OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H321952 AJK
TARIFF NO: 9401.99.90
Mr. Raymundo Gonzalez
Daniel B. Hastings Inc.
P.O. Box 673
Laredo, TX 78042
RE: Modification of HQ 953673, NY 882039, and NY N113743 by Operation of Law; Classification of Canopies for Child Safety Seats
Dear Mr. Gonzalez:
This letter is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) 882039, dated February 4, 1993, concerning the tariff classification of canopies for child safety seats under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). We have reviewed NY 822039, classifying the canopies in subheading 6307.90.9986, HTSUSA (Annotated), as other made up articles, and have determined that the classification of the canopies was incorrect due to the holding in Bauerhin Techs. Ltd. Pshp. v. United States, 110 F.3d 774 (Fed. Cir. 1997), aff’g, 19 C.I.T. 1441 (1995) (hereinafter, “Bauerhin”), and the publication of Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, in 2007. Accordingly, NY 882039 is modified by operation of law with respect to the classification of the canopies.
We have also reviewed Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 953673, dated October 6, 1993, which was the subject of Bauerhin. As HQ 953673 classified substantially similar canopies in subheading 6307.90.9986, HTSUSA, and was also issued before the decision in Bauerhin and the publication of AUSN 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, it is likewise modified by operation of law with respect to the classification of the canopies.
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 (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), a notice of the proposed action was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 56, No. 11, on March 23, 2022. One comment was received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The canopies for child safety seats were described in HQ 953673 as follows:
The canopies are made of a woven blend of 50% polyester and 50% cotton fabric and have two elastic straps.
The canopy for child safety seats in NY 882039 is described as follows:
The canopy is made in a woven blend of 50 percent polyester/50% cotton fabric. It measures approximately 19-3/4 inches by 28-1/2 inches exclusive of a 15/16 inch ruffle and has two elastic straps.
ISSUE:
Whether the canopies for child safety seats are classified in heading 6307, HTSUS, as other made up articles, or in heading 9401, HTSUS, as parts of seats.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). 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.
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
6307 Other made up articles, including dress patterns
9401 Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof
Additional U.S. Note 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, which was added in 2007, states as follows:
1. For the purposes of subheading 9401.20.00, "seats of a kind used for motor vehicles" does not include child safety seats.
* * * *
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).
The General Subheading EN 9401.80 provides as follows:
This subheading also covers safety seats suitable for use for the carriage of infants and toddlers in motor vehicles or other means of transport. They are removable and are attached to the vehicle’s seats by means of the seat belt and a tether strap.
* * * *
In Bauerhin, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed canopies for child safety seats, and classified them in heading 9401, HTSUS, as parts of seats for motor vehicles. 110 F.3d at 775-6, 777-780. Similar to the canopies for child safety seats in
NY 882039, the canopies discussed in Bauerhin—which were the protested merchandise in
HQ 953673—were designed to fit over the child safety seats, were sold as parts of the seats to which they are attached, and were imported separately from those seats. See id. at 776. The Federal Circuit held that the canopies constitute parts of child safety seats, because they “serve[] no function or purpose that is independent of the child car safety seat” and they are “undisputedly designed, marketed, and sold to be attached to the child safety seats.” Id. at 779. Thus, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of International Trade’s (CIT) holding that the canopies are properly classified in subheading 9401.90.10, HTSUS (1997), which provided for “Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof: Parts: Of seats of a kind used for motor vehicles.” By classifying the canopies in subheading 9401.90.10, HTSUS, as parts of seats for motor vehicles, Bauerhin directed that child safety seats are properly classified in subheading 9401.20.0010, HTSUSA (1997), which provided for “Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof: Seats of a kind used for motor vehicles: Child safety seats.” A decade after the issuance of Bauerhin, however, the HTSUS added AUSN 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, in 2007, stating that “[f]or the purposes of subheading 9401.20.00, ‘seats of a kind used for motor vehicles’ does not include child safety seats.” Accordingly, in 2008, the HTSUS was updated to incorporate AUSN 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, by carving out a provision for child safety seats in subheading 9401.80.6020, HTSUSA (2008), as other seats. This change precipitated the reclassification of parts of child safety seats from subheading 9401.90.10, HTSUS, as parts of seats for motor vehicles, to subheading 9401.90.50, HTSUS (2008), as parts of other seats.
The 2022 HTSUS continues to identify child safety seats in subheading 9401.80.60, HTSUS (2022), as other seats. The HTSUS, however, was updated in 2022 to move the provision for parts of other seats from subheading 9401.90.50, HTSUS (2008), to subheading 9401.99.90, HTSUS (2022). Based on the aforementioned reasoning, the classification of canopies for child safety seats in HQ 953673 and NY 882039 is modified by operation of law to reflect the above analysis.
As noted above, we received one comment in response to the notice of the proposed revocation. The commenter contends that the subject canopies for child safety seats are properly classified under subheading 9401.99.10, HTSUS, as other parts of seats of a kind used for motor vehicles. First, pursuant to Blakley Corp. v. United States, 15 F. Supp. 2d 865 (Ct. Int’l Trade 1998), the commenter asserts that AUSN 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, is not applicable to subheading 9401.99.10, HTSUS, which provides for parts of seats for motor vehicles, because the introductory clause cites to subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, which provides for seats of a kind used for motor vehicles, and thus, illustrates Congressional intent to limit the descriptions contained in AUSN 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS. In addition, the commenter contends that CBP’s assertion in the proposed ruling—that child safety seats cannot be classified in subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS—is inaccurate. The commenter states that while child safety seats may no longer be classified in subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, due to the changes in the HTSUS, such change does not negate the fact that child safety seats are seats of a kind used in motor vehicles, because the Federal Circuit held that the subject canopies are classified in heading 9401, HTSUS, as parts of car seats. See also Bauerhin, 914 F.3d at 779. The commenter also argues that subheading 9401.99.10, HTSUS, is a use provision, and that the Carborundum factors support that the canopies are parts of seats principally used in motor vehicles. See United States v. Carborundum Co., 536 F.2d 373 (C.C.P.A. 1976).
We disagree. Having determined that child safety seats are precluded from subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, due to the change in the HTSUS in 2007, the next step is to determine the correct subheading for child safety seats. As explained above, the HTSUS was updated after the Bauerhin decision in 2007, resulting in the removal of subheading 9401.20.0010, HTSUSA, which previously provided for child safety seats, and the addition of subheading 9401.80.6020, HTSUSA, as the new provision for child safety seats. Moreover, the General Subheading EN 9401.80 provides that “subheading [9401.80, HTSUS,] also covers safety seats suitable for use for the carriage of infants and toddlers in motor vehicles or other means of transport.” Accordingly, an overview of the disputed subheadings clearly indicates that seats for motor vehicles in subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, and other seats in subheading 9401.80.60, HTSUS, are mutually exclusive. By application of GRI 6, the same analysis correspondingly applies to the parts provisions within heading 9401, HTSUS. A simple causal analysis demonstrates that a part of merchandise, which no longer constitutes a specific type of a commodity, would not be upheld as a part of such commodity. In essence, because child safety seats are precluded from subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, parts of those seats are consequently excluded from subheading 9401.90.10, HTSUS, which provides for parts of seats for motor vehicle. Therefore, according to the classification of child safety seats in subheading 9401.80.60, HTSUS, which provides for “Seats … : Other Seats: Other,” the parts of child safety seats are accordingly classified in subheading 9401.99.90, HTSUS, which provides for “Seats … : Parts: Other: Other.”
Moreover, in Blakley Corp., where the issue was whether AUSN 1 and 2 to chapter 68, HTSUS, which specifically cite to headings 6802 and 6810, HTSUS, respectively, can be applied throughout the chapter, the CIT held that AUSN 1 and 2 to chapter 68, HTSUS, are limited to the headings described in each AUSN because “the language utilized in Notes 1 and 2 clearly and decisively expresses a Congressional intent the descriptions contained therein be applied only with respect to headings 6802 and 6810, respectively.” 15 F. Supp. 2d at 869-70. Our analysis herein is not inconsistent with the holding in Blakley Corp. While we recognize that the applicability of the AUSN is limited to certain headings described therein, we find that AUSN 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, is simultaneously triggered when classifying parts of child safety seats under GRI 6 because the note specifically directs that child safety seats do not constitute seats for motor vehicles. Applying the rationale behind AUSN 1’s exclusion of child safety seats from the provision for “seats of a kind used for motor vehicles” in subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, we find that this note can be specifically referenced when classifying parts of child safety seats as other than “seats of kind used for motor vehicles.” Lastly, while we agree that subheading 9401.99.10, HTSUS, is indeed a use provision, CBP is restricted from conducting a use analysis in the instant case because CBP is bound by the holding in Bauerhin. Analyzing whether parts of child safety seats constitute parts of seats for motor vehicles, in contradiction of the Bauerhin holding, would effectively result in unlawful encroachment of judicial power.
HOLDING:
In accordance with the holding in Bauerhin and the publication of Additional U.S. Note 1 to chapter 94, HTSUS, the classification of the canopies for child safety seats has been modified by operation of law. Accordingly, the canopies for child safety seats are classified in heading 9401, HTSUS, specifically in subheading 9401.99.90, HTSUS, which provides for “Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof: Parts: Other: Other.” The 2022 column one, general rate of duty is free.
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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
HQ 953673, dated October 6, 1993; NY 882039, dated February 4, 1993; and NY N113743, dated July 26, 2010, are modified by operation of law with respect to the classification of the canopies for child safety seats.
This ruling will become effective 60 days from the date of publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division