CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:1:104
Mr. Robert J. Leo
Meeks. Sheppard, Leo & Pillsbury
570 Lexington Avenue, 44th Floor
New York, NY 10022
RE: The tariff classification of EcoFresh Total Energy Recovery Wheel MS 100 Series from India
Dear Mr. Leo:
In your letter dated December 6, 2013 on behalf of Desiccant Rotors International, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The EcoFresh Total Energy Recovery Wheel MS 100 Series is a heat wheel device composed of components such as the exchange media rotor, the framework that houses the rotor, a drive motor and a drive belt. Generally, the device is installed inside an air conditioning unit and is positioned so that by using a counter flow pattern, stale air from the conditioned space is exhausted through one half moon section while outdoor air is drawn in through the other half moon section. The wheel is rotated slowly during this process, i.e., 20 – 25 rpm. Sensible heat is transferred as the metallic substrate rotates while latent heat is transferred as the desiccant picks up moisture from the moist air stream and releases it into the drier air stream. This process results in equal sensible and latent heat/energy recovery. The device is designed for industrial/commercial use rather than for domestic use.
In your letter, you propose that the device be classified in subheading 8419.50.5000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated, for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating…: Heat exchange units: Other” or, alternatively, in subheading 8479.89.1000, HTSUS, which provides for “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere (in Chapter 84): Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Electromechanical appliances with self-contained electric motor: Air humidifiers or dehumidifiers”.
With regard to subheading 8419.50.5000, HTSUS, The Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) to 84.19 give guidance on the types of apparatus classified as "heat exchangers." The ENs state, in pertinent part,
Heat exchange units in which a hot fluid (hot gas, steam or hot liquid) and a cold fluid are made to traverse parallel paths, but usually in opposite directions, separated by thin metal walls in such a manner that the one fluid is cooled and the other heated. These units are usually of the three following types, viz., in the form of: (i) Concentric tube systems: one fluid flows in the annular interval, the other in the central tube. (ii) A tubular system for the one fluid, enclosed in a chamber through which flows the other fluid, or (iii) Two parallel series of interconnected narrow chambers formed of baffle plates.
The EcoFresh Cassette does not appear to fit into subheading 8419.50.5000, HTSUS.
With regard to subheading 8479.89.1000, HTSUS, the EcoFresh Total Energy Recovery Wheel is used for both (1) indoor air quality/control of the moisture in a location (humidifying/ dehumidifying) and (2) energy recovery. By application of General Rule of Interpretation (“GRI”) 3(c), the device is classified in the subheading occurring last in numerical order among those equally meriting consideration, i.e., subheading 8479.89.1000, HTSUS, and subheading 8479.89.6500, HTSUS.
The applicable subheading for the EcoFresh Total Energy Recovery Wheel MS 100 Series will be 8479.89.6500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter, parts thereof: Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Electromechanical appliances with self-contained electric motor: Other. The rate of duty will be 2.8 percent 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/.
Articles classifiable under subheading 8479.89.6500, HTSUS, which are products of India may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term “GSP”.
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 Patricia O’Donnell at (646) 733-3011.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division