CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 965124 GOB
Port Director
U.S. Customs Service
Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport Area
300 S. Ferry Street
Terminal Island, CA 90731
RE: Protest 2704-01-100150; Electric Rotisserie Sets
Dear Port Director:
This is our decision regarding Protest 2704-01-100150, filed by counsel on behalf of Sunbeam Products, Inc. (“protestant”) concerning the classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), of certain electric rotisserie sets.
FACTS:
The file reflects the following. The entry at issue was filed on December 2, 1999, and was liquidated on October 13, 2000. The protest was filed on January 10, 2001.
The electric rotisserie sets were entered under subheading 8509.80.00, HTSUS, as: “Electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor; parts thereof: . . . Other appliances.” The entry was liquidated under subheading 8501.10.40, HTSUS, as: “Electric motors and generators (excluding generating sets): Motors of an output not exceeding 37.5W: Of under 18.65W: . . .Other.” The protestant now claims classification under subheading 8543.89.96, HTSUS, as: “Electrical machines or apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: ... Other machines and apparatus: ... Other: ... Other: ... Other: ... Other.”
The protestant describes the electric rotisserie sets (model no. 30201), which are designed for use with gas grills, as follows:
The sets consist of an electric motor, brackets for attaching to the grills, a handle (for manually turning, if needed) and a spit assembly (two metal spit rods and two forked prongs). The rotisserie assemblies are imported and sold to U.S. consumers in a disassembled condition. When assembled onto a grill, the spit component is rotated over the grill surface by the electric motor so that food can be cooked evenly.
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification of the electric rotisserie sets?
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. GRI 2(a) provides in pertinent part that any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article complete or finished (or failing to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
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 headings under consideration are as follows:
7321 Stoves, ranges . . . barbecues . . . and similar nonelectric domestic appliances, and parts thereof, of iron or steel:
* * * * * *
8501 Electric motors and generators (excluding generating sets):
* * * * * *
8509 Electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor; parts thereof:
* * * * * *
8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof:
Heading 7321, HTSUS, covers stoves, ranges, barbecues, and similar nonelectric domestic appliances. The electric rotisserie set attaches to a good of this heading, but is not itself a good of heading 7321, HTSUS. It can be said to be an accessory for a gas grill, but heading 7321 does not provide for accessories of goods described therein. It is not a “part” of a gas grill (parts are within heading 7321, HTSUS) because it is not an essential portion or integral element of the gas grill. See Mita Copystar America v. United States, 21 CIT 611, 613, 966 F. Supp. 1245, 1247 (1997), rev’d 160 F.3d 710 (Fed. Cir. 1998).
Heading 8501, HTSUS, covers electric motors and generators. EN 85.01 provides in pertinent part: “Motors remain classified here even when they are equipped with pulleys, with gears or gear boxes, or with a flexible shaft for operating hand tools.” The motor in the electric rotisserie set is equipped with items other than those specified in the EN. Further, the items other than the motor in the electric rotisserie set are not directly involved in the transmission of power function provided by the motor. See HQ 950834 dated March 6, 1992. Accordingly, we conclude that the electric rotisserie set is not described in heading 8501, HTSUS.
Heading 8509, HTSUS, covers electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motors, and parts thereof. The electric rotisserie sets do not appear to be contemplated by EN 85.09, which mentions the following appliances: vacuum cleaners, floor polishers, food grinders and mixers, fruit or vegetable juice extractors, peelers, slicers, knife sharpeners and cleaners, kitchen waste disposers, electric tooth brushes, and air humidifiers and dehumidifiers. Accordingly, we conclude that the electric rotisserie sets are not described in heading 8509, HTSUS.
Heading 8543, HTSUS, covers electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in Chapter 85. The electric rotisserie sets are electrical machines or apparatus not specified or included elsewhere in Chapter 85. The electric rotisserie sets have individual functions in that their function is separable from the function of the grills that they operate in conjunction with. See EN 84.79. Accordingly, at GRI 2 as the goods are imported unassembled, we find that the electric rotisserie sets are provided for in heading 8543, HTSUS, and are classified in subheading 8543.89.96, HTSUS, as: “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: ... Other machines and apparatus: ... Other: ... Other: ... Other: ... Other.”
HOLDING:
At GRI 2, the electric rotisserie sets are provided for in heading 8543, HTSUS, and are classified in subheading 8543.89.96, HTSUS, as: “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: ... Other machines and apparatus: ... Other: ... Other: ... Other: ... 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