CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 963703 GOB
Port Director
U.S. Customs Service
P.O. Box 17423
Washington, D.C. 20041
RE: Protest 5401-00-100002; Clocks; Wall Clocks; Electric Clocks
Dear Sir:
This is our decision with respect to Protest 5401-00-100002 filed on behalf of Donald Saff & Company (“protestant”) concerning the classification of certain clocks under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”).
FACTS:
The subject entry was filed on June 16, 1999 and liquidated on November 12, 1999. The protest was filed on January 3, 2000.
The clocks were entered under subheading 9105.21.80, HTSUS, as: “Other clocks: Wall clocks: Electrically operated: … Other.”
The clocks were rate advanced and liquidated under subheading 9105.29.50, HTSUS, as: “Other clocks: Wall clocks: … Other: … Other: … Valued over $5 each.”
The protestant states as follows:
All clocks, other than hour glasses, fall under three generic categories determined by their motive drive force: they are either driven by a spring, a weight or they are driven electrically (either by battery or line current and transformer). These categories overlap slightly because all clocks usually have, at the very least, gears to move hands which introduce a small mechanical element.
The clocks I have imported are battery operated. One does not wind these clocks and therefore, they fall under the category of electrical horology. All three – the Fedchenko made in Russia, the Shortt made in England and the Reifler made in Germany – operate in fundamentally the same way with varying degrees of accuracy. They are all electric clocks and cannot work without electric power. [Emphasis in original.]
The clocks are approximately twelve inches wide, 48 inches long, and six inches deep. They are suitable for hanging on a wall.
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification of the clocks – are they classified in subheading 9105.21.80, HTSUS, or in subheading 9105.29.50, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
We note initially that the protest was timely filed under the statutory and regulatory provisions for protests, 19 U.S.C. 1514(c)(3)(A) and 19 CFR 174.12(e)(1).
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI’s”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI’s may then be applied.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“EN’s”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the EN’s provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
Other clocks
Wall clocks
Electrically operated
Other
* * * * *
Other clocks
Wall clocks
Other
Other
Valued over $5 each.
If the clocks are electrically operated, they are classifiable in subheading 9105.21.80, HTSUS. If they are not electrically operated, they are classifiable in subheading 9105.29.50, HTSUS.
The EN’s to Chapter 91, Clocks and Watches and Parts Thereof, provide, in pertinent part, as follows:
The apparatus of this Chapter may be electrical (including electronic), e.g. :
(A) Clocks using a dry battery or an accumulator with a low running reserve (of the order of a few minutes). These clocks have a conventional balance-wheel and hairspring combination or a pendulum, the spring being periodically rewound by an electro-magnet.
…
(C) Pendulum clocks driven from a dry battery, an accumulator or the mains; the pendulum is kept swinging by means of an electro-magnetic device.
(D) Clocks and watches powered by a dry battery or an accumulator, with a regulating device (tuning fork, piezo-electric quartz crystal, etc.) which is kept oscillating by an electronic circuit.
...
[All emphasis in original.]
We have examined various sources with respect to determining whether or not the subject three clocks (a Shortt, a Reifler, and a Fedchenko) are electrically or mechanically operated. Both the Encyclopedia Britannica (1963) and the Encyclopedia Americana (1993) reflect that Shortt clocks are electric clocks. These sources reflect that the Shortt clock actually involves two clocks, a master clock and a slave clock. The linkage between the two clocks is electrical, or by electro-magnetic signal. The protestant has submitted information from the Electrical Horology Society/National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors indicating that Reifler clocks are electrical clocks. Finally, the protestant has submitted information from the Bulletin of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors reflecting that the Fedchenko clock operates with electromagnetic pulsing.
On the basis of the documentation submitted by the protestant and on the basis of documentation obtained by this office, we have determined that the subject three clocks are electrically operated.
We therefore find that the three clocks are classified in subheading 9105.21.80, HTSUS, as “Other clocks: Wall clocks: Electrically operated: ... Other.”
HOLDING:
The three clocks (Shortt, Fedchenko, and Reifler) are electrically operated. They are classified in subheading 9105.21.80, HTSUS, as “Other clocks: Wall clocks: Electrically operated: ... Other.”
You are instructed to GRANT the protest.
In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, you are to 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 in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations
and Rulings will make the decision available to Customs personnel, and to the public on the Customs Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.customs.treas.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division