CLA-2: RR:CR:TE: 967158 BtB
Area Port Director
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
6747 Engle Road Middleburg Heights, OH 44130
RE: Decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No.
4102-04-10018; the tariff classification of industrial food slicers from Italy and China
Dear Area Port Director:
This is a decision on the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest Number 4102-04-10018, timely filed by Peter A. Dow of ITW Food Equipment Group (“ITW”), on behalf of Hobart Corporation (“Hobart” or “protestant”), a subsidiary of ITW, on March 10, 2004, concerning the classification of two models of food slicing machines entered through the Port of Cincinnati, OH/Lawrenceburg, IN, in February, 2003.
FACTS:
The slicers at issue are known as the Hobart 610 slicer and the Hobart Edge slicer. The Hobart 610 slicer is described as a “light-duty” manual electrically-operated slicer. It weighs 35 lbs. and measures 15 59/64” long by 16 15/16” wide by 15 23/64” tall. It has an anodized aluminum base, removable carriage and knife cover. It is belt driven with a 1/5 horsepower knife drive motor. The slicer’s carriage will take food up to 7 ¼ inches in width. The slicer also features a rear-mounted meat grip, a two-stone knife sharpener, a removable rear deflector, and a 10” ground carbon steel knife. Hobart marketing material states that the slicer is “perfect for light prep work, such as fruits and vegetables. It also can handle low volume meat slicing.” The Hobart 610 slicer is made in Italy.
The Hobart Edge slicer is described as a “medium-duty” manual electrically-operated slicer. It weighs 63 lbs. and measures 22.5” long by 21” wide by 18.5” tall. It has an anodized aluminum base, removable carriage and knife cover. It is belt driven with a 1/5 horsepower knife drive motor. The slicer’s carriage will take food up to 7 ¼ inches in width or 7 ¾” in diameter. The slicer also features a rear-mounted meat grip, a top-mounted Borazon stone sharpener, a removable product deflector, and a 11 ¾ contoured carbon steel knife. Hobart marketing material states that the slicer is “designed specifically for moderate-volume slicing of fruits and vegetables as well as cheeses and meats, for kitchens that may not need the high-volume capacity and additional labor-savings features of Hobart’s other slicers.” The Hobart Edge slicer is made in China.
Both the Hobart 610 slicer and the Hobart Edge slicer are designed for commercial/industrial, non-domestic use. In this decision, the Hobart 610 slicer and the Hobart Edge slicer may jointly be referred to as the “Hobart slicers.”
ISSUE:
Whether the Hobart slicers are classified in subheading 8438.50, HTSUS, as “Machinery for the preparation of meat and poultry” or in subheading 8438.80, HTSUS, as “Other machinery.”
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUSA is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides, in part, that classification decisions are to be "determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes." In the event that 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 may then be applied, in order. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level (for the 4 digit headings and the 6 digit subheadings) and facilitate classification under the HTSUSA by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI. While neither legally binding nor dispositive of classification issues, the EN provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUSA and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127-28 (Aug. 23, 1989).
EN (VII) to heading 84.38 covers the machinery classified in subheading 8438.50, HTSUS. This EN reads, in full:
(VII) MACHINERY FOR THE PREPARATION OF MEAT OR POULTRY
This group includes:
(1) Machinery for the slaughter and subsequent treatment of animals.
(2) Hog de-hairing machines. These consist of a revolving cradle which holds the
carcass, and of a number of belt scrapers turning in the opposite direction to the
cradle.
(3) Meat cutting or chopping machines for cutting up carcasses, etc., by the action of
circular saws, rotating knives, etc.
(4) Machines for sawing or chopping bones.
(5) Meat beating machines to make the flesh more tender by the action of pointed or
bladed combs which sever the nerve fibres.
(6) Meat mincing or dicing machines.
(7) Gut cleaning machines.
(8) Sausage stuffing machines. These consist essentially of a cylindrical container
from which the meat is forced by a piston into the sausage casing.
(9) Meat or bacon slicing machines.
(10) Meat or fat moulding presses.
(11) Machines and appliances for killing, plucking or drawing poultry (electric
stunning and bleeding knife, high-output poultry pluckers, eviscerating apparatus,
gizzard strippers and lung extractors).
(12) Meat pickling machinery comprising hand-operated brine injection guns
connected to a pump, or a fully automatic conveyor device which feeds the meat to
a grid consisting of brine injection needles.
EN (X) to heading 84.38 covers the machinery classified in subheading 8438.80, HTSUS. This EN reads, in full:
(X) OTHER MACHINERY FOR THE INDUSTRIAL PREPARATION
OR MANUFACTURE OF FOOD OR DRINK
This group includes:
(1) Mechanical appliances for acetification (used in vinegar-making).
(2) Coffee bean husking or hulling machines (cylinder, disc or blade types).
(3) Extracting machines, of the spiked roller type, for extracting the essential oil from
oranges.
(4) Tea-leaf cutting or rolling machines.
While EN (VII) to heading 84.38 covers a wide array of machinery for the preparation of meat or poultry, we do not find that the scope of the heading is broad enough to cover the Hobart slicers for two reasons. First, we find that the Hobart slicers are not designed to be principally used for the preparation of meat or poultry. Protestant has established that both models are general purpose low-to-moderate volume commercial food slicing machines found in delicatessens, restaurants, cafes, etc. The most similar machinery covered by EN (VII) is “meat or bacon slicing machines.” We do not find that the Hobart slicers are machines of this nature. The Hobart slicers are not designed to be principally used for the preparation of meat or poultry. Rather, the machines are designed to be used with fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and meats.
Second, the EN (VII) to heading 84.38 describes machines that are used, for the most part, in meat and poultry packing plants, that is, heavy-duty industrial machines used for the slaughter and subsequent preparation of meat and poultry for sale in the marketplace. We do not find that the Hobart slicers are not within the same class or kind as the group of machines described in EN (VII). The Hobart slicers are not heavy-duty industrial machines and, for the most part, they are used to slice food that is already in edible condition, so that it can be served to the consumer.
While general commercial food slicing machines are not explicitly named in EN (X) to heading 84.38, we find the Hobart slicers are clearly machines for the industrial preparation of food not specifically described under another subheading under heading 8438, HTSUS. Therefore, we find subheading 8438.80, HTSUS, which provides for “Other machinery,” to be the most suitable provision for the Hobart slicers. Note that we have previously classified substantially similar general purpose commercial food slicers in this provision (See NY 859704, dated January 24, 1991 and NY K85991, dated May 27, 2004).
HOLDING:
The Hobart 610 slicer and the Hobart Edge slicer should be reclassified under subheading 8438.80.0000, HTSUSA, and the protest ALLOWED under this provision. At the time of entry (February, 2003), merchandise classified under this subheading had a “free” rate of duty.
In accordance with Section IV of the Customs Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (CIS HB, January 2002, pp. 18 and 21), you are to mail this decision, together with the CBP Form 19, to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. No later than 60 days from the date of this letter, the Office of Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and by other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division