CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N4: 410
Donald Stein
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
2101 L Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20037
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin of a toothbrush disinfector and refill pack
Dear Mr. Stein:
This is in response to your letter dated May 4, 2023, on behalf of your client Starborn Solutions LLC, requesting a classification and country of origin determination for a toothbrush disinfector and the refill pack.
The merchandise under consideration is identified as the BrushSpa and Refill Parts Pack.
The BrushSpa has a cylindrical housing measuring approximately 28.5cm high,10.0cm in diameter and weighs 1.0kg. Atop the housing are a press button switch, battery indicator, filter indicator, refill latch, and an opening for the toothbrush cradle and toothbrush tube. The bottom of the housing is equipped with a drip tray, battery charging port, and an air filter outlet. The appliance contains an electric motor and a fan. The design and promotion materials suggest that the appliance is for household use.
It is stated that the BrushSpa is intended to both clean and disinfect a toothbrush after every use. After every use of a toothbrush, the toothbrush is placed in a designated chamber in the BrushSpa, where it will be cleaned and disinfected by two cycles of an ionized hydrogen peroxide spray. Once the cleaning/disinfecting cycles are completed, there is a drying cycle. The BrushSpa pulls air through the filtered fan on the backside of the device through the toothbrush chamber. Air flows up and out from micro downloading vents.
The Refill Parts Pack consists of the Filter White Media HEPA filter and a cleansing solution. The filter is made up of interlaced fibers with a diameter of less than 1 micron that are twisted and turned in different directions to create a fibrous maze. The individual threads of the HEPA filter material are so small that a big portion of the media mat consists of air. The openings inside the mat are generally smaller than 0.5 microns, allowing the HEPA material to collect particles down to 0.3 microns in size. The cleansing solution is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, distilled water, and nitrogen gas.
Once the original (complimentary) filter and cleansing solution supply with the BrushSpa has been consumed during the operation of the BrushSpa, the refill packs are replacement of the consumable items. The Refill Parts Pack will be imported separately.
Citing ruling NY J80030 dated February 7, 2003, you propose that the BrushSpa should be properly classified in subheading 8543.70.9860, Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS), which provides for “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Other: Other: Other: Other”; and the Refill Parts Pack in subheading 8543.90.8885 as parts.
We disagree.
The referenced ruling J80030 is for a UV disinfecting system, not one that sprays like this one. BrushSpa does not use UV light or create ozone, the two primary sanitizing functions we typically place in 8543. In order for an item to be classified under heading 8543, HTSUS, it must have an electrical function that is not classified elsewhere in the Chapter. In our view, the subject device functions by spraying a peroxide solution directly onto the toothbrush and then drying the brush via the incorporated fan system. Articles of these functions are both specifically classified elsewhere in the Chapter, which renders classification within heading 8543, HTSU, inapplicable. On the other hand, we consider that the BrushSpa falls with the scope of heading 8509, HTSUS. The device includes a self-contained motor and thus incorporates an electric motor per the requirement of the legal text; it functions electromechanically; i.e., the electric motor powers the fan within the housing; and the it weighs 1kg, well below the 20 kg threshold provided in Note 4(b) to Chapter 85. Furthermore, there is no indication that the device exhibits functions or characteristics beyond those required for common household use
The Refill Parts Pack comprises an HEPA filtration media composed of polyester 67% polyester and 33% polypropylene which is situated in a plastic housing (combined they comprise the filter), and the cleansing solution packaged together ready for retailed sale, and which will be imported separately. We have determined that the most appropriate method of classification will be according to the rules set forth in General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3(c), which states “When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.” We have concluded that the filter and the cleansing solution do indeed merit equal consideration and classification will be according to the filter, which is last in tariff.
The applicable subheading for the subject BrushSpa will be 8509.80.5095, HTSUS, which provides for electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor, other than vacuum cleaners of heading 8508, parts thereof: other appliances: other: other. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Refill Parts Pack will be under subheading 5911.90.0080 which provides for “Textile products and articles, for technical uses, specified in note 8 to this chapter: Other: Other.” The rate of duty is 3.8 percent ad valorem.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheading 5911.90.0080, HTSUS, listed above.
The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including information on exclusions and their effective dates, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china respectively.
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 at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
You present a manufacturing processing scenario for the country of origin determination of the BrushSpa. Under the scenario, the BrushSpa is assembled in the UK (United Kingdom) from parts and materials originating in both the UK and China. The UK manufacturer sources parts and components, manufactures certain components (e.g., Printed Circuit Boards or PCBs), assembles parts and components to a finished product, and performs testing in UK. This process accounts for 51% of the total value of the finished product, and it requires a certain level of skill and expertise - especially the assembly of the gearbox and fan assembly. The parts/components include plastic pai1s, battery pack, electronics PCBs, software, motor, filter, USB cable, etc.
You stress that the important component, the PCBs, are assembled in the UK from materials and parts sourced primarily from China, with some sourced from Japan and Taiwan. A total of 45 individual materials and parts are assembled into a finished PCB which goes through the surface mount technology (SMT) process.
You also state that “the most important component of the BrushSpa is the software”, which was developed in the UK and is uploaded onto a printed circuit board, and incorporated into the finished product, in the UK. The software, accounts for 18% of the value of the finished product, is central to the operation of the BrushSpa. It controls the motor forward and reverse, the motor's speed and torque, the battery discharge rate and level, the battery charge and overheat protection, and the battery charge status. The software also controls the fan and its speed, counts the number of disinfecting cycles, and the fluid levels in the aerosol bottles. The software monitors filter usage and alerts the user when it needs replacing. The software also shuts off the device once the cleaning cycle is complete to conserve battery life. Simply stated, without the software, there would be no BrushSpa.
The production process in UK includes six major steps with approximately 30 distinct sub-step operations:
Gear Cover Assembly - involves two major steps, which have eight different sub-step operations.
Fan motor assembly - involves three different sub-step operations.
Chassis assembly - involves three different sub-step operations.
Fit Battery & USB charging point assembly - involves twelve different sub-step operations.
Front cover fitting - involves twelve different sub-step operations.
Inspection and testing are performed in each of the steps. The packing is followed in the end the assembly process.
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.”
When considering a product that may be subject to antidumping, countervailing, or other safeguard measures, the substantial transformation analysis is applied to determine the country of origin. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.0; HQ 563205, dated June 28, 2006; see also HQ 563205, dated September 16, 1996 (finding that "the term 'product of' at the least includes manufactured articles of such country or area’ and that substantial transformation is essentially the test used... in determining whether an article is a manufacture of a given country").
The courts have held that a substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267, C.A.D. 98 (1940); National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff'd, 989 F. 2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982).
However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), aff'd, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983). Substantial transformation determinations are based on the totality of the evidence. See Headquarters Ruling (HQ) W968434, date January 17, 2007, citing Ferrostaal Metals Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 470, 478, 664 F. Supp. 535, 541 (1987).
Based on the information submitted, the components and parts are imported into UK where they are manufactured into different subassemblies, which are ultimately assembled into the subject appliance. We find that the processing operations performed in UK with respect to the BrushSpa in the scenario constitute a substantial transformation of the imported components and parts into "products of" UK. The manufacturing process in UK, particularly including the SMT manufacturing operations utilized to create the PCBs, is significantly complex, and transforms the non-originating components and parts to produce the finished BrushSpa. It creates a new and different article of commerce with a distinct character and use that is not inherent in the components imported into UK. Therefore, it is of the opinion of this office that the country of origin for the BrushSpa will be UK.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist Michael Chen at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division