CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N2:220
Eliza Concannon
Laufer Group International
1301 West 22nd Street
Oak Brook, IL 60523
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin of dual-mode charging power supplies
Dear Ms. Concannon:
In your letter dated March 1, 2023, you requested a classification and country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Clore Automotive, LLC.
The first item under consideration is identified as the 12 Volt 100A Flashing Power Supply and 60/40/10A Battery Charger, Model Number PL6100, which is described as an enclosure containing two printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), a front user control panel, cooling fans, and 13 foot 2 AWG cables with a battery clamp on one end and a specialized socket connector on the other end. In use, the PL6100 has two operating modes that are noted as a “power supply mode” and a “battery charger mode” to supply electricity to vehicles. The technical specifications submitted indicate that the PL6100 has a maximum output of 14.9V and 100A (in power supply mode), has reverse polarity protection, battery fault detection, and temperature compensation features.
The second item under consideration is identified as the 12 Volt 100A Flashing Power Supply And 100/40/10A Fleet Battery Charger, Model Number PL6800, which is described as an enclosure containing two PCBAs, a front user control panel, cooling fans, and 13 foot 2 AWG cables with a battery clamp on one end and a specialized socket connector on the other end. Like the PL6100, the PL6800 also has two operating modes, the power supply mode and a battery charger mode, that are used to supply electricity to vehicles. The technical specifications submitted indicate that the PL6800 has a maximum output of 14.9V and 100A in power supply mode, reverse polarity protection, battery fault detection, and temperature compensation features.
In power supply mode, the subject power supplies are connected to the vehicle where they are used to supply and maintain power to the vehicle’s electrical system to allow for technicians to repair and reprogram onboard systems. In charger mode, the power supplies are connected to various vehicle battery types where they use the power supply’s internal charge programming to smart charge and/or repair the attached battery.
In your request, you suggest the subject power supplies are properly classified under subheading 8504.90.7500, which is the parts provision for heading 8504, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). We disagree.
As both the PL6100 and the PL6800 Charger/Power Supplies are finished goods, in that they are fully assembled, programmed, and packaged for retail sale at the time of importation, they are not considered parts under subheading 8504.90, HTSUS, but are instead a complete and finished power supply/charger. Furthermore, while relying on Note 3 to Section 16, HTSUS, it is the opinion of this office that the PL6100 and PL6800 both have the principal function of a battery charger and are classified accordingly.
The applicable subheading for the PL6100 and the PL6800 Charger/Power Supplies will be 8504.40.9550, HTSUS, which provides for “Electrical transformers and static converters…: Other: Rectifiers and rectifying apparatus: Other.” The general rate of duty will be Free.
Also in your submission, you request a determination on the country of origin of the subject merchandise. You state that the PL6100 and the PL6800 Charger/Power Supplies each incorporate a Motherboard PCBA, a Control Board PCBA, ABS plastic housings, cables, clamps, connectors, various hardware, etc. You describe the PCBAs as being manufactured in Vietnam by soldering numerous individual components of various origins, such as integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors, diodes, fuses, etc. onto bare printed circuit boards to produce the PCBAs noted as the Motherboard and the Control Boards. The plastic housings, labels, and packaging are also said to be of Vietnamese origin, with the remaining balance of component parts, to include cables, connectors, hardware, etc. all being sourced from China. The PL6100 and PL6800 Charger/Power supplies are both assembled in Vietnam by mounting the boards inside the housing, assembling connectors, programming the units, and packaging.
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.
The “country of origin” is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as “the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the 'country of origin' within the meaning of this part”.
The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Regarding the country of origin of the PL6100 and the PL6800 Charger/Power Supplies, in our view the assembly of the PCBAs in Vietnam by soldering the individual components onto the bare board results in a substantial transformation of the components to produce a PCBA of Vietnamese origin. Furthermore, it is the opinion of this office that the PCBAs, which function to convert the input voltage and control the electrical charging of the attached batteries, provide the essence of the electrical charging device. As such, we find that the non-Vietnamese components that make up the PL6100 and the PL6800 Charger/Power Supplies are transformed in Vietnam into a new and different article of commerce with a name, character, and use and the PL6100 and the PL6800 Charger/Power Supplies are considered products of Vietnam for origin and marking purposes at time of importation into the United States.
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 Karl Moosbrugger at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division