CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 967194 ASM
Mr. Mohannad Almalki
Product Development Engineer
American Engineering Services
9001 Brittany Way
Tampa, FL 33619
RE: Request for reconsideration of NY R00357; Classification of
“Sedifilt”™ polypropylene string wound filter cartridges
Dear Mr. Almalki:
This is in response to a letter, dated May 18, 2004, that you submitted on behalf of American Engineering Services, Inc., requesting reconsideration of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) New York Ruling Letter (NY) R00357, dated May 13, 2004, which classified “Sedifilt”™ string wound filter cartridges under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). A sample was submitted to this office for examination.
FACTS:
NY R00357, identified the subject items as string wound filter cartridges composed of polypropylene man-made filaments that have been extruded through a melt spun process. The filaments are randomly oriented to each other, intermixed, looped and entwined into a non-round highly stable bulky yarn which is used to form the final filter element. The product also consists of a hollow cylindrical tube (approximately 1-inch in diameter) with perforations. The plastic tube serves as a type of “spool” upon which the polypropylene filaments have been wound. The finished filters are cylindrical in shape with a hole through their core. They are available in 10-inch to 50-inch lengths and may or may not be imported with end caps. The “Sedifilt”™ filters are intended to remove suspended particles in water and other fluids in industrial systems.
In NY R00375, the subject filters were classified in subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA, which provides for “Textile products and articles, for technical uses, specified in note 7 to this chapter: Other, Other”. You disagree with this classification and argue that the product is properly classified as a filter in subheading 8421.21.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for ”Centrifuges, including centrifugal dryers; filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus, for liquids or gases; parts thereof: Filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus for liquids: For filtering or purifying water”.
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification for the merchandise?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). 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 heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs 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, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
We begin by noting that the Section XVI Notes, which cover heading 8421, exclude from inclusion within the section “articles of textile material for technical uses” and direct classification determinations of such merchandise to heading 5911, HTSUSA. See Note 1(e), Section XVI.
Heading 5911, HTSUSA, provides for textile products and articles for technical uses so long as they are specified in Note 7 to Chapter 59. Note 7 to Chapter 59 reads, in relevant part:
Heading 5911 applies to the following goods, which do not
fall in any other heading of section XI:
* * *
Textile articles (other than those of headings 5908 to 5910)
of a kind used for technical purposes (for example, textile fabrics
and felts, endless or fitted with linking devices, of a kind used in
papermaking or similar machines (for example, for pulp or
asbestos-cement), gaskets, washers, polishing discs and other
machinery parts).
Section B to the ENs for heading 5911 specifically include textile articles of a kind used for technical purposes and sets forth some examples. The ENs state in pertinent part:
All textile articles of a kind used for technical purposes
(other than those of headings 59.08 to 59.10) are classified
in this heading and not elsewhere in Section XI (see Note 7(b)
to the Chapter); for example:
* * *
… filter bags for air filtration plant, oil filters for engines, etc.
The textile articles of this heading may incorporate accessories in other material provided the articles remain essentially articles of textile.
There is no dispute that the subject products are being imported as filters for removing suspended particles in water and other fluids in industrial systems. As such, the “Sedifilt”™ filters are comparable to the example set forth in EN 59.11(B) wherein “oil filters” are specifically identified as a type of textile article used for technical purposes within the meaning of heading 5911, HTSUSA. Furthermore, the subject products are essentially articles of textile because the textile polypropylene yarn performs the primary function of trapping contaminates and debris while the plastic core merely serves to hold the yarn in place and assist in resisting particle unloading.
It has been well-established in prior CBP rulings that similar textile filter modules/cylinders are properly classified as “technical use” articles under subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA. In HQ 962967, dated November 21, 2000, a gasket comprised of foam and metal enmeshed in a textile fabric cover was classified as a textile product for technical use in subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA. In HQ 966083, dated June 19, 2003, CBP classified cylindrical air filters composed of a textile filter medium encased in a plastic mesh housing in heading 5911, HTSUSA. In NY I84349, dated August 19, 2002, a spiral wound reverse osmosis membrane for use in water filtration was classified in heading 5911, HTSUSA. In HQ 963619, dated July 12, 2002, CBP classified a filter material constructed of monofilament spiral materials imported in rolls under subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA. Also, in NY F81194, dated January 24, 2000, CBP classified a filter element and filter module consisting of closely spaced, microporous polyethylene hollow filament membranes under subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA.
In view of the foregoing, we find that the “Sedifilt”™ filters are textile articles for technical use and precluded from classification in subheading 8421.21.0000, HTSUSA, pursuant to Note 1(e), Section XVI, HTSUSA. Accordingly, NY R00357, dated May 13, 2004, correctly classified the subject merchandise in subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA, which provides for “Other” textile products for technical uses.
HOLDING:
The “Sedifilt”™ string wound filter cartridges are correctly classified in subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUSA, which provides for “Textile products and articles, for technical uses, specified in note 7 to this chapter: Other, Other”. The general column one duty rate is 3.8 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division