CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N1:104
Robert Jung
Zollexperten.rd.gmbh & co kg
Leopoldstraße 26
Innsbruck, Austria
RE: The tariff classification of an agitator, a digester base, and a piston pump from Austria.
Dear Mr. Jung:
In your letter dated April 26, 2022, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Thöni Industriebetriebe GmbH. Your ruling request lists five items: a mixer, a piston pump, a heat exchanger, an agitator, and a digester base. New York Ruling N323412 (dated January 11, 2022) provided classification for the mixer and heat exchanger.
The TTV Thöni agitator is described as a steel, paddle agitator, which is installed into a digester module for a biogas production plant. The purpose of the agitator is to continuously turn the watered and heated biowaste material as it passes through the digester. Further, it creates bio-gas bubbles to rise and to prevent buildup of floating layers which hampers bacteria growth and digestion. The agitator will be imported in one shipment disassembled for transport purposes.
The steel digester base is described as the lower structure of the digester module for a biogas production plant, which houses the agitator. The prefabricated floor plates, produced specifically for the digester, are imported unassembled in one shipment for transport purposes and are subsequently welded together to form the base of the digester at the production plant site. The digester base also incorporates the heating element of the digester. The agitator is then welded to the digester base.
In your letter, you suggest the steel digester base (“floor plates”) should be classified as a structure within subheading 7308.90, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for which provides for structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge sections, lock gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns) of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of iron or steel: other: other: other: other: other. We disagree, as the “floor plates” function as part of the Biogas digester, they would not be considered part of a structure under heading 7308.
The applicable subheading for the TTV Thöni agitator and the steel digester base, will be 8479.90.9596, HTSUS, which provides for which provides, for “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Parts: Other: Other: Other.” The rate of duty will be free.
The feeding and discharge pumps are piston pumps. The feeding pump is imported with various lengths of pipes, e.g., an inoculation pipe that connects the digester to the pump, a pipe that connects the digester to the pump and a connection pipe that connects the mixer to the pump. The discharge pump is also imported with various lengths of pipes, e.g., a discharge pipe that connects the digester to the pump and a discharge pipe that connects the dewatering unit to the pump. Once each pump is installed and connected, the back-and-forth action of their respective hydraulically powered piston allows for biowaste to be displaced. The feeding pump introduces biowaste into a heat exchange unit and the discharge pump removes rotten biowaste from the digester.
In your letter, you suggest the piston pumps and the connecting pipes should be classified as a pumping subassembly or pumping unit within subheading 8413.50.0070, HTSUS, which provides for Pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device; liquid elevators; part thereof: Other reciprocating positive displacement pumps: Other: Hydraulic power pumps: Radial piston type. We disagree. The pipes are not integral, constituent components of the piston pumps. The pipes function as conduits between the pump and other system components. Consequently, the pumps and the pipes will be classified separately under different headings.
Your request for classification of the pipes will be addressed under separate cover.
In regard to the piston pumps, we agree they are classified within heading 8413, but disagree at the subheading level. The piston pumps, while hydraulically driven, displace biowaste rather than pressurized fluid within a hydraulic power transmission system. In addition, the piston pumps do not employ a radial action to move the biowaste. Therefore, classifying the piston pumps within subheading 8413.50.0070 would not be suitable. Instead, the piston pumps are classified in a subheading that provides for other types of reciprocating positive displacement pumps.
The applicable subheading for the feeding and discharge pumps will be 8413.50.0090, HTSUS, which provides for “Pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device; liquid elevators; part thereof: Other reciprocating positive displacement pumps: Other.” 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.
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 Denise Hopkins at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division