CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H278604 SKK
Ms. Amy Hess
Problem Solvers Ltd.
11205 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
RE: Request to reconsider NY N255515; Classification of D-Link Wi-Fi smart plugs.
Dear Ms. Hess:
This is in response to your correspondence of July 25, 2016 in which you request
reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N255515, issued to your client, D-Link Systems, Inc., on August 21, 2014. In NY N255515, CBP classified two types of D-Link articles: Wi-Fi-enabled smart plugs and motion sensors. This reconsideration is limited to the Wi-Fi-enabled smart plugs. No sample was submitted with your reconsideration request.
In NY N255515, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified D-Link Wi-Fi-enabled smart plugs under heading 8537, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), specifically subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS (2014), which provides for “[B]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Other.”*
We have reviewed NY N255515 as it pertains to the classification of the subject Wi-Fi-enabled smart plugs and have determined that the ruling is correct. For the reasons set forth below, we are affirming that portion of NY N255515 pertaining to Wi-Fi-enabled smart plugs.
The subject smart plugs at issue in NY N255515 are described as the D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug Lite (model number DSP-W110) and the D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug (model number DSP-W215). Both are described as Wi-Fi-enabled switches that connect a user’s home appliances and electronic devices to a Wi-Fi network, allowing the user to turn devices on and off via a mobile app. Both plugs consist of a three-pronged electrical socket and plug, lighted power on/off button, reset button, Wireless Protected Setup (WPS) button (to connect to the home network), and status LED. Internally, the plugs are equipped with two printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs). The AC/DC converter PCBA contains two relays and the components necessary to convert 120VAC to 12VDC for the RF PCB assembly to operate. The radio frequency (RF) PCBA contains the embedded processor/receiver and antenna, on/off switch, and reset switch. WPS and wireless communication functionalities reside on the RF PCB assembly. Both units allow users to send a command via smart phone or similar device through the “mydlink Home App” to connected appliances. The two Smart Plugs operate similarly except the D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug (model number DSP-W215) has the additional features of alert notification, power consumption reporting, and a built-in thermal protection feature that de-energizes the connected appliance when overloaded.
In your request for reconsideration, you propose classification in heading 8536, HTSUS, which provides for “[E]lectrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders and other connectors, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V; connectors for optical fibers, optical fiber bundles or cables: parts of other surgical instruments.” You submit that the relay is controlled by the central processing unit (CPU), which uses Wi-Fi signals received through the antenna communicating wirelessly with the user’s mobile app to remotely instruct the CPU to energize the electromechanical relay to turn household appliances on/off.
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of
Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If
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 GRI may then be applied.
Notes 4 and 5 of Section XVI, HTSUS, in which heading 8537 falls, state:
4. Where a machine (including a combination of machines) consists of individual components (whether separate or interconnected by piping, by transmission devices, by electric cables or by other devices) intended to contribute together to a clearly defined function covered by one of the headings in chapter 84 or chapter 85, then the whole falls to be classified in the heading appropriate to that function. 5. For the purposes of these notes, the expression "machine" means any machine, machinery, plant, equipment, apparatus or appliance cited in the headings of chapter 84 or 85.
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff 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). The EN to heading 85.37 states:
These consist of an assembly of apparatus of the kind referred to in the two preceding headings (e.g., switches and fuses) on a board, panel, console, etc., or mounted in a cabinet, desk, etc. They usually also incorporate meters, and sometimes also subsidiary apparatus such as transformers, valves, voltage regulators, rheostats or luminous circuit diagrams.
The goods of this heading vary from small switchboards with only a few switches, fuses, etc. (e.g., for lighting installations) to complex control panels for machine tools, rolling mills, power stations, radio stations, etc., including assemblies of several of the articles cited in the text of this heading.
The subject smart plugs function primarily to control electrical current to connected
devices. The components that perform this function, i.e., switches, relays, fuses, contacts, plugs, and sockets, are provided for in headings 8535 and 8536, HTSUS. The subject smart plugs are therefore classified in heading 8537, HTSUS, which provides for “boards, panels … or other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of headings 85.35 or 85.36, for electrical control or the distribution of electricity… .” We further note that any features not described by headings 8535, 8536 or 8537, HTSUS, for example, the monitoring of power consumption, are considered ancillary to the smart plugs’ primary function of switching and protecting electrical circuits and therefore not taken into consideration for classification purposes. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) H283180, dated January 21, 2020 and NY N273912, dated April 13, 2016, in which CBP classified substantially similar articles in subheading 8537.10.91, HTSUS.
Based on the foregoing, we hereby affirm NY N255515 as regards the classification
of the D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug Lite (model number DSP-W110) and the D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug (model number DSP-W215). The subject Wi-Fi-enabled smart plugs remain classified in heading 8537, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8537.10.91, HTSUS, which provides for “[B]oards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the distribution of electricity including those incorporating instruments or apparatus of chapter 90, and numerical control apparatus, other than switching apparatus of heading 8517: For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Other: Other.”
Please be advised that CBP intends to initiate a notice and comment procedure pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1625(c) to reconsider NY N255515 as regards the classification of the Wi-Fi infrared motion sensors. This matter has been assigned case number HQ H276956 and is assigned to Suzanne Kingsbury of this office. We welcome your comments on the proposed action that will be published in an upcoming issue of the Customs Bulletin, available for viewing at www.cbp.gov.
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division