OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H332743 SKK
Assistant Center Director
Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising
Center of Excellence and Expertise
U.S. Customs & Border Protection
157 Tradeport Drive, Suite B
Atlanta, GA 30354
ATTN: Cody Miller, Import Specialist
RE: Request for Internal Advice; Classification of digital security camera; continuous capture still images; motion activated video; flash memory
Dear Assistant Center Director:
This letter is in response to your request for Internal Advice (IA) made pursuant to
177.11(b)(2) of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 177.11(b)(2)), dated November 22, 2022. The IA request was initiated by counsel on behalf of Amazon.com Services, LLC (Amazon) and concerns the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTSUS) of Amazon's "Ring Video Doorbell" products.
FACTS:
The subject articles are Amazon "Ring Video Doorbell" (RVD) devices, identified by Amazon Standard Item Numbers (ASINs) B089N2QZTP and B08JNR77QY. The RVD consists of a doorbell, camera, sensors, speaker, and microphone and is described by Amazon as a home security monitoring device. It allows 2-way communication with visitors and captures both still and video images for remote viewing and recordation on external devices (i.e., automatic data processing machines, smartphones, etc.) via the Ring mobile application (app). It features an analogue/digital converter (ADC) and wireless output mechanism that streams video to the cloud. A user controls the RVD's functions via the app. The RVD does not incorporate an external SD slot for external memory. The RVD has the following features:
. "Live View" - when connected to the internet, the user can instruct the camera to capture and stream video images to an external device in real time.
. "Motion Event" - when connected to the internet, the camera captures video when the motion sensor detects an event. Still images are captured at a rate of 30 frames per second and concatenated into moving images (video) with synchronized audio recording and stored as H.264 video files on the device's in-built Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) flash memory where it is buffered for transmission to the cloud. The H.264 file format stores images in an Advanced Video Coding (AVC) video compression standard, based on block-oriented, motion-compensated coding. All images are automatically deleted 24 hours after uploading to the cloud. If the camera loses internet connection before video is sent to the cloud, the images remain on the device's flash memory until internet connection is reestablished.
. "24/7 Snapshot Capture" technology -- regardless of internet connectivity, still images are captured at a fixed cadence or on user command. The still images comprise individual frames of time-lapse moving images and are integrated into the user's app-exclusive "Event History Timeline" with the videos taken during motion events and live view. The still images may be externally viewed as a thumbnail still image on the user's app. Still frame images are uploaded to the cloud where they are stored for 7 days and then automatically deleted (this does not affect "Motion Event" or "Live View" videos which remain on the cloud). Still images are temporarily stored on the device's EEPROM flash memory and automatically deleted when memory reaches capacity (130 images, with the oldest images being overwritten by newer images) or within 24 hours of the images being uploaded to the cloud.
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification of the subject camera under the HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If 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. Under GRI 6, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading is determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5.
The 2024 HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
8525 Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders:
* * * * *
Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders:
* * * * *
8525.89 Other:
Television cameras:
* * *
8525.89.30 Other...
8528.89.40 Digital still image video cameras...
Legal Note 3 to Section XVI (Chapters 84 - 85) provides:
3.- Unless the context otherwise requires, composite machines consisting of two or more machines fitted together to form a whole and other machines designed for the purpose of performing two or more complementary or alternative functions are to be classified as if consisting only of that component or as being that machine which performs the principal function.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System 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 the headings. It is CBP's practice to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 85.25 provides, in pertinent part:
(B) TELEVISION CAMERAS, DIGITAL CAMERAS AND VIDEO CAMERA RECORDERS
This group covers cameras that capture images and convert them into an electronic signal that is:
(1) transmitted as a video image to a location outside the camera for viewing or remote recording (i.e., television cameras); or
(2) recorded in the camera as a still image or as a motion picture (i.e., digital cameras and video camera recorders).
* * * * *
Television cameras may or may not have an incorporated device for remote control of lens and diaphragm as well as for remote control of the horizontal and vertical movement of the camera (e.g., television cameras for television studios or for reporting, those used for industrial or scientific purposes, in closed circuit television (surveillance) or for supervising traffic). These cameras do not have any inbuilt capability of recording images.
Some of these cameras may also be used with automatic data processing machines (e.g., webcams).
* * * * *
In digital cameras and video camera recorders, images are recorded onto an internal storage device or onto media (e.g., magnetic tape, optical media, semiconductor media or other media of heading 85.23). They may include an analogue/digital converter (ADC) and an output terminal which provides the means to send images to units of automatic data processing machines, printers, televisions or other viewing machines. Some digital cameras and video camera recorders include input terminals so that they can internally record analogue or digital image files from such external machines.
Generally, the cameras of this group are equipped with an optical viewfinder or a liquid crystal display (LCD), or both. Many cameras equipped with an LCD can employ the display both as a viewfinder when capturing images and as a screen for displaying images received from other sources or for reproducing images already recorded....
The subject camera is a composite machine, consisting of a doorbell, camera, sensors, speaker, and microphone. There is no dispute that the camera component performs the principal function, with the other components serving a subsidiary function to the camera. Accordingly, pursuant to Section XVI Note 3, the subject article is classified under heading 8525, HTSUS, as if consisting only of the camera component.
There is also agreement that the subject device is described by subheading 8525.89, HTSUS, which provides for "television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders." Therefore, per GRI 6, the issue before us is classification at the 8-digit level, i.e., whether the subject camera is a "television camera" of subheading 8525.89.30, HTSUS, or a "digital still image video camera" of subheading 8525.89.40, HTSUS.
Although EN 85.25(B), set forth supra, provides guidance regarding a category of camera classifiable under heading 8525, i.e., "television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders," it does not pertain to the scope of the phrase "digital still image video cameras" found in subheading 8525.89.40, HTSUS, which is an 8-digit domestic subheading. Nevertheless, the EN is instructive regarding the distinction between "television cameras" and other "digital cameras" of subheading 8525.89, HTSUS. In this regard, the EN describes "television cameras" as capturing images and converting them to electronic signals that are transmitted as video to external locations outside the camera for viewing or remote recording, with no inbuilt capability for recording images. The EN describes "digital cameras" as capable of capturing images and converting them into electronic signals that are recorded in the camera as a still image or motion picture. As such, the fact that EN 85.25(B) describes "television cameras" as a separate category of merchandise from other digital cameras of heading 8525, HTSUS, supports the conclusion that subheadings 8525.89.30 and 8525.89.40, HTSUS, are mutually exclusive, with the primary distinguishing factor being the design feature (or lack thereof) to send a signal to an external device (e.g., television cameras or surveillance cameras) versus recording video content onto an internal storage device or media for direct retrieval by the user.
In Sony Electronics, Inc., v. United States, 35 Int'l Trade Rep. (BNA) 2395 (Ct. Int'l Trade Dec. 23, 2013), the Court of International Trade (CIT) examined the scope of subheading 8525.80.40, HTSUS (2007), determining that "digital still image video cameras" covered cameras capable of capturing both still and moving images. The camera at issue in that decision was the Sony "NSC-GCI Net-Sharing Cam," described as a handheld camera that captured both still and moving images with 2MB of user accessible internal memory and featuring a removable flash memory stick for additional storage. The camera connected to a personal computer via universal serial bus (USB) cable to permit the downloading or uploading of images to a computer or the web. The Sony court concluded that as the subject camera captured both still and moving digital images, it was fully described by subheading 8525.80.40, HTSUS (2007). In reaching this decision, the CIT was silent as to the required recording capabilities of "digital still image video cameras" of subheading 8525.80.40, HTSUS (2007), however we note that the
camera at issue in Sony is consistent with the description of "digital cameras and video camera recorders" (i.e., digital cameras that are not "television cameras") in EN 85.25(B), HTSUS, supra, in that it featured user accessible internal memory and a removeable flash memory stick.
In the instant analysis, the subject camera captures both still and moving images and features internal flash memory that concatenates still images into moving images (video) and buffers video segments for transmission to the cloud. The buffering function temporarily retains pre-loaded data segments in the camera's flash memory to enhance video transmission. The subject camera's captured images are neither available for viewing on the camera nor internally preserved for retrieval by the user (images can only be retrieved from the cloud via the app). See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 966172, dated June 4, 2003, in which CBP determined that buffering does not constitute an internal recording function if the images are not saved. It is further noted that the subject camera does not feature an SD slot or, as was the case with the camera at issue in Sony, user accessible internal memory or other removeable memory. All images captured by the subject camera are erased (overwritten) when memory reaches capacity (130 images) or within 24 hours of upload to the cloud. Based on the foregoing, the subject camera does not record images onto an internal storage device or onto media and, therefore, classification is not proper under subheading 8525.89.40, HTSUS.
The subject camera can be configured to provide a variety of images in terms of the length of video and intervals of still frame images via the "Snapshot Capture" feature for desired viewing in the Ring mobile app. Likewise, the camera features EEPROM and flash memory to facilitate the transmission of content to the cloud and guard against losing content when the camera is offline. All of these features are in furtherance of the camera capturing and transmitting video images to locations outside the camera, in the manner of a surveillance camera described in EN 85.25(B), supra, and not for the internal recordation of images for direct retrieval by the user. As such, the subject camera is properly classified under subheading 8525.89.30, HTSUS, which provides for television cameras. See HQ H254873, dated August 30, 2016 (classification of a camera that captures video and still images, but does not internally record images, under 8525.89.30, HTSUS); HQ H237590, dated July 9, 2015 (classification of a camera without inbuilt recording capability that transmits video to an external monitor for viewing or remote recording under subheading 8525.80.30, HTSUS); New York Ruling Letter (NY) N324932, dated April 13, 2022 (classification of a security camera that captures video, but does not internally record images, under subheading 8525.89.30, HTSUS).
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 (Note 3 to Section XVI) and 6, the subject camera is classifiable in heading 8525, specifically subheading 8525.89.30, HTSUS, which provides for "[T]ransmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: Other: Television cameras: Other." The general, column one duty rate 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 on the U.S. International Trade Commission's website at www.usitc.gov.
You are directed to mail this decision to the IA applicant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. On that date the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the public version of the decision available to CBP personnel and to the public at www.cbp.gov by means of the Freedom of Information Act and by other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
for Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division