CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H110418 EG
Carmen R. Morrow
Customs Compliance Analyst
Rolls-Royce North America, Inc.
2001 South Tibbs Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46241
RE: Revocation of NY N004775: Tariff classification of Double Hexagon Head Extended Washer Stainless Steel Fastener
Dear Ms. Morrow:
This letter is in response to your request, dated May 20, 2010, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to reconsider New York Ruling Letter (NY) N004775, dated December 29, 2006. NY N004775 concerns the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of a double hexagon head extended washer stainless steel fastener, part number AS21023 (hex head fastener), imported by your company. We have reviewed NY N004775 and find it to be in error.
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 revocation was published on May 11, 2011, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 45, No. 20. CBP received no comments in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The article in question is a stainless steel hex head fastener imported from the United Kingdom by Rolls-Royce North America, Inc. (Rolls-Royce). Rolls-Royce imports the hex head fasteners for use in airplane engines. It is 6.3 mm in diameter and 36.5 mm in length. The top of the hex head fastener includes a twelve-point wrench configuration for torquing. Underneath the twelve-point wrench configuration is a flange, or extended washer head. The hex head fastener’s shank attaches to the flange at a curved fillet instead of at a hard right angle. The hex head fastener’s shank is fully threaded with a chamfered point at the end. The request included the following drawing of the hex head fastener:
The drawing provides dimensional specifications for the hex head fastener. The hex head fastener’s body diameter is a minimum of 6.25 mm and a maximum of 6.32 mm. The under-head fillet has a minimum radius of 0.38 mm and a maximum radius of 0.64 mm. The drawing sets forth the permissible variation of the thread concentricity by stating that “for bolts having a shank length of less than 1.5 mm x nominal bolt diameter, the thread pitch diameter should be made the datum [or reference] and the concentricity tolerance applied to the shank.”
According to the drawing, the thread length at the shank bottom cannot exceed two pitches including the chamfer. The drawing indicates that the incomplete threads at the top of the shank must not encroach on the under-head radius. Within these boundaries, the shank is fully threaded. The drawing also indicates that the under-head bearing surface of the flange must be blended out smoothly into the shank, and that no excrescence or bumps are permissible on the under-head bearing surface.
In NY N004775, CBP classified the hex head fastener as a bolt under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS. Rolls-Royce now asserts that the fastener is sometimes, but not always, used with a nut. Moreover, Rolls-Royce claims that the extended washer head of the fastener renders it a cap screw and not a bolt. Therefore, Rolls-Royce requests that CBP revoke NY N004775 and reclassify the hex head fastener as a screw under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject hex head fastener is classified as a bolt under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, or as a screw under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied 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 2011 HTSUS provisions under consideration in this case are as follows:
7318 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel:
Threaded articles:
7318.15 Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers:
7318.15.20 Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment . . .
Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more . . .
* * *
Other:
7318.15.80 Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more . . .
* * *
CBP uses fastener industry standards to distinguish bolts from screws. When a fastener is described in a fastener industry dimensional standard as either a screw or a bolt, we follow that standard. When, as in this case, we have no dimensional standard, we consult the “Specification for Identification of Bolts and Screws,” in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B18.2.1 specification (1981). In Rocknel Fastener, Inc. v. United States, the court cited ANSI/ASME B18.2.1 as “provid[ing] a well-recognized, comprehensive basis for the common and commercial meaning of bolt and screw as understood by the fastener industry in the United States.” 24 Ct. Int’l Trade 900, 906 (2000).
ANSI/ASME B18.2.1 provides as follows:
A bolt is an externally threaded fastener designed for insertion through holes in assembled parts, and is normally intended to be tightened or released by torquing a nut.
A screw is an externally threaded fastener capable of being inserted into holes in assembled parts, of mating with a preformed internal thread or forming its own thread, and of being tightened or released by torquing the head.
A bolt is designed for assembly with a nut. A screw has features in its design which makes it capable of being used in a tapped or other preformed hole in the work. Because of the basic design, it is possible to use certain types of screws in combination with a nut. Any externally threaded fastener which has a majority of the design characteristics which assist its proper use in a tapped or other preformed hole is a screw, regardless of how it is used in its service application.
ANSI/ASME B18.2.1 provides four Primary Criteria and nine Supplementary Criteria for consideration in distinguishing bolts from screws. If the fastener conforms to any of the Primary Criteria for either a bolt or a screw, it is classified accordingly. If none of the Primary Criteria are met, CBP consults the Supplementary Criteria. The Supplementary Criteria detail the principal features in the design of an externally threaded fastener which contribute to its proper use as a screw. A fastener having a majority of these characteristics is classified as a screw. See, e.g. Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 951362, dated June 24, 1992 and HQ 965864, dated January 10, 2003.
The Primary Criteria are the following: 1) a fastener which can only be tightened or released by torquing a nut is a bolt; 2) a fastener which has a thread form which prohibits assembly with a nut is a screw; 3) a fastener which must be assembled with a nut to perform its intended service is a bolt; 4) a fastener which must be torqued by its head into a tapped or other preformed hole to perform its intended service is a screw. Since the subject hex head fastener is sometimes, but not always, used with a nut, it does not satisfy any of the Primary Criteria.
As such, we must examine the hex head fastener under the Secondary Criteria. If the hex head fastener satisfies a majority of the criteria, then it is classified as a screw. The nine Secondary Criteria are: 1) a screw must have a controlled fillet at the junction of the head with the body; 2) the under-head bearing surface of a screw should be smooth and flat; 3) the under-head bearing surface should be square with the shank of a screw; 4) the body diameter of a screw should be closely controlled; 5) the shank of a screw must be straight; 6) the threads of a screw must be concentric with the body axis within close limits; 7) the length of the thread must be sufficient to develop the full strength of the fastener in the hole; 8) a screw should have a chamfered or specially prepared point and 9) the length of a screw (from bearing surface to end point) should be closely controlled.
An examination of the drawing submitted by Rolls-Royce shows that the hex head fastener satisfies at least seven of the nine Secondary Criteria. Specifically, the hex head fastener: 1) has a controlled under-head fillet with a minimum radius of 0.38 mm and a maximum radius of 0.64 mm; 2) has a smooth under-head bearing surface; 3) has a closely controlled body diameter with a minimum diameter of 6.25 mm and a maximum diameter of 6.32 mm; 4) has a closely controlled thread concentricity; 5) has a fully-threaded shaft to develop the full strength of the fastener; 6) has a chamfered point and 7) has a controlled length of 36.5 mm. The drawing does not provide information regarding the following two criteria: the squareness of the under-head bearing to the hex head fastener’s shank and the straightness of the hex head fastener’s shank.
We note, additionally, that the hex head fastener has an extended washer head to facilitate torquing with a wrench. The washer-like flange on the underside of the head is the functional equivalent of a washer face. CBP has previously treated a washer face, or its equivalent, as a characteristic of screws. See Heads and Threads, Div. of MSL Industries, Inc. v. United States, 56 C.C.P.A. 95, 98-99 (1969); see also Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 956811, dated April 14, 1995, and HQ 959280, dated December 19, 2000. For all of the foregoing reasons, the hex head fastener is classifiable as a screw and not as a bolt.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 and GRI 6, the subject hex head fastener is classified in heading 7318, HTSUS. Since the hex head fastener is a screw with a thread which exceeds six millimeters in diameter, it is specifically provided for in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, which provides for: “Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: threaded articles: other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers: other: having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more.” The 2011 column one, general rate of duty is 8.5 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N004775, dated December 29, 2006, is hereby revoked.
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