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HQ 950676


February 3, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 950676 KCC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8302.42.30

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
101 East Main Street
Norfolk, Virginia 23510

RE: Protest No. 1401-91-100153; drawer slides; 9403.90.80; EN 94.03; Note 1(d), Chapter 94; Note 2, Section XV; parts of general use; EN 83.02; 065403

Dear Sir:

This is in response to the Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1401-91-100153, dated October 1, 1991, which pertains to the tariff classification of metal drawer slides under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

The articles under consideration are slides for furniture drawers, file cabinets, kitchen cabinets, T.V. cabinets, etc. The slides are used to support drawers contained within a cabinet. The slides were the subject of New York Ruling (NYR) 847270 dated November 24, 1989, which held that the slides are classified under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, as mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture. NYR 847270 stated that articles of heading 8302, HTSUS, are considered "parts of general use" as defined in Note 2 of Section XV, and such articles are excluded from classification as furniture parts by virtue of Note 1(d) of Chapter 94.

Upon importation into the U.S., you liquidated the entries pursuant to NYR 847270 under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS. The protestant, Fulterer USA Inc., contends that the slides are classifiable under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, which provides for "Other furniture and parts thereof...Parts...Other." The protestant states that the slides form an essential part of the structure of the article which excludes classification under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS.

ISSUE:

Are the slides properly classified under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, as mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, or under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, as other parts of furniture?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The protestant contends that the slides are properly classified under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, as other parts of furniture. Explanatory Note (EN) 94.03 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HCDCS) states that "[t]his heading covers furniture and parts thereof, not covered, by the previous headings. It includes furniture for general use (e.g., cupboards, show-cases, tables, telephone stands, writing- desks, escritoires, book-cases, and other shelved furniture, etc.), and also furniture for special uses." HCDCS, Vol. 4, p. 1578. The Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive, are to be looked to for the interpretation of the HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 24, 1988). The slides do not satisfy the terms of this subheading as they are more specifically described in a previous HTSUS heading, subheading 8302.42.30.

Additionally, subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS, falls within Chapter 94, making Chapter 94 Notes applicable to this tariff classification. Note 1(d) states that this chapter does not cover:

Parts of general use as defined in note 2 to section XV, of base metal (section XV), or similar goods of plastics (chapter 39), or safes of heading 8303.

Note 2(c) of Section XV states that "[t]hroughout the tariff schedule, the expression "parts of general use" means:

Articles of heading 8301, 8302, 8308 or 8310 and frames and mirrors, of base metal, of heading 8306...."

Subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, provides for mountings and fittings for furniture. EN 83.02 states that heading 8302, HTSUS, "covers general purpose classes of base metals accessory fittings and mountings, such as are used largely on furniture, doors, windows, coachwork, etc. Goods within such general classes remain in this heading even if they are designed for particular uses (e.g., door handles or hinges for automobiles). The heading does not, however, extend to goods forming an essential part of the structure of the article, such as window frames or swivel devices for revolving chairs." HCDCS, Vol. 3, p. 1118.

Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 065403 dated November 6, 1980, compared item 647.03, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) (the precursor provision to subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS), which provided for fittings and mountings not specially provided for, suitable for furniture, and item 722.55, TSUS (the precursor provision to subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS), which provided for furniture and parts thereof, not specially provided for, and held that drawer slides were classified in item 647.03, TSUS.

Congress has indicated that earlier tariff rulings must not be disregarded in applying the HTSUS. The conference report to the 1988 Omnibus Trade Bill, states that "on a case-by-case basis prior decisions should be considered instructive in interpreting the HTS[US], particularly where the nomenclature previously interpreted in those decisions remains unchanged and no dissimilar interpretation is required by the text of the HTS[US]." H.Rep. No. 100-576, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 548, 550 (1988). Since the subject nomenclature in the TSUS and HTSUS are essentially the same and the articles at issue in HRL 065403 and the instant case are essentially the same, we find that HRL 065403 is instructive and supports our conclusion that the instant slides are classified in subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS. The slides under consideration and the drawer slides in HRL 065403 are mountings which support a drawer contained within a cabinet. The slides are general use parts as they can be installed in any type of cabinet. The only limiting factor is the size and length of the drawer and cabinet. Since the slides are general use parts classified in subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, they are excluded from classification under subheading 9403.90.80, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The slides are properly classified under subheading 8302.42.30, HTSUS, which provides for "Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like...Other mountings, fittings and similar articles, and parts thereof...Other, suitable for furniture."

This protest should be denied in full. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and provided to the protestant as part of the notice of action on the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division?

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