The tariff classification of parts for an MDF press line fromGermany

NY 897671 May 27, 1994 CLA-2-84:S:N:N1:103 897671 CATEGORY: Classification Mr. Steven Cataldo Jumbo Transport International, Inc. Port Elizabeth Plaza 1201 Corbin St. Elizabeth, NJ 07201 RE: The tariff classification of parts for an MDF press line from Germany Dear Mr. Cataldo: In your letter dated May 4, 1994 on behalf of Maschinenfabrik J. Diffenbacher you requested a tariff classification ruling. With your inquiry you submitted a blueprint and literature describing the type of press line to be imported, various appendices to a supply contract for the press line, and a letter from your client. In this letter Diffenbacher contends that an MDF press line which fully complies with their customer's technical specifications and performance requirements was not available from a manufacturer located in the United States. Based on this circumstance, you requested that the press line components to be imported be allowed entry free of duty in accordance with some unspecified tariff provision. Alternatively, you asked whether any provision in the Customs Regulations would permit duty-free entry. As you know, imported merchandise is subject to classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). The duty rates associated with the HTS provisions are set by law and the U.S. Customs Service, as an administrative agency, has no authority to waive or reduce them. This office knows of no tariff provision in the HTS which would accord duty-free treatment to the articles which will be imported. Further, we are not aware of any language in the Customs Regulations which would authorize duty- free status to imported components of an MDF press line where no domestic manufacturer of like goods exists. This is an information letter, issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). Sincerely, Jean F. Maguire Area Director New York Seaport