CLA-2: RR:CTF:TCM H009832 KSH
Marian Ladner, Esq.
Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall, P.C
Wells Fargo Plaza
1000 Louisiana
Suite 5400
Houston, Texas 77002-5013
RE: Modification of NY N006423, dated March 6, 2007; Classification of a plastic trigger sprayer
Dear Mr. Ladner:
This letter is in reply to your letter of April 10, 2007, on behalf of your client, MeadWestvaco Calmar, Inc., in which you request reconsideration of our determination in New York Ruling Letter (NY) N006423, dated March 6, 2007, regarding the classification of the Goliath trigger sprayer under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). We have reviewed that ruling and found it to be in error as it pertains to the classification of the Goliath trigger sprayer as an agricultural or horticultural implement under heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS. Therefore, this ruling modifies NY N006423.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1)), as
amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice of the proposed action was published on November 13, 2008, in Volume 42, Number 47 of the Customs Bulletin. CBP received no comments in response to the proposed notice.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue is identified as the “Goliath trigger sprayer.” It consists of a grip body housing, a trigger actuator, an orifice cup, a manifold short and cap cover. It is affixed to an aerosol can. The Goliath trigger sprayer is designed to spray fluids contained with the aerosol can such as herbicides or pesticides. You state its actual planned use is for agricultural and/or horticultural applications.
In NY N006423, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the
Goliath trigger sprayer in subheading 8481.80.50, HTSUS, which provides for: “Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances, for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves; parts thereof: Other appliances: Hand operated: Of other materials.” CBP determined that heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS was not applicable because the trigger sprayer is merely a part of agricultural or horticultural machinery, equipment or implements and did not meet the terms of the heading. You submit that the Goliath trigger sprayer should be classified under heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, as “Machinery, equipment and implements to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.”
ISSUE:
Whether the Goliath trigger sprayer is classified in heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, as an implement to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the U.S. is classified under the HTSUS. Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs 1 through 5.
The HTSUS headings under consideration are as follows:
8481 Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances, for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves; parts thereof:
9817.00.50 Machinery, equipment and implements to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes…
Heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, provides for the duty-free entry of machinery, equipment and implements to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes. This is a provision based on actual use. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 953152, dated March 15, 1993. A tariff classification controlled by the actual use to which the imported goods are put in the United States is satisfied only if such use is intended at the time of importation, the goods are so used and proof thereof is furnished within three years after the goods are entered. See Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(b), HTSUS.
We have consistently held that before an article can be classified in heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, and qualify for the agricultural use duty exemption it must first satisfy each part of the following three-part test, taken in order.
the articles must not be among the long list of exclusions to heading 9817.00.50 or 9817.00.60 under Section XXII, Chapter 98, Subchapter XVII, U.S. Note 2;
the terms of heading 9817.00.50 or 9817.00.60 must be met in accordance with GRI 1; and
the merchandise must meet the actual use conditions required in accordance with sections 10.131 10.139 of the CBP Regulations (19 CFR 10.131 10.139).
If a good fails any part of the test, then recourse would have to be made to its primary classification. See HQ 086211, dated March 24, 1990.
At the outset, we note that the Goliath trigger sprayer is not precluded from classification in heading 9817.00.50, by any of the exclusions in Chapter 98, Subchapter XVII, U.S. Note 2, HTSUS, and, therefore, meets the first part of the test.
Next we need to determine if the Goliath trigger sprayer is machinery, equipment or an implement used for agricultural or horticultural purposes. In defining the terms of subheading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, we refer to the definitions found in Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary (1988).
Machinery: 1. Machines or machine parts in general. 2. The working parts of a
machine. 3. A system of related elements that operates in a definable way.
Equipment: 1. The act of equipping or state of being equipped. 2. Something with which one is equipped.
Implement: 1. A tool, utensil, or instrument for doing a task. 2. An article used to outfit or equip.
Agriculture: The science, art, and business of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.
Horticulture: The science, art, and business of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants.
It is undisputed that the Goliath trigger sprayer conforms to the definition of an implement or equipment. Not all implements, apparatus or equipment used on a farm are necessarily related to an agricultural or horticultural pursuit within the meaning of these terms. See HQ 953152, supra. However, some implements have design features that dedicate them specifically to agricultural or horticultural applications. Devices specifically designed and used for spraying insecticides, pesticides or disinfectants in agricultural or horticultural environments have a rational and obvious relationship to the production of food or clothing. We have routinely held these to be agricultural or horticultural implements. See HQ 952868, dated November 26, 1993, and NY 869883, dated December 24, 1991. Accordingly, the Goliath trigger sprayer is machinery, equipment or an implement used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.
Provided the Goliath trigger sprayer meets the actual use conditions required in accordance with sections 10.131 10.139 of the CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. §§10.131 10.139), it is classifiable in heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The Goliath trigger sprayer is eligible for the duty free treatment of heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS, provided the actual use requirements of 19 C.F.R. Sections 10.131 through 10.139 are satisfied.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N006423, dated March 6, 2007, is modified with respect to classification of the trigger sprayer in heading 9817.00.50, HTSUS. The primary classification of the trigger sprayer in heading 8481, HTSUS, is unchanged.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625 (c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division