OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H328086 DAC
Center Director
Machinery Center of Excellence & Expertise
109 Shiloh Drive, Suite 300
Laredo, TX 78045
Attn: Jeremy Olson, Supervisory Import Specialist
RE: Internal Advice; Classification of Hornady Manufacturing Company’s Titan metal gun vaults
Dear Center Director:
This is in response to your request for internal advice, dated December 22, 2021, regarding the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of a Hornady Manufacturing Company’s (“Hornady”) imported metal gun vault, identified as the Titan safe gun vault. The importer of the subject merchandise, Hornady, through their freight forwarder and customs broker, Total Logistics Resource, Inc. (“TLR”), alleges that the merchandise is classifiable under subheading 9403.20.0050, HTSUSA (“Annotated”), as “[o]ther furniture and parts thereof: Other metal furniture: Household: Other: Other.”
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is imported into the United States primarily through the Port of Seattle, Washington. Hornady requested a classification ruling from the from the Port of Minneapolis concerning its importations of the subject metal gun vaults. The Port of Minneapolis forwarded the submission as an internal advice request to CBP Headquarters, pursuant to 19 CFR § 177.11. According to Hornady, the Titan safe metal gun vault is used primarily for firearms storage, and also provides a variety of secure storage functions for other valuable articles.
According to documentation submitted with Hornady’s request, the metal gun vault has exterior dimensions of 59" H x 22" W x 17.5" D (including an additional 3" for the handle), has interior dimensions of 55.125" H x 17" W x 14.5" D, and weighs 400 pounds. Hornady’s documentation states that the merchandise is constructed of “[American Iron and Steel Institute] AISI 1018 steel.” The metal gun vault also consists of eight locking bolts, has a storage capacity of 12 or more long guns, and a SecuRAM™ lock mechanism, which is a UL-listed digital lock with an EMP-proof mechanical key backup.
Images of Titan safe metal gun vault provided by Hornady
ISSUE:
Whether the Titan metal gun vault is classified under heading 8303, HTSUS, as “armored or reinforced safes, strong-boxes and doors and safe deposit lockers for strong-rooms, cash or deed boxes and the like, and parts thereof, of base metal,” or under heading 9403, HTSUS, as “other furniture and parts thereof.”
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). “GRI 1 dictates that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.” Amcor Flexibles Singen GmbH v. United States, 425 F. Supp. 3d 1287, 1298 (C.I.T. 2020). 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 GRI’s 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. The instant determination is made pursuant to GRI 1 and 6.
GRI 6 provides that 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 and Chapter Notes also apply unless the context otherwise requires.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8303.00.00 Armored or reinforced safes, strong-boxes and doors and safe
deposit lockers for strong-rooms, cash or deed boxes and the
like, and parts thereof, of base metal
* * * *
9403 Other furniture and parts thereof:
9403.20.00 Other metal furniture
Household:
Other:
9403.20.0050 Other
* * * *
Note 1(k) to Section XV of the HTSUS provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
1.- This Section does not cover:
…
k) Articles of chapter 94 (for example, furniture, mattress supports, luminaires and
lighting fittings, illuminated signs, prefabricated buildings);
Note 1(d) to Chapter 94 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
This chapter does not cover:
…
(d) Parts of general use as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV), or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39), or safes of heading 8303. (Bold emphasis added.)
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 at the international level. See T.D. 89 80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
EN 83.03 states, in pertinent part:
This heading covers containers and strong-room doors designed for securing valuables, jewels, documents, etc., against theft and fire.
Safes and strong-boxes of this heading are steel containers of which the walls are armoured (i.e., made of high-strength alloy steel) or of sheet steel reinforced with, for example, reinforced concrete. They are used in banks, offices, hotels, etc. They are fitted with very secure locks and often with air-tight doors and double walls, the intervening space usually being filled with heat resistant materials. The heading includes strong-room doors (whether or not with door frames) and safe deposit lockers for strong-rooms as used in banks, safe deposits, factories, etc., where larger storage space is required.
…
The heading Does not cover:
…
(b) Containers specially designed to resist fire, impact and crushing and whose walls in particular do not offer any serious resistance to attempts at breaking them open by drilling or cutting (heading 9403).
Heading 9403, HTSUS, is subject to note 1(d) to chapter 94, which provides that Chapter 94 does not cover “[p]arts of general use as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV), or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39), or safes of heading 8303.” (Bold emphasis added.)
The ENs for heading 8303 state, “Safes and strong-boxes of this heading are steel containers of which the walls are armoured (i.e., made of high-strength alloy steel)[.]” Additional U.S. Note 1(a) to Chapter 72, HTSUS, defines high strength steel as “Flat-rolled products of a thickness of less than 3 mm and having a minimum yield point of 275 [MegaPascals] MPa or of a thickness of 3 mm or more and having a minimum yield point of 355 MPa.”
Additionally, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) describes 1018 steel as “a high-manganese carbon alloy” that “offers a good balance of toughness, strength and ductility.” The tensile strength, yield of AISI 1018 steel is 370 Mpa. See https://www.tsamfg.com/1018/#:~:text=AISI%201018%20is%20a%20high,best%20steel %20for%20carburized%20parts (last visited March 6, 2023).
The Titan Metal Gun Safe features eight locking bolts and an interlocking door that prevents its removal, has an electronic locking system, and is protected by a casehardened anti-drill plate. The door is constructed of 6-gauge (5-millimeter (mm)) steel plate. The external walls, top and bottom are each constructed of two layers of 1.78 mm cold rolled steel, for a total thickness of 3.6 mm. Considering that the steel in the door is 5 mm thick; the walls, top and bottom are each made of two layers of steel that are each 1.78 mm thick; and that the steel has a yield point of 370 MPa, we find that steel meets the definition of high-strength alloy steel as provided in Additional U.S. Note 1(a) to Chapter 72, HTSUS. Thus, this product is considered armoured as specified by EN to heading 8303. Moreover, the gun vault by composition and construction is designed to provide serious resistance to attempts to being broken open by drilling or cutting. Finally, we note that the Titan Metal Gun Safe is designed to protect valuables against both fire and theft as specified in EN to heading 8303.
Based upon the specifications, drawings, and images submitted, and the cited notes to Chapters 83 and 94, HTSUS, CBP finds that the Titan safe metal gun vault is specifically excluded from Chapter 94, HTSUS, and is properly classified under subheading 8303.00.00, HTSUS, which provides for “armored or reinforced safes, strong-boxes . . . and the like . . . of base metal.” This determination comports with several prior rulings: New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) 807387, dated March 1, 1995; NY N307754, dated December 17, 2019; NY 850672, dated March 27, 1990; and NY N036246, dated September 8, 2008.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the Hornady Titan safe metal gun vault is classified under subheading 8303.00.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Armored or reinforced safes, strong-boxes and doors and safe deposit lockers for strong-rooms, cash or deed boxes and the like, and parts thereof, of base metal.” The 2023 column one, general rate of duty is 3.8% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for the internal advice applicant’s convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided online at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
You are to mail this decision to the requestor no later than 60 days from the date of the decision. At that time, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel and to the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search System (“CROSS”), at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division