CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N4:410
Mr. Rod Hunter
Baker McKenzie LLP
815 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006
RE: The tariff classification of motherboards for point of sale terminals from China
Dear Mr. Hunter:
In your letter received by this office on August 8, 2019, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration is referred to as the motherboards for the TCx 800. The TCx800 is also known as the "Endor" POS terminal, which is an all-in-one point of sale terminal (POS terminal). Based on the information that you have provided, there are three types of motherboards: the Endor motherboard with Celeron processor and the Endor motherboard with either an i5 or i7 processor. The Endor allows for several accessories to be attached and customer selectable ports including one that allows for touch screen accessories and functionality. These attachments are not interchangeable with a personal computer. At the point of importation, the motherboards have the CPU and the Read-Only Memory (ROM) installed, but do not have any memory, hard disk drive or solid state drive (SSD) and no software or programs can be downloaded. The memory, hard disk drive and SSD are installed after importation. The Endor motherboards are exclusively designed for POS systems and are not interchangeable with personal computers and cannot be bought on the open market. It is the opinion of this office that, in the imported condition, the motherboards are incomplete machines that have the predetermined end-use in and dedicated design for the POS terminals. They have the essential character of the complete or finished POS terminal, General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) (2)(a) noted.
The applicable subheading for the motherboards for the TCx 800 will be 8470.50.0020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Calculating machines…ticket-issuing machines and similar machines…cash registers: Cash registers: Point-of-sale terminals.” The general rate of duty will be Free.
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. The 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. The USTR imposed further tariffs, effective September 24, 2018, on products classified under the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(f) and U.S. Note 20(g). HTSUS. Subsequently, USTR imposed additional tariffs, effective September 1, 2019, on products classified under the subheadings enumerated in Section XXII, Chapter 99, Subchapter III U.S. Note 20(r). For additional information, please see the relevant Federal Register notices dated June 20, 2018 (83 F.R. 28710), August 16, 2018 (83 F.R. 40823), September 21, 2018 (83 F.R. 47974), and August 30, 2019 (84 F.R. 45821). See also “Notice of Action and Request for Public Comment Concerning Proposed Determination of Action Pursuant to Section 301: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation” (June 20, 2018, 83 F.R. 28710). Products of China that are provided for in subheading 9903.88.01, 9903.88.02, 9903.88.03, or 9903.88.04 and classified in one of the subheadings enumerated in U.S. Note 20(b), U.S. Note 20(d), U.S. Note 20(f) or U.S. Note 20(g) 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 8470.50.0020, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to the additional 15 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.05, in addition to subheading 8470.50.0020, 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.
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 Michael Chen at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division