United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule
faqs.org  Rulings By Number  Rulings By Category  Tariff Numbers
faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 2004 HQ Rulings > HQ 966772 - HQ 966839 > HQ 966792

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
HQ 966792




February 18, 2004

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 966792 NSH

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8419.89.95

Ms. Margaret R. Polito
Neville Peterson LLP
80 Broad Street, 34th Floor
New York, New York 10004

RE: Reconsideration of HQ 964371; Heat Guns

Dear Ms. Polito:

This is in response to your letter of September 24, 2003, on behalf of Wagner Spray Tech Corporation, requesting reconsideration of HQ 964371, dated October 12, 2000, on the classification of a heat gun under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Moreover, you have requested a binding ruling on four additional models of heat guns, not including the model already classified under HQ 964371. Your letter has been referred to this office for reply.

FACTS:

On October 12, 2000, Customs issued HQ 964371, holding that three heat gun models were classified under subheading 8419.89.90, HTSUS, as “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated, for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes ; parts thereof: Other machinery, plant or equipment: Other: Other: Other.”

You contend that one of the heat guns classified in HQ 964371, HT 3000, as well as four additional models, Micro Heat Tool 1400, HT 1000, HT 2000 and Model 775 are classified under subheading 8467.29.00, HTSUS, or, in the alternative, under subheading 8516.79.00, HTSUS.

The heat guns at issue each incorporate a self-contained electric motor and fan that blows air over a heating element to produce hot air. Each model is capable of generating heat of at least 650 degrees Fahrenheit. Variable temperature settings are incorporated into some models while others have only two settings, allowing for temperature ranges between 100 degrees and 1100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Although the design specifications and uses may vary slightly between models, each is capable of softening paint, varnish, caulking and putty for easier removal, the softening of adhesives to help remove stickers and floor tiles, the bending of plastic pipes, shrinking of tubing for electrical work, shrinking of plastic film for wrapping or weatherproofing, the loosening of rusted nuts, bolts and fittings and the drying of paint and plaster. Model 775 is marketed as having uses in laboratories, industrial plants, production lines, homes, shops, for plastic fabrication and also for hobbyists.

ISSUE:

What is the tariff classification under the HTSUS of the five models of Wagner heat guns?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes and, provided such headings or notes do not otherwise require, according to the remaining GRIs.

Additional Rule of Interpretation (ARI) 1(a) states that in the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use.

The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. The ENs, although neither dispositive or legally binding, facilitate classification by providing a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80.

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:

Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated (excluding furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514), for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, cooking, roasting, distilling, rectifying, sterilizing, pasteurizing, steaming, drying, evaporating, vaporizing, condensing or cooling, other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes; instantaneous or storage water heaters, nonelectric; parts thereof:

Other machinery, plant or equipment:

Other:

Other:

8419.89.95 Other

Tools for working in the hand, pneumatic, hydraulic or with self-contained electric or nonelectric motor, and parts thereof:

With self-contained electric motor:

8467.29.00 Other

Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric space heating apparatus and soil heating apparatus; electrothermic hairdressing apparatus (for example, hair dryers, hair curlers, curling tong heaters) and hand dryers; electric flatirons; other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; electric heating resistors, other than those of heading 8545; parts thereof:

Other electrothermic appliances:

8516.79.00 Other

In HQ 964371, three heat gun models were classified under subheading 8419.89.90, HTSUS. One of the tariff provisions at issue therein, subheading 8508.80.00, HTSUS, has since been replaced by subheading 8467.29.00, HTSUS. In that ruling, Customs did not classify the heat guns under heading 8516 because insufficient evidence was provided as to whether the products were used for domestic purposes and because the heat guns were not found to be of the same class or kind as the machines and appliances referred to in EN 85.16. You have requested a reconsideration of HQ 964371 in regard to one of those models, HT 3000, as well as a binding ruling on four additional models of heat gun, contending that the heat guns at issue are classified under heading 8467 on account of the change in the HTSUS or, in the alternative, under heading 8516. Additional information has been provided to support your contentions.

Customs has held that both heading 8419 and heading 8516 are principal use provisions. See HQ 965863, dated December 3, 2002. Because headings 8419 and 8516, with limited inapplicable exceptions, pertain to non-domestic and domestic products, respectively, we note initially that a definition for the term “domestic purposes” is necessary. The term "domestic" is not specifically defined in either the HTSUS or the ENs. A tariff term that is not defined is construed in accordance with its common and commercial meaning. 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 sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F.2d 1268 (1982). The term “domestic” is described as “of or relating to the household or the family.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Ed., (1999).

You contend this definition entails a determination of where an article is principally used and not who uses the article. As such, you argue that if an item normally used by a professional were brought into a household for use, it would be considered a domestic product and fall under heading 8516. Customs cannot agree with that determination on account that it could potentially include any item brought into a household, including those that are clearly not intended for domestic use. Rather, determining whether a product is used for domestic purposes rests with examining the definition of the term in concert with other items commonly held to be of the same class or kind as those used for domestic purposes, which entails examining the principal use of the items at issue.

EN 85.16, which is applicable to appliances used for domestic purposes, states that this entails “electro-thermic machines and appliances provided they are normally used in the household.” [Emphasis in original.] Eighteen examples of domestic items are highlighted, including microwave and other ovens; coffee or tea makers; toasters; kettles, saucepans, steamers; plate warmers and food warmers; perfume or incense heaters; and yogurt and cheese makers. Customs believes that heat guns at issue are not of the same class or kind as the machines or appliances enumerated in EN 85.16, which are largely appliances essential to the preparation of food. In contrast, Customs has previously classified hot air tools that closely resemble the heat guns at issue as devices for non-domestic use under subheading 8419.89.90, HTSUS. See HQ 962217, dated April 9, 1999, HQ 960936, dated January 29, 1998 and HQ 954370, dated September 1, 1993.

You contend that the heat gun models in question should be classified under heading 8516 because their specifications are such that they are not capable of carrying out the functions of heat guns used for industrial or commercial purposes and because they are, in fact, promoted for and primarily used in the home. The information now provided indicate that the five models of heat guns are capable of, and in fact are, used in the home for a variety of purposes. The heat guns can strip paint, remove wallpaper and perform a variety of other uses previously listed. Furthermore, hobbyists use heat guns for activities such as soldering and gluing. You believe that the trend toward “do-it-yourself” home improvement has given rise to heat guns, and these models in particular, on account of their cost and construction, becoming an acceptable tool for use in the home.

Customs believes that based on all available evidence the heat guns at issue are not distinguishable from those regularly used for commercial or industrial purposes. For example, Model 775, which is referred to as the “Industrial Heat Gun 775,” is capable of generating temperatures up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit. It is marketed as being designed for “professionals and do-it-yourselfers” and has two contradictory warranties; one warranty states it is designed for home usage only and the other one states it is designed for commercial use. This model’s maximum temperature output is the second weakest of the models at issue and Customs therefore does not believe the other models of heat guns, three of which have higher temperature outputs, would be incapable of performing in commercial or industrial settings as you indicate because it is the temperature output that gives the heat gun its utility. Furthermore, although some of the other warranties state that the product is for home use only, other warranties indicate that the product can be used for commercial purposes and there is no appreciable difference in the models at issue to explain these inconsistencies. Lastly, Customs is not persuaded that the lower cost and lighter weight of these models, as well as aspects of marketing geared toward home use, change the nature of these models from other heat guns, which are primarily a tool for non-domestic purposes.

Even accepting that heat guns have gained a certain legitimacy in a domestic setting by virtue of becoming more acceptable as a tool for home use, the applications for the heat guns, such as for bending pipes and shrink tubing for electrical work, are such that they cannot be seen as common to a tool for domestic use. Rather, in considering the definition of domestic purposes and the exemplars in EN 85.16, we would note that at best the heat guns in question have an extremely limited domestic utility and are more accurately described as devices for non-domestic use.

In Primal Lite v. United States, 15 F. Supp. 2d 915 (CIT 1998); aff’d 182 F. 3d 1362, 1364 (CAFC 1999), the Court of International Trade addressed ARI 1(a), providing that the purpose of principal use provisions in the HTSUS is to classify particular merchandise according to the ordinary use of such merchandise, even though particular imported goods may be put to some atypical use. The court also noted that a principal use provision may function as a controlling legal label, in the sense that even if a particular import is proven to be actually used inconsistently with its principal use, the import is nevertheless classified according to its principal use. See also Clarendon Mktg., Inc. v. United States, 144 F.3d 1464, 1467 (CAFC 1998).

In view of the foregoing, Customs believes that heading 8516, HTSUS, is inapplicable to the heat guns at issue because they are principally used for non-domestic purposes.

The heat guns are also not classifiable under heading 8467, HTSUS. In HQ 964371, Customs ruled that the heat guns were not classifiable under subheading 8508.80.00, HTSUS. Since that ruling, Presidential Proclamation 7515, dated December 18, 2001 and published in the Federal Register on December 26, 2001 (66 FR 66549), modified the HTSUS, effective for goods entered on or after January 10, 2002. One of the enacted changes was to delete heading 8508 and create new provisions in heading 8467 to incorporate the deleted provisions of heading 8508. As a result, with certain changes, subheading 8508.80.00, HTSUS, was superceded by subheading 8467.29.00, HTSUS.

Customs agrees with your assertion that the heat guns at issue are described in heading 8467. However, Note 2 to Chapter 84 states in pertinent part as follows:

2. Subject to the operation of Note 3 to Section XVI, a machine or appliance which answers to a description in one or more of the headings 8401 to 8424 and at the same time to a description in one or other of the headings 8425 to 8480 is to be classified under the appropriate heading of the former group and not the latter.

In consideration of the chapter note, the heat guns cannot be classified under heading 8467 because the other provision under consideration, heading 8419, is clearly given precedence as between the two. As such, the heat guns at issue are classified under subheading 8419.89.95, HTSUS, as “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating , other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes : Other machinery, plant or equipment: Other: Other: Other.” This is the same provision as 8419.89.90, HTSUS, from the HTSUS of year 2000.

HOLDING:

The additional four heat guns are classified under subheading 8419.89.95, HTSUS, as “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated, for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating , other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes : Other machinery, plant or equipment: Other: Other: Other.”

EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:

HQ 964371 is AFFIRMED.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: