CLA-2-69:OT:RR:E:NC:1:128
Mr. Craig McIntosh
Wolseley Inc.
1300 South Service Road
Oakville, Ontario
Canada L6L 5T7
RE: The tariff classification of vitreous china toilet bowls and tanks from China.
Dear Mr. McIntosh:
In your letter dated May 26, 2008, on behalf of Ferguson Enterprises, a Wolseley Company, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration consists of vitreous china toilet bowls and tanks. A product specification sheet was submitted with your request.
The product line is a complete toilet under product codes PFCT100, PFCT101 and PFCT103. The toilets are only available in white and have the suffix “WH”. The toilet includes a two-piece toilet combination (tank and bowl), toilet seat, flanged wax ring, and flange bolts, packaged together in one box. The toilet tank and bowl are not sold separately. You indicate that the PFCT103WH product is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), with an overall height of 31 ¼” versus the PFCT100WH or PFCT101WH at a height of 28 7/8”. You have inquired as to the applicability of subheading 9817.00.96, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) for ADA compliant model PFCT103WH.
You have also requested a ruling on three other series of ADA compliant toilet bowls. The tanks will be sold separately. They are identified as PF1303WH under the 1300 Series, PF9303WH under the PF9300 Series, and PF9403WH under the PF9400 Series. Product specification sheets for each toilet bowl were submitted. The PF1303WH has a height of 16 ½” versus the others in their series at 14 ¾”. The PF9303WH has a height of 17” versus the others in their series at 14 5/8”. The PF9403WH has a height of 17” versus the others in their series at 16”. You seek clarification as to the applicability of subheading 9817.00.96, HTSUS, for these ADA compliant toilet bowls.
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Since no one heading in the tariff schedules covers the components of the complete toilets, models PFCT100WH, PFCT101WH, and PFCT103WH in combination, GRI 1 cannot be used as a basis for classification. GRI 3(b) provides that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. GRI 3 (c) states that when goods cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3 (a) or 3 (b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration. The complete toilets, models PFCT100WH, PFCT101WH, and PFCT103WH, are each a composite article that is classifiable under more than one heading, each equally specific. No single component imparts the essential character for these composite articles. Accordingly, the complete toilets will be classified in accordance with GRI 3(c) in the provision for “Other water closet bowls.”
The applicable subheading for the complete toilets, models PFCT100WH, PFCT101WH, and PFCT103WH, and the toilet bowls, models PFCT1303WH, PF9303WH and PF9403 WH, will be 6910.10.0020, HTSUS, which provides for “Ceramic sinks, washbasins, washbasin pedestals, baths, bidets, water closet bowls, flush tanks, urinals and similar sanitary fixtures: Of porcelain or china, Other water closet bowls.” The rate of duty will be 5.8% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Regarding your question about the applicability of HTSUS 9817.00.96 (as a secondary classification) to the four ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant toilets, we need additional information in order to issue a ruling. Please submit the information described below:
From the information you submitted, the only difference indicated in the four ADA compliant toilets is that they are taller than other models in the series, with seats that are either 16.5 or 17 inches above the floor. Are there any other significant differences to indicate that they are “specially designed or adapted” for the use of physically handicapped persons per the heading to HTSUS 9817.00.92-.96? If so, explain what they are in detail.
We note, for example, the following three items on the www:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_Jan_19/ai_112321655
Ergonomic benefits: The Cimarron Comfort Height toilet offers comfortable, chair-height seating for people of all ages and statures, and complies with the height requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Comfort Height toilets are comparable to the height of an average household chair - just over 17 inches - making sitting down and standing up easier.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/byauthor/131766
Determine the desired height. The standard toilet's height from the floor to the top of the bowl is 15 inches. Toilets that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act are at least 16.5 inches high, and they often appeal to tall people.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/premium/consumerreports/silver.html?id=95700420
Trends include more comfort-height models, which raise the rim from the usual 14 inches to as much as 17 inches above the floor. The added height makes getting on and off easier, especially for aging boomers, who have helped boost sales to roughly twice what they were in 2001. But their added comfort is likely to appeal to younger buyers, too.
Do you have any evidence that the toilet bowls in question would be purchased only (except for fugitive uses) for the use of those with a “permanent or chronic physical or mental handicap which substantially limits” their ability to use the other toilets? See U.S. Note 4 to HTSUS Chapter 98, Subchapter 17.
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 portion of the ruling regarding the applicability of HTSUS 9817.00.96, please contact National Import Specialist James Sheridan at 646-733-3012. For all other questions regarding this ruling, please contact National Import Specialist Sharon Chung at 646-733-3028.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division