CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 956528 JAS
District Director of Customs
200 east Bay Street, Rm. 121
Charleston, SC 29401
RE: PRD 1601-94-100080; Wheel Hub Bolt, Threaded Fastener for
Attaching Automobile Wheel to Hub and Bearing Assembly;
Fastener With Round Head and Partially or Fully Threaded
Shank, Bolt, Subheading 7318.15.20; Stud, Threaded
Protuberance Designed to be Fixed in Place; Gorman Anderson
Corp. v. United States, Fastening Devices, Inc. v. United
States, S.I. Stud v. United States; Hafele America Co., Ltd.
v. United States; NY 825810, HQ 951995
Dear District Director:
This is our decision on Protest 1601-94-100080, filed
against your action in classifying certain threaded fasteners for
use on automobiles. The entries in question were liquidated on
January 3, 1994, and this protest timely filed on March 31, 1994.
FACTS:
The two fasteners under protest, referred to as wheel bolts,
wheel hub bolts or U-bolts, are specialty automotive fasteners
designated DACF 2097 and DACF 1031D. Fastener DACF 2097 is 40 mm
long with an enlarged longitudinally ribbed shoulder beneath the
head and fully threaded shank. Fastener DACF 1031D is 50 mm long
with a similarly configured shoulder and shank threaded 3/4 of
its length. Both fasteners are made of medium carbon steel, and
have flat points and M12 or 1/2-20 threads. Fastener DACF 2097
has a flat fillister head while fastener DACF 1031D has more of a
D-shaped head. Protestant states these fasteners are used to
attach the wheels of an automobile to the hub and bearing
assemblies.
The fasteners were entered under a provision of heading 7318
for bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported
in the same shipment. The import specialist determined the
fasteners closely resembled steel broaching studs and liquidated
the entries under a provision of heading 7318 for studs.
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Counsel for the protestant supports the bolts classification
with the following arguments: the fasteners are designed to
attach an automobile wheel to the hub and bearing assembly by
means of a nut; the fasteners are within the common meaning of
the term bolt as established by lexicographic and scientific
authorities; the courts recognize that the definition of the term
bolt contains both a configurational element and a functional
element, both of which these fasteners possess; and, relevant HTS
Explanatory Notes support the fact that studs are headless.
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw
hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers
including spring washers) and similar
articles, of iron or steel:
Threaded articles:
7318.15 Other screws and bolts, whether
or not with their nuts or washers:
7318.15.20 Bolts and bolts and their nuts
or washers entered or exported
in the same shipment...0.7
percent ad valorem
7318.15.50 Studs...4.7 percent ad valorem
ISSUE:
Whether the fasteners in question are studs for tariff
purposes.
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.
The respective provisions for bolts and for studs describe a
commodity eo nomine, by name. Absent a contrary legislative
intent or judicial decision, and without proof of commercial
designation, an unlimited eo nomine designation will include all
forms of the named article. Despite the fact these fasteners are
specialty items specifically designed for automotive
applications, they will nevertheless be regarded as bolts or - 3 -
studs for tariff purposes if they otherwise comport with the
common meaning of either term.
Customs traditionally classifies fasteners in accordance
with their primary design characteristics. American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) specification B18.2.1 in part regards
as a bolt an externally threaded fastener designed for insertion
through holes in assembled parts which, because of head design or
other feature, is prevented from being turned during assembly,
and which can be tightened or released only by torquing a nut.
A stud, on the other hand, is a type of bolt, but is
distinguished from a bolt by its intended service application.
Studs are normally short rods or pins threaded on one or both
ends, sometimes with heads on one end to allow them to be fixed
in place resulting in a protuberance to which other articles may
be suspended or attached by a nut or other means. While not
necessarily encompassing the entire universe of fasteners that
may be studs, Customs regards as studs articles that are within
this definition, as cited in Fastening Devices, Inc. v. United
States, 40 Cust. Ct. 345, C.D. 2004 (1958). Threaded fasteners
with flat fillister heads and ribbed necks or shoulders, similar
in function to the ones under protest, were held to be studs in
NY 825810, dated November 6, 1987. Similarly, in HQ 951995,
dated September 15, 1992, we held that similarly configured
fasteners that enclosed the two halves of an automotive
differential cover were studs for tariff purposes. The head
design coupled with the longitudinal threads anchored one end of
the fastener in one half of the differential cover allowing the
other end to form a threaded protuberance onto which the other
half of the cover is fastened by means of a nut.
Counsel maintains that the common meaning of the term stud
has been established by the Court of International Trade in S.I.
Stud, Inc. v. United States, Slip Op. 93-124, aff'd. 24 F 3d.
1394 (Fed. Cir. 1994). In that case, the court found the so-
called stud-bolt, a fully threaded headless fastener with
chamfered ends, designed to be passed through untapped holes in
two flanges and secured with a nut at each end, was a stud for
tariff purposes. Counsel concludes that this decision expressly
overrules the cited administrative decisions and is authority for
classifying the fasteners in this protest as bolts.
We disagree with counsel's interpretation. Initially, the
S.I. Stud court's pronouncements on bolts constitute dictum and
do not conclusively establish a common meaning for that term.
The court stated that the terms "stud" and "bolt" are not defined
in the HTSUS and there is little in the legislative history or
prior judicial interpretation that defines or distinguishes them.
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In its most recent decision in Hafele America Co., Ltd. v. United
States, Slip Op. 94-188 (Ct. Int'l Trade, decided December 12,
1994), the court agreed that the dictionary definition of the
term "stud" encompasses a wide variety of items which do not
necessarily share distinguishing characteristics.
In describing the term stud as "multifaceted" and having
"broad application" the S.I. Stud court cited with approval an
earlier decision in Gorman Anderson Corp. v. United States, 34
Cust. Ct. 35, C.D. 1674 (1955), and then concluded it was
impelled to adopt the definition of the term which most aptly fit
the stud-bolt it was considering. The court cited the McGraw-
Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms and stated that
studs are particular types of bolts which may be threaded on one
or both ends, either with heads or headless. In quoting
definitions of the terms "bolt" and "stud" the court noted that
each contains both a configurational element and a functional
element. Since the functional element of bolts and studs is the
same, i.e., to fasten one or more things together, it is the
configurational element that assumes particular significance in
this case; that is, the head design coupled with the ribbed necks
allows one end of these fasteners to be anchored firmly in place.
See counsel's submission of November 23, 1994, at p. 7.
Of equal importance, the S.I. Stud court rejected
plaintiff's attempts to distinguish the stud-bolt from fasteners
which the court in Gorman and Fastening Devices held to be studs,
thus leaving those decisions undisturbed. It is also noteworthy
that while S.I. Stud was affirmed on appeal to the CAFC, a
strongly worded dissent noted that studs are threaded fasteners
with one end anchored or fixed in place to provide a projection
to which something may be attached by a nut or other fastener.
For all of these reasons, we find that S.I. Stud is only
authority for classifying the particular fastener in that case.
Counsel's final argument is that the Explanatory Notes, at
p. 1028, include within heading 73.18 so-called screw studs
(short rods threaded at both ends) and screw studding (rods
threaded throughout), and concludes that studs must be headless
fasteners. These notes only indicate examples of articles that
are included in heading 73.18. The fact that fully or partially
threaded rods may be studs is not conclusive with respect to
headed fasteners like wheel bolts or wheel hub bolts that may
also be studs.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the fasteners designated DACF
2097 and DACF 1031D are provided for in heading 7318. They are
classifiable in subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs.
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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, you should mail this
decision, together with the Customs Form 19, to the protestant no
later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any
reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the
decision must be accomplished prior to mailing 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 to the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, the
Freedom of Information Act and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division