CLA-2 R:C:M 957763 JAS
Mr. W.G. Monell
Cavalier Shipping Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 1138
Norfolk, VA 23501
RE: Finishmaster; Polishing and Cooling Machine; Machinery for
Preparing Printing Cylinders, Heading 8442; Machine for
Surface Finishing Printing Cylinders; Machine Tool for
Removing Metal by Means of a Polishing Stone; Composite
Machine, Principal Function, Section XVI, Note 3;
NY 836749 Modified
Dear Mr. Monell:
In a letter to you, NY 836749, dated March 7, 1989, the Area
Director of Customs, New York Seaport, replied to your request
for a ruling, on behalf of the Meredith/Burda Company, on the
classification of the Finishmaster and other machinery for
preparing printing cylinders. We have reconsidered this ruling
and believe the classification of the Finishmaster is incorrect.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs
Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act, Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993),
notice of the proposed modification NY 836749 was published on
April 19, 1995, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 29, Number 16.
FACTS:
In your ruling request of February 9, 1989, the Finishmaster
was described as an automatic unit designed for cooling and
polishing printing cylinders after chrome plating or copper
plating. No further description was provided. Our experience
with similar machinery indicates that gravure printing machines
utilize chrome-plated copper cylinders that are engraved with the
images to be printed. Polishing and cooling machines like the - 2 -
Finishmaster are designed to remove the chrome plating and the
engraved images on a printing cylinder by grinding or polishing
it with an abrasive. The cylinder will subsequently be rechromed
and a new image etched onto its surface.
The Finishmaster incorporates a working trough to hold the
cylinder, a mechanism to rotate the cylinder as it comes into
contact with a polishing head with polishing stone, cold/warm
water connections with mixing valves and solenoids to wash away
extraneous chrome particles and other residue and to cool the
cylinder after working, all of which are microprocessor-controlled. These components are mounted in the same housing.
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8442 Machinery, apparatus and equipment (other than
the machine tools of headings 8456 to 8465),
... for preparing or making printing blocks,
plates, cylinders and other printing
components...; parts thereof:
8442.30.00 Other machinery, apparatus and equipment
...Free
* * * *
8460 Machine tools for deburring, sharpening,
grinding, honing, lapping, polishing or
otherwise finishing metal...by means of
grinding stones, abrasives or polishing
products:
8460.90 Other:
8460.90.80 Other...4.4 percent
ISSUE:
Whether the chrome polishing and cooling machine in issue is
a machine tool 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 - 3 -
or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
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).
For tariff purposes, composite machines consisting of two
or more machines fitted together to form a whole and other
machines adapted for the purpose of performing two or more
complementary or alternative functions, are to be classified as
if consisting only of that component or as being that machine
which performs the principal function. Section XVI, Note 3,
HTSUS. The Finishmaster consecutively performs two separate
functions that are complementary, i.e., polishing and cooling.
Cleansing with water both cools the workpiece after polishing and
removes extraneous chrome particles. Machines of different kinds
that are on a common base or frame are considered fitted together
to form a whole for purposes of the cited note. The Finishmaster
qualifies as a composite machine for tariff purposes, the
principal function clearly being to polish.
By the terms of heading 8442, if the chrome polishing and
cooling machine is a machine tool of heading 8460, it cannot be
classified in heading 8442. Relevant ENs state at pp. 1274 and
1275 that heading 8460 covers certain surface-finishing machines
for metal which work by removing material by means of grinding
stones, abrasives, or polishing products, and includes polishing
machines for finishing the surface of the workpiece. For
purposes of the heading, the expression "polishing products"
encompasses, among other things, polishing discs or polishing
pads. The principal function of the chrome polishing and cooling
machine in issue is to finish the surface of a printing cylinder
by polishing to prepare it to be rechromed and new etching
applied. It qualifies as a machine tool for tariff purposes.
For this reason, it cannot be classified as machinery of heading
8442.
- 4 -
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the Finishmaster, a chrome
polishing and cooling machine, is provided for in heading 8460.
It is classifiable in subheading 8460.90.80, HTSUS.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY 836749, dated March 7, 1989, is hereby modified. In
accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1), this ruling will become
effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Publication of rulings or decisions pursuant to 19 U.S.C.
1625(c)(1) does not constitute a change of practice or position
in accordance with section 177.10(c)(1), Customs Regulations (19
CFR 177.10(c)(1)).
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division