CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H287802 DSR
Mr. Steve Horowitz
Victor Hahn CHB
8816 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 107
Los Angeles, CA 90045
RE: Revocation of NY 864550; tariff classification of piston pin bushings from India
Dear Mr. Horowitz:
In New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) 864550 (July 2, 1991), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified certain piston pin bushings from India in subheading 8409.99.91, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), which provides for parts for use solely or principally with the engines of vehicles of subheading 8701.20, or heading 8702, 8703 or 8704. Since NY 864550 was issued, CBP has reviewed the ruling and determined that the classification provided for the piston pin bushings is incorrect and, therefore, the ruling must be revoked for the reasons set forth in this ruling.
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 modification of NY 864550 was published on November 1, 2017, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 51, No. 44. CBP received no comments in response to the notice.
FACTS:
The imported articles are described as piston pin bushings that are designed for installation in automotive diesel engines. A piston pin, also called a wrist pin, is the cylindrical or tubular metal piece that attaches the piston to the connecting rod. The bushing for the piston pin is a sleeve placed in a bore to serve as a bearing surface. The piston pin bushings are imported in a condition ready to be installed on the piston end of a connecting rod. No other fabrication or machining is needed.
ISSUE:
Whether the articles are classified under heading 8409, HTSUS, as parts suitable for use solely or principally with engines of headings 8407 or 8408, or as plain shaft bearings under heading 8483, 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. 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 in this ruling are as follows:
8409 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the engines of heading 8407 or 8408:
Other:
8409.99 Other:
Other:
8409.99.91 For vehicles of subheading 8701.20, or heading 8702, 8703 or 8704.
8483 Transmission shafts (including camshafts and crankshafts) and cranks; bearing housings, housed bearings and plain shaft bearings; gears and gearing; ball or roller screws; gear boxes and other speed changers, including torque converters; flywheels and pulleys, including pulley blocks; clutches and shaft couplings (including universal joints); parts thereof:
8483.30 Bearing housings; plain shaft bearings:
8483.30.80 Other.
Note 2 to Section XVI states in relevant part that, subject to Note 1 to Sect XVI, Note 1 to Chapter 84 and Note 1 to Chapter 85, parts of machines are classified in their respective headings if they are parts of goods included in any headings of Chapter 84 or 85 (other than heading 8409). Also, EN 2 to Section XVI states that, in general, parts which are suitable for use solely or principally with particular machines or apparatus (including those of heading 84.79 or heading 85.43), or with a group of machines or apparatus falling in the same heading, are classified in the same heading as those machines or apparatus. However, the above rules do not apply to parts which in themselves constitute an article covered by a heading of Section XVI (other than headings 84.87 and 85.48). Such articles are in all cases classified in their own appropriate heading even if specially designed to work as part of a specific machine. That exception applies in particular to, among other things, plain shaft bearings, which are to be classified in heading 8483, HTSUS. Therefore, if the subject pin bushings are considered to be plain shaft bearings, they are precluded from heading 8409, HTSUS, by operation of Note 2 to Section XVI and supported by EN 2 to Section XVI, supra.
The term “bearing” is not defined in the HTSUS. When a tariff term is not defined by the HTSUS or its legislative history, “the term’s correct meaning is its common meaning.” Mita Copystar Am. v. United States, 21 F.3d 1079, 1082 (Fed. Cir. 1994). The common meaning of a term used in commerce is presumed to be the same as its commercial meaning. Simod Am. Corp. v. United States, 872 F.2d 1572, 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1989). To ascertain the common meaning of a term, CBP may consult “dictionaries, scientific authorities, and other reliable information sources” and “lexicographic and other materials.” C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 673 F.2d 1268, 1271 (C.C.P.A. 1982); Simod, 872 F.2d at 1576. The term “bearing” is defined as “[a]n object, surface, or point that supports: supporting power: point of support: … a machine part in which a journal, gudgeon, pivot, pin or other part revolves, oscillates, or slides – see ball bearing, needle bearing, roller bearing, thrust bearing.” Merriam Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, p. 192 (2003) (cited in HQ H127797, dated November 29, 2011).
We recognize that the term “bushing” is an industry term and is used in many capacities to include a plain shaft bearing. In NY 864550, the subject piston pin bushing is placed into a bore to keep a piston pin in place by serving as a bearing surface. That function is akin to that of a plain shaft bearing provided for under heading 8483 in that the pin rotates against the inside of the bushing for anti-friction and anti-wear purposes.
Therefore, even though the subject article is used in the engine of a motor vehicle, application of Note 2(a) to Section XVI, HTSUS compels a finding that the articles of NY 864550 are instead properly classified in subheading 8483.30.80, which provides for other plain shaft bearings without a housing. See NY E82314, dated June 10, 1999 (in which a bushing used in a linear hydraulic cylinder for the purpose of aligning a sliding piston rod within a cylinder housing is classified as a plain shaft bearing of heading 8483, HTSUS); see also NY J85381, dated June 20, 2003.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 (Note 2(a) to Section XVI) and GRI 6, the piston pin bushings of NY 864550 are classified in subheading 8483.30.80, which provides for other plain shaft bearings without a housing, dutiable at 4.5% 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 at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY 864550, dated July 2, 1991, is revoked in accordance with this decision.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division