CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N1:104
Mr. James C. Burnett
Alston & Bird
The Atlantic Building
950 F Street NW
Washington DC 20004-1404
RE: The tariff classification of Forklift Mast Rails and Finger Bars from Germany
Dear Mr. Burnett:
In your letter dated January 5, 2018, on behalf of Mannstaedt GmbH, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise in question is described as incomplete steel mast rails and finger bars. The articles are imported either (1) cut to a fixed length in accordance with customer instructions or (2) in lengths designed to fit within the transporting cargo container. You indicate that, in their condition as imported, the mast rails and finger bars are not ready for direct use in fork-lifts. However, the imported articles do have the approximate final shapes of the finished articles. Each article is said to be “manufactured to a single customer’s specifications for use in the lift system of a specific fork-lift truck.” Minor modifications may be made to the articles subsequent to importation but the value of such operations is said to be estimated substantially lower than the value of the actual imported articles.
The mast rails are the vertical components responsible for lifting, lowering and positioning the loads carried by the fork-lift. The contoured channels in the mast rails are manufactured to fit the specific mast guide bearings used in the fork-lifts. The finger bars are the crossbars to which the forks of a fork-lift are attached. They attach to the mast rails and travel the length of the mast rails during the lifting operations.
Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. GRI 2(a) extends the scope of the HTS headings to include unfinished parts, provided the unfinished parts have the essential character of the finished parts. GRI 2(a) further states that:
Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or failing to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
In addition, Explanatory Note (EN) II under GRI 2(a) states that:
The provisions of this Rule also apply to blanks unless these are specified in a particular heading. The term "blanks" means an article, not ready for direct use, having the approximate shape or outline of the finished article or part, and which can only be used, other than in exceptional cases, for completion into the finished article or part.
Semi-manufactures not yet having the essential shape of the finished articles (such as is generally the case with bars, discs, tubes, etc.) are not regarded as "blanks."
Thus, two criteria which an article must meet in order to be classified as a blank for purposes of GRI 2(a) are (1) it must possess the approximate shape or outline of the finished article, and (2) the sole use must be for completion into the finished article.
In this case, GRI 2(a) is applicable to the articles in question. They are blanks by definition and by statements found in your submission. At time of importation, they do meet the two criteria stated above. They have the approximate shape or outline of the finished mast rails and finger bars and they cannot be used for any other purpose.
Information found in your submission indicates that the imported mast rails and finger bars are net shape blanks which closely approximate the outline of the finished articles they will form. Although the articles may require some post-importation finishing, upon importation they are readily recognizable as the finished articles they will become. Further, there is nothing to suggest that the articles have any practical use other than for completion into finished components of fork-lifts. Thus, this office finds that the subject mast rails and finger bars are unfinished articles which have the essential character of complete or finished goods of subheading 8431.20, HTSUS.
The applicable subheading for the above described mast rails and finger bars will be 8431.20.0000, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the machinery of headings 8425 to 8430: Of machinery of heading 8427.” The duty rate will be free.
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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division