CLA-2 RR:CTF:TCM 967869 JAS
Mr. Joseph Stinson
Liss Global, Inc.
7746 Dungan Road
Philadelphia, PA 19111
RE: Power Strip, Power Stake; NY FJ83865 and NY J83866 Revoked
Dear Mr. Stinson:
In NY J83865 and NY J83866, which the Director, National Commodity Specialist Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), New York, issued to you on May 30 and 29, 2003, respectively, power strips and power stakes were held to be classifiable as other apparatus for protecting electrical circuits in subheading 8536.30.8000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)), 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, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed modification of NY J83865 and
NY J83866 was published on October 5, 2005, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 39, Number 41. No comments were received in response to that notice.
FACTS:
The merchandise in NY J83865, identified as item W14G5358, is a six-outlet power strip with built-in circuit breaker and two-foot six-inch electrical cord. The power strip is housed within a plaster representation of a village scene. The merchandise in NY J83866, identified as item W14G5431, is a three-outlet power strip with built-in circuit breaker and 12-foot extension cord. The power strip is housed within a plaster representation of a snowman.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
8536 Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:
8536.30 Other apparatus for protecting electrical circuits:
8536.30.80 Other
Lamp-holders, plugs and sockets:
Other:
8536.69.80 Other
* * * *
8537 Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets, and other
bases, equipped with two or more apparatus of
heading 8535 or 8536, for electric control or the
distribution of electricity…:
For a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:
8537.10.90 Other
ISSUE:
Whether merchandise represented by the power strip and power stake, items W14G5358 and W14G5431, are goods of heading 8536 or heading 8537.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Under General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), goods are to be classified according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. Though not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The 85.36 ENs, under (II) APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, discusses fuses and indicates further that the heading includes other devices for preventing overload of circuits (e.g., electro-magnetic devices which automatically break the circuit when the current exceeds a certain value). The built-in circuit breaker in NY J83865 and NY J83866 are apparatus that prevents overload of circuits. They meet the cited EN description and constitute apparatus for protecting electrical circuits of heading 8536.
The 85.36 ENs, under (III) APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONNECTIONS TO OR IN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, includes apparatus for connecting together the various parts of an electrical circuit. Included in this group are plugs and sockets. A plug may have one or more pins or side contacts which match corresponding holes or contacts in the socket. The six-outlet power strip in NY J83865 and the three-outlet power strip in NY J83866 function as sockets within the cited EN description. They are described in heading 8536 as apparatus for making connections to or in electrical circuits.
In Universal Electronics, Inc. v. United States, 112 F.3d 488 (Fed. Cir.,1997), articles incorporating two kinds of devices of heading 8536, i.e., switches and terminals, were found to be classifiable in heading 8537. See also HQ 964608, dated April 18, 2001, which noted that boards and panels were provided within the 8537 heading text, and classified video jacks having two or more apparatus of heading 8535 or 8536, i.e., connectors and switches, in heading 8537. Therefore, the merchandise in NY J83865, a six-outlet power strip with built-in circuit breaker (two or more different kinds of apparatus of heading 8536) housed in a plaster representation of a village scene on a board, panel, console or other base, principally used for electric control or the distribution of electricity, is provided for in heading 8537. The merchandise in
NY J83866, a three-outlet power strip with built-in circuit breaker (two or more different kinds of apparatus of heading 8536) housed in a plaster representation of a snowman on a board, panel, console or other base, principally used for electric control or the distribution of electricity, is likewise provided for in heading 8537.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the six-outlet power strip with built-in circuit breaker, identified as item W14G5358, is provided for in heading 8537. It is classifiable in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS. Under the authority of GRI 1, the three-outlet
power strip with built-in circuit breaker, identified as item W14G5431, is provided for in heading 8537. It is classifiable in subheading 8537.10.90, HTSUS.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY J83865 and NY J83866, dated May 30 and May 29, 2003, respectively, are revoked. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Gail A. Hamill
for Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division