alarms and similar apparatus."
It has been suggested that the system, consisting of the bar
and the alarm and packaged together, constitutes a set put up for
retail sale. GRI 3(b) states that:
[m]ixtures, composite goods consisting of different
materials or made up of different components, and goods put
up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by
reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted
of the material or component which gives them their
essential character, insofar as this criterion is
applicable.
Explanatory Note 3(b)(X) (p. 4), HTSUS, provides that "[f]or
the purpose of this Rule, the term 'goods put up in sets for retail
sale' shall be taken to mean goods which:
(a) consist of at least two different articles which are,
prima facie, classifiable in different headings . . .;
(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet
a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and
(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to
users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on
boards)."
It is our position that the system meets the requirements
listed under Explanatory Note 3(b)(X) and, for classification
purposes, is a set put up for retail sale. We also find that the
bar imparts the essential character of the system. When the system
is in operation, the bar is always in use, and the alarm only
sounds when a door is being forced. See HQ 088490, dated March 20,
1991.
Therefore, the door security system is classifiable under
subheading 8302.60.30, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The door security system is classifiable under subheading
8302.60.30, HTSUS, which provides for: "[a]utomatic door closers."
The general, column one rate of duty is 3.9 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division