CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:110 K83272
Mr. Kevin W. Leonard
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
399 Park Avenue, 25th Floor
New York, NY 10022-4877
RE: The tariff classification of a CD-ROM Drive from Japan.
Dear Mr. Leonard:
In your letter dated February 17, 2004 on behalf of your client Casio, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration is the Casio MPC-142CDD CD-ROM Drive. The MPC-142CDD is a freestanding portable CD-ROM drive encased in a plastic housing. This drive measures approximately 5 inches by 6 inches and is ¾ inches high with one side hinged and the other with an opening slide to install or remove a CD. On the hinged side of the drive is a multipin connector used to connect this device to a CD-ROM Drive Interface Card. The MPC-142CDD will be imported within a cardboard carton packaged ready for retail sale with the CD-ROM Drive unit, PC Interface Card, Interface Card Cable, installation software on floppy diskette and user guide.
The Casio MPC-142CDD CD-ROM Drive is designed for use with various Casio products such as mobile and tablet personal computers (PCs). The CD-ROM Drive Interface Card is inserted into one of the above Casio products and provides a means for connecting the MPC-142CDD to that product via the interface card cable. The installation software provides the drivers necessary for the CD-ROM Drive unit to function with a mobile, tablet or other PC, and must be installed into the host computer. Computer products will not interface with the MPC-142CDD until the necessary drivers are installed in the host computer.
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) of the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) governs the classification of goods put up in sets for retail sale. GRI 3(b) provides, in relevant part, that goods put up for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the HTS provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. According to the ENs for GRI 3(b), “goods put up in sets for retail sale” refers to goods which: consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repackaging.
The Casio MPC-142CDD CD-ROM Drive as imported appears to meet the definition of a set as per GRI 3(b). The PC Interface Card Cable, software and user guide if imported separately would be classified under different headings. Together they are necessary for meeting a particular need. The CD-ROM Drive provides the essential character of the set.
In your letter you suggest classification of the included software under 8524.91.0030, noting Chapter 85, Note 6. Chapter 85, Note 6 states in part that it does not apply to such media when they are entered with articles other that the apparatus for which they are intended. The software supplies the drivers needed for the MPC-142CDD CD-ROM Drive to function with another product and therefore must be installed into that other product. This software is intended for use in an apparatus other then the MPC-142CDD CD-ROM Drive. The included software is properly classified with the set and not separately.
The applicable subheading for the Casio MPC-142CDD CD-ROM Drive will be 8471.70.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for “Automatic Data processing machines and units thereof…Storage units: Other storage units: Other.” The general rate of duty will be free.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Eileen S. Kaplan at 646-733-3016.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division