OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H317748 AJK
Mr. Leslie Alan Glick
Butzel Long Attorneys and Counselors
1909 K Street N.W., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
RE: Request for Reconsideration of NY N317139; Classification of Communicating Adjustable Bed Base
Dear Mr. Glick:
This letter is in response to your reconsideration request, dated March 29, 2021, on behalf of your client, Ascion, LLC, doing business as Reverie, in which you request reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N317139, dated February 23, 2021, concerning the classification of the communicating adjustable bed base under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). We have reviewed NY N317139, together with the information in your request for reconsideration, and have found the ruling to be correct for the reasons set forth below with respect to the classification of the subject merchandise.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is described in NY N317139 as follows:
The subject of this ruling request is the Reverie Adjustable Bed, model number R350, herein “adjustable bed,” a series of adjustable bed bases each designed to accommodate a [sic] mattresses of one of the following sizes: Twin (39" x 75"), Twin-XL (39” x 80”), Full (54” x 75”), Queen (60” x 80”), King (76” x 80”) and California King (72” x 84”). The Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled adjustable bed has a regulable metal sub-frame with vibration motors. The textile-covered steel or wood platform is comprised of four articulated sections corresponding to a person’s upper torso, hips, thighs, and calves/feet. Ports mounted on the frame allow for the connection and control of accessories that may include a heating pad, audio-vibration feedback, a cooling fan, a temperature sensor, etc. In its imported condition, the adjustable bed is disassembled and it does not include either a mattress or the aforementioned accessories.
ISSUE:
Whether the communicating adjustable bed base is classified in heading 8517, HTSUS, as a machine for conversion of data, or heading 9403, HTSUS, as other metal furniture.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under HTSUS is governed by 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 classification 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.
ARI 1(a), which applies to principal use provisions, provides as follows:
In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires--
a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use; ….
* * * * * *
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
8517 Telephone sets, including telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528; parts thereof:
Other apparatus for transmission or reception of voice, images or
other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or
wireless network (such as a local or wide area network):
8517.62 .00 Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission
or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including
switching and routing apparatus
9403 Other furniture and parts thereof:
9403.20.00 Other metal furniture
Household:
Other:
9403.20.0035 Mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base, not foldable, having the
characteristics of a bed or bed frame, of
a width exceeding 91.44 cm, of a length
exceeding 184.15 cm, and of a depth
exceeding 8.89 cm
* * * * * *
Note 2 to Chapter 94, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part:
2. The articles (other than parts) referred to in headings 9401 to 9403 are to be classified in those headings only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground.
* * * * * *
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the HS. While not legally binding or dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HS at the international level, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (Aug. 23, 1989).
EN 94.03 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
The heading includes furnitures for:
Private dwellings, hotels, etc., such as: … beds (including wardrobe beds, camp-beds, folding beds, cots, etc.) ….
* * * * * *
In NY N317139, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified, by application of GRI 1, the subject communicating adjustable bed base in heading 9403, HTSUS, as metal furniture, because it found that the physical characteristics of the merchandise were of a mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base. In your reconsideration request, however, you contend that CBP’s classification was incorrect and that the merchandise should be classified in heading 8517, HTSUS, as machines for conversion of data.
In your reconsideration request, you assert that the subject communicating adjustable bed base is properly classified in subheading 8517.62.0090, HTSUS, as machines for conversion of data, because the plurality patent for the merchandise is registered in the class of “data processing” under the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) patent classification system. In determining the correct classification of the merchandise, you contend that CBP should consider and recognize the expertise of USPTO. As held in Inabata Specialty Chemicals v. United States, however, CBP is not bound by the classification of other federal government agencies, including USPTO. 29 C.I.T. 419, 424 (2005) (“Definitions and classifications of other agencies do not control tariff classifications.”). Thus, the evidence of USPTO’s patent classification does not affect CBP’s tariff classification of the subject merchandise.
Heading 8517, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for other apparatus for transmission of data, is a principal use provision subject to ARI 1(a). See Logitech, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-00017, 2021 WL 3739177 at *9 (Ct. Int’l Trade Aug. 24, 2021). To classify an article under a principal provision, ARI 1(a) requires that the classification is controlled by the principal use of “goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong”. In United States v. Carborundum Co., the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals held that to determine whether an article is included in a particular class or kind of merchandise, the court must consider a variety of factors, including: (1) the general physical characteristics of the merchandise; (2) the channels, class or kind of trade in which the merchandise moves (i.e., where the merchandise is sold); (3) the expectation of the ultimate purchasers; (4) the environment of the sale (i.e., accompanying accessories and marketing); (5) usage, if any, in the same manner as merchandise which defines the class; (6) the economic practicality of so using the import; and (7) the recognition in the trade of this use. 536 F.2d 373, 377 (C.C.P.A. 1976). While these factors were developed under the Tariff Schedule of the United States (predecessor to the HTSUS), the courts have also applied them under the HTSUS. See e.g., Minnetonka Brands v. United States, 24 C.I.T. 645, 651-2 (2000); Aromont USA, Inc. v. United States, 671 F.3d 1310 (Fed. Cir. 2012); Essex Manufacturing, Inc. v. United States, 30 C.I.T. 1 (2006).
In the instant case, the communicating adjustable bed base is not a class or kind of machine that is principally used for data processing under heading 8517, HTSUS. Applying the Carborundum factors, we find that the physical characteristics of the merchandise indicate that it is a piece of metal furniture that is designed for use in a household for sleep. Moreover, the manufacturer—Reverie—advertises the merchandise as furniture that is utilized for sleep, not as a machine for communication or data processing. Similarly, other retail stores advertise and sell the merchandise as a bed base. Our online research indicates that the retailers have generally listed the merchandise on their websites under the category of “Adjustable Bed Base”. Accordingly, the consumers of the merchandise do not purchase or seek out the bed base for its communication features; instead, they purchase the bed base for its use in sleeping. In relation to the use of the merchandise as furniture, the communication features are auxiliary as such features do not effectively contribute to the utilitarian purpose of a bed base: to equip private dwellings, such as bedrooms, and to support a mattress for the user’s sleep.
In your reconsideration request, you assert that the essential character of the communicating adjustable bed base rests in the communication capabilities because they enable the bed base to perform unique functions that can only be accomplished through the communication capabilities, which integrate the merchandise with an Internet of Things (IoT) network, and provide communications with one or more devices or communication networks linked to the product. CBP agrees that such communication between one or more devices are generally performed by a class or kind of machine for data processing. In the instant case, however, the communication between the subject merchandise and other devices are limited to the information relating to the operation of the bed base, such as software updates, performance diagnostics and errors, and commands that are directly linked to the functions of the bed base, such as activating the massage feature, raising the head or foot of the base, and adjusting the temperature by turning on the cooling fan or heating pad. Although we recognize the subject merchandise’s unique design and features for communication with other devices, the evidence of a single importer’s design or sale of the bed base for the communication capabilities does not demonstrate the actual principal use of the merchandise. See Carborundum Co., 536 F.2d at 377 (“Susceptibility, capability, adequacy, or adaptability of the import to the common use of the class is not controlling.”). CBP, therefore, holds that the communication features are of secondary use to the communicating adjustable bed base and thus, the merchandise is precluded from classification in heading 8517, HTSUS.
You further assert that the communicating adjustable bed base is similar to the Suunto 7 smart watch in NY N311614, dated May 27, 2020, which CBP classified within heading 8517, HTSUS, specifically, in subheading 8517.62.00, HTSUS, as a machine for conversion data. You argue that the subject merchandise and the Suunto 7 smart watch are similar because although they outwardly appear as different products, they both cannot perform their essential functions without the communication connectivity and linking with various devices through Applications (Apps). We disagree. Unlike the instant bed base, which can only accept commands relating to the functions of the bed base, the Suunto 7 smart watch performs functions that are unrelated to those of a watch—drafting and sending messages, placing and answering calls, making contactless payments, displaying maps, and tracking and measuring fitness levels. These functions are wholly independent features that are unrelated to the basic functions of a watch. Accordingly, CBP finds that the communicating adjustable bed base is similar to other smart products that are connected to the network and communicates with other devices to receive commands and send information relating to those smart products. In particular, the subject bed base’s communication features are comparable to those of a robotic vacuum cleaner in NY N319849, dated June 22, 2021, in which CBP classified a Wi-Fi connected robotic vacuum cleaner in heading 8508, HTSUS, which provides for vacuum cleaners. Similar to the subject merchandise, the robotic vacuum cleaner required the user to download an App to their telecommunication device to set commands relating to the utility of the vacuum cleaner, such as setting the clean intensity, and tracking vacuuming and mopping route. Moreover, we find that the merchandise is also similar to smart outlets, which connect to an electrical outlet and receive commands from other telecommunication devices. CBP has historically classified smart outlets in heading 8537, HTSUS, which provides for apparatus for electric control. See e.g., HQ H278604, dated May 7, 2021; NY N300891, dated Oct. 30, 2018; NY N273912, dated Apr.13, 2016. Thus, we hold that the correct heading for the subject merchandise is the heading that provides for a bed base (i.e., heading 9403, HTSUS).
Accordingly, as a bed base that primarily consists of metal, the communicating adjustable bed base constitutes metal furniture that is classifiable in heading 9403, HTSUS, which includes beds. See EN 94.03. The General ENs to Chapter 94 explains that “furniture” means any movable articles that are designed to be placed on the floor or ground and are used, mainly with a utilitarian purpose, to equip private dwellings. Note 2 of Chapter 94 states that heading 9403, HTSUS, covers an item “only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground.” In the instant case, the communicating adjustable bed base is utilized to place a mattress on top of the bed base, and it is placed directly on the floor to furnish households. Thus, the subject merchandise constitutes furniture and is, prima facie, classified in heading 9403, HTSUS, because it is a bed that is intended to be placed directly on the floor. Based on its metal parts, the communicating adjustable bed base is classified within heading 9403, HTSUS, specifically in subheading 9403.20.0035, HTSUS, as a metal mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base.
HOLDING:
In accordance with the above analysis and by application of GRI 1, the communicating adjustable bed base is classified in heading 9403, HTSUS, and, by application of GRI 6, specifically classified in subheading 9403.20.0035, HTSUS, which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other metal furniture: Household: Other: Mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base, not foldable, having the characteristics of a bed or bed frame, of a width exceeding 91.44 cm, of a length exceeding 184.15 cm, and of a depth exceeding 8.89 cm”. The 2021 column one, general rate of duty is free.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 9403.20.0035, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading (i.e., 9903.88.03, HTSUS), in addition to subheading 9403.20.0035, HTSUS, listed above.
The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment, so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china, respectively.
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/tata/hts.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N317139, dated February 23, 2021, is hereby affirmed.
Sincerely, for
Craig T. Clark, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division