CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 957270 JAS
Mr. David C. Soto
V. Alexander & Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 291929
Nashville, TN 37229-1929
RE: Unmounted ball bearings; ball bearings and bearing housings
imported in the same shipment; housed bearings entered
unassembled, subheading 8483.20.80; GRI 2(a), Explanatory
Notes; parts of housed bearings, HQ 952850
Dear Mr. Soto:
In your letter of November 2, 1994, on behalf of
International Supply, Inc., you inquire as to the tariff
classification of unmounted ball bearings from China. A sample
bearing mounted in a pillow block or housing was submitted.
FACTS:
You state that ball bearings will either be imported
separately, unmounted, or in the same shipment unassembled with
bearing housings. You state a particular bearing and its
respective housing are assigned specific part numbers and are
designed for use only with each other. Each bearing will be
assembled in the United States with its corresponding housing and
sold as a housed bearing.
You propose to classify the unmounted bearings in subheading
8483.90.70, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS), a provision for parts of articles of subheading 8483.20
(housed bearings, incorporating ball or roller bearings). The
tariff status of the bearing housings is not in issue here.
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8482 Ball or roller bearings, and parts thereof:
8482.10 Ball bearings:
8482.10.50 Other...10.6 percent
* * * * - 2 -
8483 ***[b]earing housings, housed bearings and
plain shaft bearings; parts thereof:
8483.20 Housed bearings, incorporating ball or roller
bearings:
8483.20.80 Other...5.5 percent
8483.90 Parts:
Other:
8483.90.70 Parts of articles of subheading
8483.20...5.7 percent
ISSUE:
Whether unmounted ball bearings imported in the same
shipment with bearing housings are unassembled housed bearings.
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 in part that any reference in a heading to an article
shall be taken to include a reference to that article entered
unassembled or disassembled.
The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the Customs Cooperation
Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized system.
While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and
therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the
scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus
useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under
the System. Customs believes the notes should always be
consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23,
1989).
Relevant ENs on the scope of GRI 2(a), p. 2, state under
RULE 2(a)...(V) that the second part of Rule 2(a) provides that
complete or finished articles presented unassembled or
disassembled are to be classified in the same heading as the
assembled article. When goods are so presented, it is usually
for reasons such as requirements or convenience of packing,
handling or transport. - 3 -
The statement in your letter that a particular bearing is
designed to be mounted in a specifically engineered bearing
housing is not documented in the record. The assigning of part
numbers to bearings that purportedly correlate to part numbers
for bearing housings is insufficient to establish that they are
to be considered unassembled housed bearings. Information before
this office indicates that a bearing housing with a particular
inner circumference can accommodate a number of bearings having
the same outer circumference. For this reason, it is common in
the bearing industry to import unmounted bearings and bearing
housings, arranging their final configurations after importation
based on buyers' individual specifications.
There is no evidence in this case that importing the
bearings and bearing housings in the manner indicated has any
reasonable relationship to requirements or convenience of
packing, handling, or transport. See HQ 952850, dated April 14,
1993, involving similar circumstances in which ball point pen and
fountain pen components imported in approximately equal numbers
were held to be classifiable as parts rather than as unassembled
pens. The method of importation in this case appears designed
solely to permit the bearings to receive the lower rate of duty
for housed bearings. See T.D. 94-59, (Federal Register, Vol. 59,
No. 137, dated July 19, 1994), which reached a similar conclusion
with respect to lenses imported with camera bodies.
HOLDING:
Ball bearings imported together with bearing housings, as
described, are not unassembled articles under GRI 2(a), HTSUS.
Under the authority of GRI 1, bearings imported separately, or
in the same shipment with bearing housings, are provided for in
heading 8482. They are classifiable in subheading 8482.10.50,
HTSUS.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division