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HQ 964473




October 22, 2001

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 964473 BJB

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8536.69.40

Mitchell Neriah
Customs Consulting Services
415 South Prospect Avenue, Suite 110
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

RE: Electrical Connectors: Rack and panel; Printed circuit.

Dear Mr. Neriah:

This is in response to your letter of August 1, 2000, to the Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, on behalf of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (“Toshiba”), with respect to the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of four articles described as electrical connectors. Your letter, with samples of two of the four articles, was referred to this office for reply. In preparing this decision, consideration was also given to your supplemental submissions of August 28, and October 22, 2001.

FACTS:

Each of the four articles is a different type of electrical connector used for making connections to or in electrical circuits. You have described the articles in the following manner:

“Docking Station Connector (#P2258300113):” is a 71-pin, 1.0 mm pitch connector which is mounted onto an input/output printed circuit assembly (mounted circuit board) that will be used in a notebook computer. The connector is used to connect a notebook computer by cable to a docking station. The connector is rated for a voltage under 1000 volts.

“Wire Harness Connector (#G36220329999):” “is a two-pin, surface mount design female connector.” The connector will be permanently mounted onto a motherboard printed circuit assembly. This connector is used to connect a wire harness which runs from a microphone to the motherboard. It is rated for a voltage under 1000 volts.

“IC Socket Connector (#P25040001114):” is a surface mount design connector used to connect a central processing unit (“CPU”) integrated circuit to a motherboard printed circuit assembly. This connector is designed to connect a CPU integrated circuit that is packaged in a pin grid array. The socket measures approximately 36 mm x 34 mm, and contains 495 terminals. At one end of the connector is a locking device, which secures the integrated circuit in place with a turn of a flat screw. The integrated circuit is connected to the IC Socket by inserting the CPU’s terminals into the IC Socket grid receptacles. The IC Socket connector is rated for a voltage under 1000 volts. It is specifically designed to connect pin grid array packaged CPU integrated circuits to a printed circuit assembly.

“EXT HDD Connector (#P22513007116):” is a surface mount design, 1.0 mm pitch, 26-pin connector, mounted onto an input/output board (printed circuit assembly) for use in a notebook computer. It connects an external floppy disk drive to the input/output printed circuit assembly, operating as the connection between the floppy disc drive and the notebook computer’s CPU.

Each article is fitted with multiple metal pins to enable it to be plugged into, or permanently mounted on a printed circuit board, or connect one printed circuit board to another.

ISSUE:

What is the tariff classification of the subject electrical connectors?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI’s”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied.

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:

8536 Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V:

Lamp-holders, plugs and sockets:

8536.69 Other:

8536.69.40 Coaxial connectors; cylindrical multicontact connectors; rack and panel connectors; printed circuit connectors; ribbon or flat cable connectors . . .

8536.69.80 Other

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“EN’s”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the EN’s provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

The goods at issue are described within heading 8536, as “electrical apparatus . . . for making connections to or in electrical circuits . . . for a voltage not exceeding 1,000V. Further, there is no dispute that these articles, in their condition as imported, are classifiable in subheading 8536.69, HTSUS, as “electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for connections to or in electrical circuits . . ., for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Lamp-holders, plugs and sockets: Other[.]” As a result of the Information Technology Agreement, (see 62 FR 35909 (July 2, 1997)) subheading 8536.69.00, HTSUS, was divided into subheadings 8536.69.40 and 8536.69.80, HTSUS. Thus, Customs must determine the appropriate eight-digit level classification for each of these articles.

GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes, and mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.

Plugs and sockets are described in 8536 EN (III)(A)(1) as follows:

“(III) Apparatus For Making Connections To Or In Electrical Circuits

This apparatus is used to connect together the various parts of an electrical circuit. It includes:

Plugs, sockets and other contacts for connecting a movable lead or apparatus to an installation which is usually fixed. This category includes:

(1) Plugs and sockets (including those for connecting two movable leads). A plug may have one or more pins or side contacts which match corresponding holes or contacts in the socket. The rim of one of the pins may be used for earthing purposes.”

In addition, tariff terms may be construed in accordance with their common and commercial meanings. Nippon Kogasku (USA), Inc., v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable resource materials. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F.2d 1268 (1982).

At GRI 1, subheading 8536.69.40, HTSUS, specifies different types of connectors, including cylindrical multicontact connectors, rack and panel connectors, ribbon or flat cable connectors, and printed circuit connectors. The term “printed circuit connectors,” like the other types of connectors in this subheading are not defined in the tariff. If these goods do not meet the terms of subheading 8536.69.40, HTSUS, by virtue of GRI 6, they would fall to be classified in subheading 8536.69.80, HTSUS.

We have reviewed numerous lexicons for a definition of the terms “rack and panel connector” and “printed circuit connector.” The Modern Dictionary of Electronics, 7th Ed., (Rudolf Graf, 1999), describes a:

“Rack and Panel connector” [as]: “1. A connector that is attached to a panel or side of equipment so that when these members are brought together, the connector is engaged. 2. A connector that connects the inside back end of the cabinet (rack) with the drawer containing the equipment when it is fully inserted.”

The Electronic Engineer’s Master Online Glossary, (www.eem.com) provides the following with regard to “printed circuit connectors:”

“Printed circuit connector: Connectors which are used in conjunction with printed circuit boards. There are two distinctly different styles.

Edgeboard. May be called edge or card. The printed circuit (PC) board edge enters the connector.

Two-piece: One part of the connecting pair is physically attached to the PC board itself. The other part is attached to something else such as a cable or a motherboard.”

Based upon the information and samples provided, when the mounted prongs of each article mate with a matching socket in a printed circuit, they form a connection to or in an electrical circuit. Each article possesses multiple prongs which match corresponding holes or contacts in a printed electrical circuit.

Docking Station Connector:

As noted above, this article is a 71-pin 1.0 mm pitch connector which is mounted onto an input/output printed circuit assembly used in a notebook computer. It is used to connect a notebook computer by cable to a docking station. As such it is a connector that is attached to a panel or side of equipment so that when these members are brought together, the connector is engaged. Clearly visible on the article itself, the “docking station connector” also has an alignment device located in its external socket segment. Further, it is generally recognizable by its form as a “rack and panel connector,” (See, “Connectors and Interconnections Handbook (G.L. Ginsberg, Ed., 1977, at 1.2)).

Wire Harness, IC Socket, and EXT HDD Connectors:

All three of these articles, as described above, are electrical connectors with pins or contacts that match corresponding holes or contacts on printed circuits. As such, they too conform to the general industry definition of a “printed circuit connector,” set forth above. They also meet the description provided in the ENs. It is clear that they are plugs used for connecting moveable leads or apparatus to a fixed installation, i.e., a printed circuit board to which they are permanently fixed. At GRI 1, these connectors are also “printed circuit connectors,” specifically provided for in subheading 8536.69.40, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

Under the authority of GRI 1, and GRI 6, the Docking Station Connector (#P2258300113), is a “rack and panel connector,” and the Wire Harness (#G36220329999), IC Socket (#P25040001114), and EXT HDD (#P22513007116) Connectors are “printed circuit connectors” classifiable in subheading 8536.69.40, HTSUS, as “[e]lectrical apparatus for making connections to or in electrical circuits . . .for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: . . .Lamp-holders, plugs and sockets:. . . Other:. . . rack and panel connectors; . . . printed circuit connectors[.]”

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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