CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 959626 JRS
Thomas J. O'Donnell, Esquire
O'Donnell, Byrne & Williams
20 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 1416
Chicago, IL 60606
RE: Container handling machines; Reachstackers; works
trucks fitted with a crane; heading 8426; NY 881418;
HQs 952400, 086864 distinguished; HQ 085938 noted; ENs
84.26, 84.27
Dear Mr. O'Donnell:
Your letter to the National Commodity Specialist Division,
New York, dated July 3, 1996, on behalf of Mi-Jack Products, has
been referred to this office for reply. Your inquiry concerns
the classification of Fantuzzi Reachstackers made in Italy. A
sales brochure on three types, namely the contstacker,
railstacker and transtacker, accompanied the ruling request.
Descriptive literature was included for Models RS 50, RS 60,
Reach Packer MJ-45H5-2 and Rail Packer MJ-50RS.
FACTS:
The Fantuzzi Reachstackers are mobile self-propelled
machines used to load and unload shipping containers in railroad
depots, dockyards, and similar transportation terminals, as well
as to stack the shipping containers one on top of the other in
order to reduce the amount of space the containers occupy in the
terminal. The Reachstackers consist of three types (the
contstacker, railstacker and transtacker) which are of the same
basic design and construction, but which differ in capacity,
wheelbase and application features for use in ports and
railyards.
The basic features of the Reachstackers consist of a diesel
powered six-wheeled chassis, a hydraulically operated telescoping
boom which is mounted at the rear of the unit, a rotatable
spreader attached to the end of the boom for picking up a 20 to
40 foot container, and an enclosed operator's cab (which has a
multifunctional joystick for one-handed control of boom
elevation, spreader telescoping and rotation, side shift and
slope) located in front of the boom pivot point on the chassis.
The spreader can be removed and replaced with a winch and hook,
and is capable of rotating from -95§ to 185§ (degrees) and
contains a dampening system with twin cylinders to minimize
container sway while suspended. Depending on the model,
Reachstackers can lift up to 99,000 pounds (49.5 tons) and can
stack containers up to five or six high in three rows. They have
a maximum speed of 24 - 25 kilometers per hour unladen and 23 to
24.5 km/hr laden. Their turning radius is less than their length
(e.g., turning radius of 370 inches for 489 inches overall
length). A digital control system is available on the
Reachstackers which allows for automatic load weighing, vertical
lifting/lowering, horizontal inreach/outreach, height
preselection, and boom status readout.
The provisions under consideration are as follows:
8426 Ships' derricks; cranes, including cable cranes;
mobile lifting frames, straddle carriers and
works trucks fitted with a crane:
Other machinery, self-propelled:
8426.41.00 On tires...0.8 percent ad
valorem
8426.41.0005 Works trucks fitted with
a crane
* * * *
8427 Fork-lift trucks; other works trucks fitted with
lifting or handling equipment:
8427.20 Other self-propelled trucks:
8427.20.80 Other...Free
ISSUE:
Whether the lifting mechanism on the Reachstacker, a works
truck, qualifies as a "crane" under heading 8426.
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 Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of
the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, 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 ENs should always be consulted. See T.D.
89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 87.09, which defines "works trucks" as
"self-propelled trucks for the transport of goods which are
fitted with, for example, a platform or container (sometimes
designed for elevating) on which the goods are loaded" excludes,
in pertinent part:
(a) Straddle carriers and works trucks fitted
with a crane (heading 84.26).
(b) Fork-lift trucks and other works trucks
fitted with lifting and handling equipment
(heading 84.27).
You maintain that the various models of the Reachstackers
are classifiable under heading 8427 because they are specifically
provided for by the terms of the heading, namely, that they are
works trucks; that they are fitted with lifting and handling
equipment; and the lifting and handling equipment fitted on the
Reachstackers do not meet the common lexicographic definition of
a "crane."
A comparison between the ENs to heading 84.26 and heading
84.27 is in order to determine the similarities and differences
between the two headings.
The EN to heading 84.26 states that: [t]he heading covers
lifting or handling machines usually based on pulley, winch or
jacking systems (emphasis ours), and often including large
proportions of static structural steelwork, etc. The heading
covers: (1) ships' derricks, (2) jib or derrick cranes, (3)
portal or pedestal cranes, (4) cableways and cable cranes, (5)
bridge cranes, (6) gantry cranes and overhead travelling cranes,
(7) transporter cranes,
(8) Mobile lifting frames on tyred wheels,
particularly for container handling.
These
machines
may
be
self-propelled,
provided
they
are
designed
to
operate
when
stationary
or,
if
they
are
able
to
move
with
their
load
over
short
distances,
that
they
are
simple
portals
which
in
most
cases
consist of
a
horizontal
beam
supported
by
two
vertical
members
(sometimes
of
the
telescopic
type),
each
resting on
a set
of
wheels.
(9) Straddle carriers, which consist of a chassis
of the " straddle " type, generally with vertical
telescopic members for adjusting the height. This
chassis is normally mounted on four or more tyred
wheels which usually serve both as driving and
steering wheels so as to permit manoeuvres within
a very small radius.
Owing to their special design they are able to
position themselves over a load, lift it by means
of special gripping devices, transport it over
short distances and then lower it again. Some of
these carriers are sufficiently wide and high to
be positioned directly over transport vehicles for
lifting or lowering the load.
Straddle carriers are used in factories,
warehouses, dock areas, airports, etc., for
handling long loads (profile shapes, tree trunks,
timber, etc.) or for stacking containers.
(10) Works trucks fitted with a crane, which are
designed for moving loads over short distances in
factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports by
means of a light crane mounted on a chassis of the
works truck type, usually in the form of a box
frame, with a long wheel-base and a wide track to
avoid overbalancing.
In EN 84.26 (b)(2), under the "Self-Propelled and Other
Mobile' Machines" on page 1293, it states:
...this heading includes self-propelled
machines in which one or more of the
propelling or control elements...are located
in the cab of a lifting or handling machine
(generally a crane) mounted on a wheeled
chassis, whether or not the whole can be
driven on the road under its own power.
The EN to heading 84.27, provides, in pertinent part, that:
With the exception of straddle carriers and works
trucks fitted with a crane of heading 84.26, this
heading covers works trucks fitted with lifting or
handling equipment. Works trucks of this
description include, for example :
(A) FORK-LIFT AND OTHER ELEVATING OR STACKING
TRUCKS
(1) Mechanically propelled fork-lift trucks,
which are sometimes of large size, carry the
load on an elevating carriage sliding on a
vertical mast...
(2) Other stacking machines, ... equipped with a
platform or fork which can be raised and lowered
in a vertical support, by hand or power-operated
winch or rack systems. They are used for stacking
sacks, crates, casks, etc.
* * * *
(B) OTHER WORKS TRUCKS FITTED WITH LIFTING OR
HANDLING EQUIPMENT
(1) Trucks with mechanically elevating
platforms...
(2) Other trucks fitted with lifting or handling
equipment including those specialised for use in
particular industries (e.g., in the textile or
ceramic industries, in dairies, etc.).
After reviewing the description of the lifting and handling
machines in headings 8426 and 8427, a general distinction
appears. The machines in heading 8426 operate by lifting and
suspending their loads from above while the machines in heading
8427 generally support their loads underneath by a platform,
fork, or carriage. As specifically stated above, the lifting and
handling machine in 8426 is "generally a crane," see EN
84.26(b)(2), by virtue of its ability to suspend heavy loads and
drop them down precisely in the desired location. In contrast,
the vehicles with lifting and handling equipment in heading 8427
utilize an elevating platform, fork or carriage to support their
loads in accomplishing the necessary lifting and handling.
These machines do not suspend their loads as do the listed
exemplars in heading 8426.
You contend that the lifting machinery mounted onto the
Reachstacker chassis does not meet the definition of a crane, and
that it does not comport with the exemplars found in the ENs to
heading 8426. You point out that Reachstackers do not employ any
pulleys, rollers, cables, winches or capstans to raise or lower
its boom or load as a crane does, and are incapable of any boom
rotation about a vertical axis, and thus, the Reachstackers are
not cranes since boom movement is restricted only to raising and
lowering.
The ENs for heading 8426 list the most common type of cranes
and state that the cranes are "usually based on pulley, winch or
jacking systems." By this language, an intention is conveyed
that the machines in that heading will function using similar
mechanics to that of a crane, but it does not mean that such
machines have to utilize pulleys, cables and hoists as in a
typical crane. It is our opinion that the exemplars and the
descriptions in the ENs for heading 8426 are not intended to be
all-encompassing, but they are broader in scope than you allege
as they cover "jacking systems" and the ENs reflect the kind of
significant lifting and handling that these type of machines
accomplish. We agree that the Reachstackers' classification is
dependent on the terms of the headings. It is our opinion that
heading 8426 more specifically describes the Reachstackers (i.e.,
"works trucks fitted with a crane") than does heading 8427 (i.e.,
"other works trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment").
The definition of "crane" included in your request from
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1986, provides, in
pertinent part:
3 pl cranes: a projection often horizontal swinging
about a vertical axis or having at one end a bend
suggestive of a crane's neck: as a: a machine for
raising and lowering heavy weights and transporting
them through a limited horizontal distance while
holding them suspended and usu. having a jib of timber
or steel sometimes affixed to a rotating post held by
guys or having the hoisting apparatus supported by a
trolley running on a overhead track(emphasis
added)...d: an iron arm with a horizontal motion
attached to a side or back of a fireplace and used to
support kettles over a fire...h: a boom of considerable
size used in the motion-picture and television industry
for holding a camera and sometimes a cameraman.
It is our opinion that you have taken an extremely narrow
interpretation of the word "crane" by focusing on the second half
of the "3a" definition for your support that Reachstackers cannot
be cranes since they do not contain guys, hoisting tackle or a
rotating post. In view of the dictionary's use of the qualifying
word, "usually," cranes need not possess all of those features.
In fact, a camera crane does not possess all the features of a
typical crane, but it is, nonetheless, considered a crane in the
"3h" definition and such a machine would be classified in heading
8426.
The description of the various types of lifting and
handling machines included in heading 8426 demonstrate the
ability of such machines to generally lift and suspend loads
while transporting the suspended loads from one location to
another within a designated area. For instance, straddle
carriers in EN 84.26(9) are not the usual type of crane, but they
are used in transportation terminals for lifting and handling
long loads and for stacking containers by means of positioning
themselves over a load and lifting and lowering the load by
special gripping devices. Although straddle carriers are not a
typical "crane" with pulleys or winches, they nevertheless
function as a crane would. See generally HQ 085938, dated
November 13, 1990 (straddle carrier was classified as a "crane").
Likewise, Reachstackers incorporate an unusual type of crane, one
which is based on a jacking system (that is, the telescopic boom
lifts by means of hydraulic cylinders in the same manner as a
hydraulic jack) and function, not unlike, a crane. The
Reachstackers, as the straddle carrier, can lift, load, unload,
and stack cargo containers. From the photographs contained in
the sales brochure, it appears that the Reachstackers have a
winch and hook application, which makes it more like the
traditional crane. Thus, we reject your contention that the
telescopic lifting boom on the Reachstacker does not function in
the manner of a crane.
In NY 881418, dated January 11, 1996, Customs classified a
"Superstacker crane," a self-propelled machine in which a
telescopic boom with a spreader mounted on the wheeled chassis is
used to load, unload, and stack cargo containers in shipping
ports and terminals under subheading 8426.41.0005, HTSUS. The
Superstacker is substantially similar to the Reachstackers but
for the telescopic spreader's capability of rotating 360o
(degrees). We agree with the classification of
NY 881418.
While we agree with your contention that the wheeled chassis
on the Reachstacker constitutes a "works truck," we reject your
contention that the works trucks classified in HQ 952400 are
similar to the instant Reachstackers. In HQ 952400, dated
February 9, 1993, Customs classified under subheading 8709.19.00,
HTSUS, two self-propelled, heavy duty industrial trucks with
elevating platforms for the purpose of loading large pallets of
goods. This ruling does not serve as precedent in this case
because the trucks (with cab under platform and cab over
platform) in HQ 952400 did not possess any lifting or handling
equipment but merely an elevating platform, and works trucks of
headings 8426 and 8427 are specifically excluded by virtue of
their lifting abilities from heading 8709 by the ENs to Heading
87.09. Again, we note that "straddle carriers" and "works trucks
fitted with a crane" are excepted from classification in heading
8427.
You argue that Reachstackers are "other" trucks fitted with
lifting and handling equipment for specialized use in a
particular industry, i.e., the transport industry, and that
classification is only possible under subheading 8427.20.80. To
support your argument, you cite to HQ 086864, dated July 27,
1990, wherein Customs classified a "tapping vehicle" in heading
8427. This four-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle incorporated a
large crucible (refractory lined metal container) in which molten
aluminum is stored during transport from production pots to its
final transfer of its contents to large crucibles or molds
exclusively within the aluminum plant. The vehicle was fitted
with hydraulic equipment with which the crucible and tapping
mechanism, consisting of a metal syphon tube and vacuum head,
fitted on the crucible could be moved horizontally or lifted
vertically to tap the production pots in hard to reach locations.
Customs found this machine as specialized to the manufacture of
aluminum for it taps molten aluminum from producing pots to
another location in the factory. The "tapping vehicle" in HQ
086864 is distinguishable from the Reachstackers because the
tapping vehicle is not able to remove its crucible which contains
the liquid aluminum. The "tapping vehicle" is designed for the
highly specialized task of syphoning contents from one container
to another in a specialized aluminum plant locale. In contrast,
the Reachstackers do not remove and transport the contents of the
containers it lifts, but moves the entire container itself. The
Reachstackers also are used in a variety of locales such as
railyards, dockyards, and various transportation terminals to
lift and move various sized containers and is not just limited to
use in one specific location, i.e., an aluminum factory.
HOLDING:
The Reachstacker is provided for in heading 8426. It is
classifiable in subheading 8426.41.0005, HTSUS, which provides
for : "[o]ther machinery, self-propelled: [o]n tires: [w]orks
trucks fitted with a crane." The general Column one rate of duty
is 0.8 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification
Appeals Division