CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 956227 LTO
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
300 S. Ferry Street
Room 1001
Terminal Island, California 90731
RE: Protest 2704-93-103658; electrothermic rice cooker; oven;
subheading 8516.60.40; HQs 082568, 086916, 087064, 088289;
EN 84.14; EN 85.16; EN 90.32; EN 94.06; International
Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and
Coding System; Kotake Co., Ltd., American Customs Brokerage
Co. v. U.S.
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding Protest 2704-93-
103658, which concerns the classification of electrothermic rice
cookers (Models #ECJ-PF10(F) and #ECJ-PF18(F)) under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The
subject merchandise was entered on June 14 and June 15, 1993, and
the entries were liquidated on October 1, 1993. The protest was
timely filed on November 18, 1993.
FACTS:
The article in question is an electrothermic rice cooker
designed for countertop use. The cooker is a cylindrical vessel
with an inner container with a detachable lid. The inner
container is removed and filled with rice. After an appropriate
amount of water is poured into the vessel, the inner container is
placed back into the vessel and is covered with its lid. An
outer lid is then closed, sealing the vessel. Both lids have
steam outlets. There is an internal heating resistor at the
bottom of the cooker. The resistor boils the water and the steam
cooks the rice. On the exterior of the vessel, there is a
"cooking" and "keep warm" lamp, along with a cook switch.
The cooker was entered under subheading 8516.60.40, HTSUS,
which provides for cooking stoves, ranges and ovens. The - 2 -
merchandise was classified upon liquidation under subheading
8516.79.00, HTSUS, which provides for other electrothermic
appliances.
ISSUE:
Whether the electrothermic rice cooker is classifiable as a
cooking stove, range or oven under subheading 8516.60.40, 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 that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes . . . ."
There is no dispute that the electrothermic rice cooker is
classifiable under heading 8516, HTSUS, which provides for
electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes.
However, the following subheadings must be considered:
8516.60 Other ovens; cooking stoves, ranges,
cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers
and roasters:
8516.60.40 Cooking stoves, ranges and ovens
(free)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
8516.60.60 Other (5.3% ad valorem)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Other electrothermic appliances:
8516.79.00 Other (5.3% ad valorem)
The protestant argues that the electrothermic rice cookers
are "ovens" for tariff purposes, and cites two rulings in support
of this proposition: HQ 082568 and 087064. In 082568, dated
December 7, 1989, we held that four models of pressureless
convection steam cooking appliances, of the type used in
restaurants, hotels and similar locations, were classifiable
under subheading 8419.81.50, HTSUS, which provides for other
cooking stoves, ovens and ranges, other than machinery of a kind
used for domestic purposes. Because the term "oven" is not
defined in the HTSUS or the Harmonized Commodity Description and
Coding System Explanatory Notes, we consulted Webster's II New
Riverside University Dictionary, pg. 837 (1984), which defines
the term as follows: "[a]n enclosed compartment supplied with
heat and used for cooking food and for heating or drying objects - 3 -
placed within." We determined that the four pressureless
convection steam cooking appliances met the above definition
"because they are enclosed compartments (with a door), supplied
with convection heat and are used for cooking food. Furthermore,
they look and act like conventional ovens except they are faster
and more efficient by using steam convection as a heat source.
However, they cannot brown or bake foodstuffs [underlining
added]."
In HQ 087064, dated August 5, 1991, we held that "Jet-Stream
Ovens" were classifiable under subheading 8516.60.40, HTSUS.
These ovens, which consist of an electric heat source, light, fan
and control assembly (a clear cover and base were added after
importation), use forced hot air to perform the following cooking
functions: air fry, boil, bake, grill, broil, steam, roast and
rotisserie. In fact, the ovens can, with the use of height
"expander rings," be used to roast an entire turkey in less time
than a conventional or microwave oven. We determined that the
"Jet-Stream Ovens," which were known and sold as ovens, also met
the definition for "oven" used in HQ 082568, because they form an
enclosed compartment and utilize convection heat to cook food,
"in the same manner as a conventional oven, only more efficiently
[underlining added]."
The protestant contends that the rice cookers meet the
definition cited in HQ 082568 and 087064. However, the
protestant ignores our qualification of this admittedly broad
definition. Unlike the devices of HQ 082568 and 087064, the
electrothermic rice cookers do not "look and act like
conventional ovens," nor do they cook food "in the same manner as
a conventional oven." The definition cited by the protestant
without qualification would cover devices such as waffle irons
and popcorn poppers, which cook food in enclosed compartments,
but are obviously not "ovens."
We could have chosen a narrow definition for the term
"oven," rather than the broad one cited above, such as the
following definition found in The New Grolier Encyclopedia
(1994): "a compartment that retains heat in order to bake a
material, usually food . . . . Modern electric ovens have a
heating element at both top [for broiling] and bottom [for
baking]." However, we chose instead to limit the Webster's
definition so that devices which are unquestionably not "ovens,"
such as waffle irons and popcorn poppers, would fall outside of
the relevant provisions. Accordingly, it is our opinion that the
electrothermic rice cookers cannot be classified as "ovens" under
subheading 8516.60.40, HTSUS.
The rice cookers also cannot be classified as cooking stoves
or ranges under subheading 8516.60.40, HTSUS. The protestant,
citing the international text of the Harmonized System, argues
that the phrase "cooking stoves, ranges" must be interpreted to - 4 -
encompass all "cookers."
The United States, as a party to the International
Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding
System, completed at Brussels on June 14, 1983, is obligated by
Article 3(1)(a)(ii) to "not modify the scope of the Sections,
Chapters, headings or subheadings of the Harmonized System."
However, Article 3(2) allows for textual adaptations, as
necessary, to give effect to the Harmonized System in domestic
law.
The international text of the HTS for subheading 8516.60 is
as follows: "[o]ther ovens; cookers, cooking plates, boiling
rings, grillers and roasters [underlining added]," while
subheading 8516.60, HTSUS, provides for "[o]ther ovens; cooking
stoves, ranges, cooking plates, boiling rings, grillers and
roasters [underlining added]." This change, from "cookers" to
"cooking stoves, ranges," was intended to Americanize the
language of the subheading and to simplify the classification of
this type of merchandise. See HQ 086916, dated February 6, 1991;
HQ 088289, dated February 11, 1991 (concerning the addition of
the term "sweatshirts" to the text of heading 6110, HTSUS). The
change did not, and in fact, cannot, modify the scope of
subheading 8516.60, HTSUS.
Further, there is ample evidence elsewhere in the HTSUS and
the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes (EN) to demonstrate that the term "cookers"
refers to articles which are, at the very least, in the same
class of goods as "cooking stoves and ranges." The ENs
constitute the Customs Co-operation Council's official
interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally
binding, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each
heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally indicative of
the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54
Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
There are several references to "cookers" in the ENs. For
example, EN 84.14, pg. 1164, states that the ventilating or
recycling hoods incorporating a fan of heading 8414, HTSUS,
include "cooker hoods incorporating a fan, for use in the home or
in restaurants, canteens, hospitals, etc. [emphasis added]." EN
85.16, pg. 1360, states that the electric heating resistors of
heading 8516, HTSUS, if assembled with parts other than a simple
insulated former and electrical connections, "are classified as
parts of the machines or apparatus in question (e.g., base plates
for smoothing irons and plates for electric cookers) [emphasis
added]." EN 90.32, pg. 1535, states that the thermostats of
heading 9032, HTSUS, "are used, in particular, for controlling
temperature in houses or other buildings, in ovens, cookers,
boilers, water heaters, cold storage installations, chimneys or
flues . . . [emphasis added]." EN 94.06, pg. 1582, states that - 5 -
the prefabricated buildings of heading 9406, HTSUS, may have
built-in equipment normally supplied with the particular
building, including "kitchen equipment (sinks, hoods, cookers,
etc.) . . . [emphasis added]."
Devices in the class of the electrothermic rice cookers do
not incorporate hoods with fans, plates or thermostats, nor are
they the type of equipment normally supplied in a building. On
the other hand, an electric stove or range generally does include
these features, and would normally be supplied in a building.
Moreover, while stoves, ranges and cookers are listed
together in heading 7321, HTSUS, the heading states that the
cookers include those "with subsidiary boilers for central
heading)." Obviously, devices in the class of the electrothermic
rice cookers are not the type of merchandise contemplated by
heading 7321, HTSUS.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the U.S. Customs Court's
decision in Kotake Co., Ltd., American Customs Brokerage Co. v.
United States, C.D. 2934 (March 30, 1967). In Kotake Co., the
Court determined that an electric device for steam cooking rice
and other foods, consisting of an inner and outer pot over a
heating element, was not an "oven," for purposes of paragraph 353
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
HOLDING:
The electrothermic rice cookers (Models #ECJ-PF10(F) and
#ECJ-PF18(F)) are classifiable under subheading 8516.79.00,
HTSUS.
The protest should be DENIED. In accordance with section
3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4,
1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together
with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office to the
protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter.
Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision
must be accomplished prior to the mailing of the decision. Sixty
days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and
Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs
personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public
via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act
and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division