CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 958562 JAS
9817.00.50
Mr. William J. LeClair
Trans-Border Customs Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 800
Champlain, NY 12919
RE: Barn Cleaner Chain, Chain With Welded Paddles, 7/8 inch 0
Chain, Pintle
Chain, Hook-and-Eye Chain, Links With Welded Paddles;
Parts Used With Barn
Cleaning Apparatus, Heading 7315; Parts to be Used in
Articles Provided for
in Heading 8436, Heading 9817.00.60; HQ 088999, HQ
958875
Dear Mr. LeClair:
Your letter to the then Area Director of Customs, New
York Seaport, dated September 5, 1995, on behalf of J. Houle &
Fils, Inc., has been referred to this office for reply. Your
inquiry concerns the tariff classification of steel barn cleaner
replacement chain and parts made in Canada. Descriptive
literature was submitted.
FACTS:
The inquiry concerns three types of steel chain with
paddles, and individual chain links to which a paddle is welded.
The first article consists of 7/8 inch 0 chain, which consists of
interlocking oval-shaped links, each round in cross section,
made of 7/8 inch steel rod; the second article is pintle chain,
which consists of barrel-shaped links connected by steel pins or
pintles; and hook-and-eye chain, each link being rectangular in
cross section, and having a J shape at one end and the other end
looped or closed. All are in 21 ft. lengths and have 12 inch-long u-shaped iron shapes or paddles welded at 18-inch intervals.
Some chains have only 2 such paddles. These chains operate in
continuous rotation in dairy barns in connection with a motor,
drive shaft and clutch pulley to sweep cow manure down a gutter
onto a ramp outside the barn which empties into a manure
spreader. Also in issue are individual chain links to which a u-shaped iron paddle is welded.
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The provisions under consideration are as follows:
7315 Chain and parts thereof, of iron or
steel:
Articulated link
chain and parts thereof:
7315.12.00 Other
chain...3.4 percent ad valorem
7315.19.00 Parts...2.5
percent ad valorem
Other chain:
7315.82 Other, welded link:
Of iron or nonalloy steel:
7315.82.50
Not over 10 mm in diameter...0.9 percent ad valorem
7315.82.70
Over 10 mm in diameter...Free
7315.89 Other:
7315.89.50 Other...5.3
percent ad valorem
7315.90.00 Other parts...4.6 percent ad
valorem
9817.00.60 Parts to be used in articles provided for in
headings 8432, 8433,
8434 and 8436, whether or not such parts are
principally used as
parts of such articles and whether or not
covered by a specific
provision within the meaning of additional U.S.
rule of
interpretation 1(c)...Free
ISSUE:
Whether lengths of barn cleaner replacement chain with
welded paddles, as described, are chain of heading 7315.
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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.
Initially, heading 7315 describes an article or class of
articles eo nomine, by name. In the absence of contrary
legislative intent, judicial decision, or administrative
practice, an unlimited eo nomine designation will include all
forms of the named article. Chain is typically used for conveying
and power transmission applications. The
presence of paddles welded at regular intervals on this chain
simply increases the area or amount of material the chain can
convey. Such chain is still routinely bought and sold and
regarded commercially as "chain."
The types of chain enumerated in the provisions of heading
7315 are described in the American Chain Association's design and
applications handbook Chains for Power Transmission and Material
Handling, Marcel Dekker, Inc. (1982). The HTS provisions for
articulated link chain encompass roller chain and other
articulated link chain. Articulated chain consists of segments
united by joints such as pins. The pintle chain, as described,
is articulated for tariff purposes, but is not regarded as a type
of roller chain because roller chain is made up of two kinds of
links, roller links, which is an assembly of two roller link
plates, two bushings and two rollers, and pin links which are
assemblies of two pin link plates and two pins. Pintle chain is
provided for as other articulated link chain. The 7/8 inch 0
chain, as described, is provided for as welded link chain of
nonalloy steel, The links of hook-and-eye chain are united by
looping the J end of one link through the closed end of another
link. Such chain is not articulated for tariff purposes, but is
provided for as other chain. See HQ 958875, dated April 17,
1996.
To be eligible for duty-free entry under heading 9817.00.60,
a good must not be excluded by a U.S. legal note in Chapter 98,
Subchapter XVII; it must be a part to be used in an article that
performs the agricultural or horticultural pursuit in question;
and the good must have the required actual use certificate. See
HQ 088358, dated March 1, 1991. Chapter 98, Subchapter XVII,
U.S. Note 2(ij), precludes articles of Chapter 73 from
classification in heading 9817.00.50. However, Note 2(ij)
further states that articles provided for in subheadings 7315.81
through 7315.89, among other subheadings, are not subject to this
exclusion.
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Thus, both the pintle chain and the individual links of such
chain with welded paddles are precluded from heading 9817.00.60.
However, the 7/8 inch 0 chain and the hook-and-eye-chain,
together with their respective links with welded paddles, are
eligible for classification under that heading, if otherwise
qualified.
The barn cleaner replacement chain is a part or component of
apparatus used to remove manure from dairy barns. It is not
machinery, equipment and implements for purposes of heading
9017.00.50; rather, it is a part for tariff purposes. An
importation of barn cleaner replacement chain, as described, plus
motor, drive shaft, and clutch pulley, imported assembled or
unassembled, would be considered agricultural machinery of
heading 8436. This is because the removing of animal wastes and
other noxious materials from dairy barns for health or sanitary
reasons bears a sufficient relationship to the care and
maintenance of livestock for food and clothing as to qualify as a
legitimate agricultural pursuit for tariff purposes. See HQ
088999, dated October 15, 1991. Therefore, the 7/8 inch 0 chain
and the hook-and-eye chain, together with their respective links
with welded paddles, qualify as parts to be used in articles
provided for in heading 8436.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, barn cleaner replacement chain
with welded paddles, as described, is provided for in heading
7315. Such chain of the pintle type is classifiable in
subheading 7315.12.00, HTSUS, and the links of this chain with
welded paddles are classifiable in subheading 7315.19.00, HTSUS.
Such chain and its paddles are not eligible for classification in
heading 9817.00.60, HTSUS.
Barn cleaner replacement 0 chain with welded paddles, as
described, is classifiable in subheadings 7315.82.50 or
7315.82.70, HTSUS, as appropriate, and the barn cleaner
replacement chain with welded paddles, in a hook-and-eye
arrangement, as described, is classifiable in subheading
7315.89.50, HTSUS. Links of 0 chain with welded paddles and
links of hook-and-eye chain with welded paddles are both
classifiable in subheading 7315.90.00, HTSUS. Both types of
chain, together with their respective links with welded paddles,
are eligible for duty-free entry under heading 9817.00.60, HTSUS,
upon compliance with the actual use requirements of 19 CFR
10.138.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification
Appeals Division