CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N1:118
Mr. Kurt Mathew Schie
WoodMaxx Power Equipment Ltd.
42 Jackson St.
Akron NY 14001
RE: The tariff classification of a Wood Chipping Machine from China.
Dear Mr. Schie:
In your letter dated August 8, 2018, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration, WoodMaxx DC-1260, is identified as a wood chipping machine. It is designed to chip branches and cuttings from trees and shrubs. The wood chipper is powered by a 13.5 horsepower gasoline engine and it weighs approximately 408 pounds. The machine incorporates a 12 inch x 6 inch infeed opening that can handle material up to 4 inches in diameter. Material is inserted into the slopped infeed bin which feeds into the 10 inch diameter, 53 pound, chipper drum. The drum acts as a power feed assist system which pulls the branches in at up to 50 feet per minute. Knives incorporated inside the drum cut the material into small chips, which are then expelled through a discharge chute. The wood chipping machine is balanced on two wheels and includes a trailer hitch for attaching it to an ATV or utility vehicle for transport.
In your letter, you suggest that the wood chipping machine be classified under subheading 8465.96.6025. As your suggested number does not exist, it appears you may have meant subheading 8465.96.0025, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Machine tools (including machines for nailing, stapling, glueing or otherwise assembling) for working wood, cork, bone, hard rubber, hard plastics or similar hard materials: Splitting, slicing or paring machines … For woodworking: Chippers”. In Kurt Orban Co., Inc. v. United States, C.D. 2041, aff’d. C.A.D. 724 (1959), the court stated that the primary function of machine tools was to perform an operation on material that would “improve and advance its status for further use”. This has been interpreted to mean a “fabrication” rather than a “haphazard cutting” operation. The status of the material can be advanced or improved by producing a new product or restoring a product to its original condition. As the wood chipping machine under consideration does not advance or improve the material, classification under subheading 8465.96.0025, HTSUS, would not be appropriate.
The applicable subheading for the wood chipping machine, model WoodMaxx DC-1260, will be 8436.80.0020, HTSUS, which provides for other…forestry,...machinery,…: other machinery, forestry machinery. The rate of duty 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 the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
Effective July 6, 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) imposed an additional tariff on certain products of China classified in the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(b), HTSUS. Subsequently, USTR imposed additional tariffs, effective August 23, 2018, on products classified under the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(d), HTSUS. For additional information, please see the relevant Federal Register notices dated June 20, 2018 (83 F.R. 28710) and August 16, 2018 (83 F.R. 40823). Products of China that are provided for in subheading 9903.88.01 or 9903.88.02 and classified in one of the subheadings enumerated in U.S. note 20(b) or U.S. note 20(d) to subchapter III shall continue to be subject to antidumping, countervailing, or other duties, fees and charges that apply to such products, as well as to those imposed by the aforementioned Chapter 99 subheadings.
Products of China classified under subheading 8436.80.0020, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to the additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.01, in addition to subheading 8436.80.0020, HTSUS, listed above.
The tariff is subject to periodic amendment so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Notice cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading.
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 Anthony Grossi at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division