CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H293192 ALS
TARIFF NOs.: 8714.93.35; 8714.99.80
Mr. Steven A. Bronson
Area Port Director
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
237 West Service Road
Champlain, NY 12919
ATTN.: Mr. Louis K. Smith, Supervisory Import Specialist
RE: Internal Advice; Tariff Classification of Bicycle Hubs and Bicycle Skewer Set
Dear Mr. Bronson:
This letter is in reply to your request for internal advice that you submitted on behalf of Edge Composites d/b/a ENVE. The internal advice request concerns the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) classification of various models of bicycle hubs and a skewer set. Our decision is set forth below.
FACTS:
Bicycle hubs are generally cylindrical and when installed comprise the center of a bicycle wheel. The inner ends of the spokes of a wheel attach to the hub while the outer ends of the spokes attach to the rim. The hubs in this case are made of aluminum. There are 21 different models of hubs at issue. Bicycle skewers are rods typically made of steel with a fixed cap on one end and a lock and release lever, commonly referred to as a “quick release lever”, on the other end. Skewers are inserted into the hub and comprise the axle of a bicycle wheel. The bottom ends of a bicycle’s fork are mounted on the ends of the skewer that protrude from the ends of the hub. The entire wheel is then locked onto the fork by screwing the fixed cap into place and closing the quick release lever.
The skewers at issue are imported in a set of two, one front wheel skewer and one back wheel skewer. ENVE identifies 21 different hubs as being at issue here. As ENVE acknowledges, the individual hubs and skewer sets are imported packaged separate from each other, though they are in some cases imported in the same shipment. The hubs and skewer sets are intended for road bicycles.
ENVE states that the hubs and skewer sets are “added to existing inventories of the same part for a period of time, until they are ultimately packaged for retail sale.” ENVE also states that each individual hub is exclusively sold at retail as “the centerpiece of a complete bicycle wheel assembly” kit. The kit consists of “two road rubs (front and rear wheel), two wheel rims (front and rear wheel), and one road skewer set (which includes one front and one rear skewer).” The skewer set is “pre-packaged” individually as such upon importation. ENVE suggests that to the extent that an equal number of hubs and skewer sets are imported in the same shipment, they should be regarded as disassembled aluminum alloy hubs with a hollow axle and lever-operated quick release mechanism.
ISSUES:
Are the bicycle hubs, as described above, properly classified combined with the skewer set under subheading 8714.93.05, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713: Other: Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes, and free-wheel sprocket-wheels: Hubs: Aluminum alloy hubs with a hollow axle and lever-operated quick release mechanism...”, or individually under subheading 8714.93.35, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713: Other: Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes, and free-wheel sprocket-wheels: Hubs: Other: Other...”?
Is the bicycle skewer set, as described above, properly classified combined with the hubs under subheading 8714.93.05, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713: Other: Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes, and free-wheel sprocket-wheels: Hubs: Aluminum alloy hubs with a hollow axle and lever-operated quick release mechanism...”, or individually under subheading 8714.99.80, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713: Other: Other: Other...”?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is determined in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”) and, in the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation (“ARI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be “determined according to the terms of the headings 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, GRIs 2 through 6 may be applied in order. GRI 2(a) provides the following:
2. (a) Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
GRI 6 provides the following:
6. For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the relative section, chapter and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires.
The following headings and subheadings of the HTSUS are under consideration in this case:
8714 Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713:
Other:
8714.93 Hubs, other than coaster braking hubs and hub brakes, and free-wheel sprocket-wheels:
Hubs:
8714.93.05 Aluminum alloy hubs with a hollow axle and lever-operated quick release mechanism...
* * *
Other:
8714.93.35 Other...
* * *
8714.99 Other:
8714.99.80 Other...
* * * * *
There is no dispute that the hubs in this case are, upon importation, hubs of subheading 8714.93, HTSUS, and that the skewers are, upon importation, articles of heading 8714, HTSUS. Thus, GRI 6 applies to all the subject articles. As noted above, ENVE contends that each of the 21 different hubs and the skewer set should be, for the purposes of classification, regarded as “aluminum alloy hubs with a hollow axle and lever-operated quick release mechanism” when imported in equal numbers, citing GRI 2(a). ENVE further suggests that to the extent that an unequal number of hubs and skewer sets are imported together, the excess number of either component should be classified as individual components.
With regard to GRI 2(a), CBP has consistently ruled that that articles imported in bulk for later assembly do not qualify under GRI 2(a) as disassembled articles for classification purposes, as noted in CBP Ruling HQ H302170 (November 19, 2019). In that ruling, we concluded the following:
There must be evidence that the articles will definitely be assembled after importation and that the articles are not being imported simply for inventory purposes. In addition, there must be evidence that the articles are presented for reasons such as requirements for convenience of packing, handling or transport. See HQ 088891, dated June 21, 1991 (concluding that there was no indication that the proposed shipments would be anything more than bulk shipments of equal numbers of components); see also HQ 954420, dated August 12, 1993 (finding that motor vehicle parts were parts shipped in bulk for inventory purposes), HQ 953860, dated June 23, 1993 (holding that lawn mower parts did not qualify as unassembled lawn mowers and were parts shipped in bulk for inventory purposes).
In the present case, the hubs and skewer sets are not imported in an unassembled or disassembled state for convenience of packing, handling, or transport, but as parts shipped in bulk for inventory purposes. CBP does not classify parts intended to stock an assembly line inventory together as the finished article even if they are imported together in equal numbers. See HQ H302170, supra; HQ 088891 (June 21, 1991). Given such, we conclude that the subject hubs and skewer set, even if imported in the same shipment but packaged separately and consisting of all the parts in equal number to comprise “aluminum alloy hubs with a hollow axle and lever-operated quick release mechanism”, are not “disassembled” articles within the meaning of GRI 2(a). Therefore, GRI 2(a) is inapplicable to the subject articles. Accordingly, each hub and skewer set will be separately classified when imported into the United States in bulk under the applicable HTSUS provisions.
The applicable HTSUS provision for the subject hubs is subheading 8714.93.35, HTSUS, as cited above, and the applicable HTSUS provision for the subject skewer set is subheading 8714.99.80, HTSUS, as cited above.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the subject bicycle hubs are properly classified under subheading 8714.93.35, HTSUS, as cited above, and the subject skewer set is properly classified under subheading 8714.99.80, HTSUS, as cited above. The general column one rate of duty, for merchandise classified in subheading 8714.93.35 is 10% and for merchandise classified in subheading 8714.99.80 is 10%.
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.
You are to mail this decision to the internal advice requester no later than 60 days from the date of the decision. At that time, the Office of International Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division