HQ H258441
CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H258441 TSM
Ms. Jane L. Taeger
Samuel Shapiro & Company, Inc.
100 N. Charles Street, Suite 1200
Baltimore, MD 21201
RE: Reconsideration of N243480; Classification of welding tips and nozzles from various countries
Dear Ms. Taeger:
This letter is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) N243480, issued to Abicor Binzel Corporation on July 23, 2013, concerning the tariff classification of welding tips and nozzles from various countries. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified the subject merchandise under subheading 8515.90.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), which provides for “Electric (including electrically heated gas), laser or other light or photon beam, ultrasonic, electron beam, magnetic pulse or plasma arc soldering, brazing or welding machines and apparatus, whether or not capable of cutting; electric machines and apparatus for hot spraying of metals or cermets; parts thereof: Parts: Of welding machines and apparatus.” In a letter dated September 15, 2014, you argued that the welding tips and nozzles under consideration should be classified under subheading 7419.99.50, HTSUS, which provides for “Other articles of copper: Other: Other: Other: Other.” We have reviewed N243480 and found it to be correct. For the reasons set forth below we hereby affirm N243480.
FACTS:
NY N243480, issued to Abicor Binzel Corporation on July 23, 2013, describes the subject merchandise as follows:
The tips, part numbers 140.0224, 140.0442 and 140.0516, and nozzles, part numbers 145.0085, 145.0139 and 145.0148, are made of copper. They are said to be designed specifically for use in welding equipment and are not for general use. These consumable articles are used on MIG (metal inert gas) welding guns. Tips are available in either fixed or adjustable tip recesses. Tips and nozzles are available in different sizes, angles and precision levels, depending on the welding job to be performed.
Using an arc of electricity, a short circuit is created between a continuously fed anode (+ the wire-fed welding gun) and a cathode (- the metal being welded). The heat produced by the short circuit along with an inert gas locally melts the metal which allows the metal to mix together. The heat is then removed. As the metal cools and solidifies, a new piece of fused metal is produced. The contact tip connects to the diffuser and transfers the current to the wire. In this way, the current is guided through the wire to the weld puddle. The nozzles maintain weld quality by directing the shielding gas to the weld pool and protecting it from contamination. Copper nozzles are used for high-amperage applications (above 300 amps) or for applications with longer arc-on time.
In the request for reconsideration, Abicor Binzel Corporation confirmed the above description of the subject merchandise and provided additional information in support of the argument that the subject merchandise is best described as “consumables” and should therefore be classified under subheading 7419.99.50, HTSUS. These additional arguments are as follows: (1) while heading 8515 includes a provision for parts, it does not provide for accessories; (2) the Informed Compliance Publication “Soldering and Welding Machines and Apparatus,” dated March 2006, states, on page 10, that “In general, consumables are not classified as parts. Such items include but are not limited to consumable electrodes, welding wire, solder paste, gas for gas welding processes, etc.”; (3) the ENs to heading 85.15 state that consumable electrodes made of base metal or metal carbides (classified according to constituent material or in heading 83.11, as the case may be), are excluded from this heading; (4) www.merriam-webster.com defines “consumable” as “used to describe products that need to be replaced after they have been used for a period of time, capable of being consumed,” and defines “consume” as “to do away with completely, destroy, to waste or burn away, to use up”; (5) the term “consumable” is commonly used in the metal welding industry to describe certain items that are consumed, that is, used up, destroyed, done away with completely, wasted or burned away, in the operation of the welding torch, and include nozzles, tips, cooling tubes, swirl rings, gas diffusers, end caps, etc.; (6) the characteristic that distinguishes the consumable articles from parts is that, unlike parts that may wear out after long use, consumable articles are consumed, destroyed, used up, or burned away, relatively quickly by the high-heat operation of the welding machines.
ISSUE:
Whether the welding tips and nozzles under consideration should be classified under subheading 8515.90.20, HTSUS, as “… Parts: Of welding machines and apparatus,” or under subheading 7419.99.50, HTSUS, as “Other articles of copper: Other: Other: Other: Other”?
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. In addition, in interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7419 Other articles of copper:
Other:
7419.99 Other:
Other:
7419.99.50 Other
* * *
8515 Electric (including electrically heated gas), laser or other light or photon beam, ultrasonic, electron beam, magnetic pulse or plasma arc soldering, brazing or welding machines and apparatus, whether or not capable of cutting; electric machines and apparatus for hot spraying of metals or cerments; parts thereof:
8515.90 Parts:
8515.90.20 Of welding machines and apparatus
To determine whether the welding tips and nozzles under consideration are classified in subheading 7419.99.50, HTSUS, or subheading 8515.90.20, HTSUS, we follow the above-referenced provision of GRI 1 and consider the relative Section and Chapter Notes. First, it should be noted that Note 1(f) to Section XV, HTSUS, states that this section does not cover “articles of Section XVI (machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical goods).” Accordingly, at issue is whether or not the tips and nozzles under consideration are “articles of Section XVI.”
Articles not covered by Section XVI, HTSUS, are enumerated in Note 1 to that section. Thus, Note 1(g) to Section XVI, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part, that “This section does not cover … parts of general use, as defined in Note 2 to Section XV, of base metal (Section XV).” In this regard, Note 2 to Section XV, HTSUS, states the following: “Throughout the tariff schedule, the expression "parts of general use" means: (a) Articles of heading 7307, 7312, 7315, 7317 or 7318 and similar articles of other base metals; (b) Springs and leaves for springs, of base metal, other than clock or watch springs (heading 9114); and (c) Articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310 and frames and mirrors, of base metal, of heading 8306.”
We do not find persuasive the argument that, pursuant to the Informed Compliance Publication (“ICP”), “consumables are not classified as parts.” We note that the ICP uses the phrase “in general,” which should not be taken to mean that all consumables are excluded from being classified as parts. Moreover, while the ICP lists goods which are commonly used up in one job, such as consumable electrodes, welding wire, solder paste and gas, as examples of “consumables,” the welding nozzles and tips at issue here can be used several times and were not specifically included in the referenced EN. Thus, although parts of any machine can wear out after time, it does not mean that they cannot be classified as “parts.”
Although the welding tips and nozzles at issue can be classified as “parts,” we next consider whether they are “parts of general use” within the meaning of Note 2 to Section XV, HTSUS. Upon review, we find that unlike “general use parts” such as tubes, pipes, fittings, cables, ropes, chains, nails, pins, screws and bolts, which have ancillary, support functions and are not typically designed for use with specific equipment, welding tips and nozzles at issue here have defined functions and are designed for use with specific equipment (i.e. MIG welding guns). Accordingly, we find that the welding tips and nozzles under consideration are not “parts of general use” within the meaning of Note 2 to Section XV, HTSUS. Rather, since they are not “parts which are goods included in any of the headings of chapter 84 or 85” within the meaning on Note 2(a) to Section XVI, we find that they are “parts, suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine” within the meaning of Note 2(b) to Section XVI. Accordingly, they are classified in subheading 8515.90.20, HTSUS, as parts of welding machines and apparatus.
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that welding tips and nozzles are classified in subheading 8515.90.20, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, welding tips and nozzles are classified under subheading 8515.90.20, HTSUS, as “… Parts: Of welding machines and apparatus.”
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the internet at.www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N243480, dated July 23, 2013, is AFFIRMED.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division