CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 955018 MBR
Mr. John M. Peterson
Neville, Peterson & Williams
39 Broadway
New York, New York 10006
RE: Xerox Corporation; Work Group Color Laser Printer and Starter
Kit; NY 854057; NY 877074; Unassembled; Incomplete
Dear Mr. Peterson:
This is in reply to your letter of August 19, 1993, on behalf
of Xerox Corporation, requesting the classification of the "Work
Group Color Laser Printer" and "Starter Kit" of components
therefore, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS). The printer and components are manufactured in
Japan.
FACTS:
The Work Group Color Laser Printer ("Printer") is designed to
print color documents based on digital input from automatic data
processing ("ADP") machines. This is a general purpose printer
with a resolution of 300 dots per inch ("dpi"). In its imported
condition it will include a printer engine and a paper transport
mechanism, however, the electronic controller board will be
incorporated after importation.
The "Starter Kit" ("Kit") will be imported in its own box
within the "master" box which contains the printer. The Kit
includes the following items necessary for the printer to operate;
1) toner dispensers (four, each with a different color), 2)
developer housings (four), 3) OPC belt cartridge, 4) bottle of
fuser oil, 5) cleaning pad, and 6) waste toner box.
After importation, the printer will be removed from the master
box, the electronic controller board will be added, and then the
printer will be returned to the same master box with its Kit.
-2-
ISSUE:
What is the classification of the Xerox "Work Group Color
Laser Printer" (without controller board) imported with the
"Starter Kit," under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS)?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS
govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1
states, in pertinent part:
...classification shall be determined according to the terms
of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes...
GRI 2(a) provides the following guidance regarding the
classification of incomplete and unassembled goods:
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 articles. 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.
Inasmuch as the printer is missing only the electronic
controller board, it retains the essential character of the
complete printer. Thus, it is classifiable under subheading
8471.92.70, HTSUS, which provides for other printers. See NY
854057, dated July 10, 1990, and NY 877074, dated August 12, 1992,
for similar rulings regarding similar merchandise.
The "Starter Kit" is a group of components necessary for the
operation of the printer. The Harmonized Commodity Description and
Coding System Explanatory Notes ("ENs") to the HTS, regarding the
application of GRI 2(a) to Section XVI, page 1132, state as
follows:
(V) UNASSEMBLED MACHINES
(See General Interpretive Rule 2 (a))
For convenience of transport many machines and apparatus are
transported in an unassembled state. Although in effect the
goods are then a collection of parts, they are classified as
being the machine in question and not in any separate heading
for parts. The same applies to an incomplete machine (see
Part (IV) above), presented unassembled (see also in this
connection the General Explanatory Notes to Chapters 84 and
85). However, unassembled components in excess of the number
-3-
required for a complete machine or for an incomplete machine
having the characteristics of a complete machine, are
classified in their own heading.
Therefore, since the starter kit is a collection of components
necessary for the operation of the printer, the printer and kit are
classifiable together as an incomplete, unassembled printer. There
are no excess components in the "Starter Kit."
HOLDING:
The Xerox Work Group Color Laser Printer is classifiable in
subheading 8471.92.70, HTSUS, which provides for: "[a]utomatic data
processing machines and units thereof: [o]ther: [i]put or output
units...: [o]ther: [p]rinter units: [o]ther. The rate of duty is
Free.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director