PRD 1303-91-100302; Grade 5 Hex Head Cap Screw, Zinc Plated; Screw, Bolt, Subheading 7318.15.20; American National Standards Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers ANSI/ASME B 18.2.1

HQ 953299 APRIL 22 1993 CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 953299 JAS CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.80, HTSUS District Director of Customs 40 South Gay St. Baltimore, MD 21202 RE: PRD 1303-91-100302; Grade 5 Hex Head Cap Screw, Zinc Plated; Screw, Bolt, Subheading 7318.15.20; American National Standards Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers ANSI/ASME B 18.2.1 Dear District Director: This is our decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1303-91-100302, dated August 9, 1991, filed by representatives of S & S Fasteners Co., Inc., against your action in liquidating an entry of threaded fasteners from Taiwan. FACTS: The Customs Form 6445A describes a hex head cap screw. The local import specialist provided us with a sample that measures 2 7/8 inches long and is threaded at the bottom 1/3 of its shank. It has an unslotted six sided (hex) head and a blunt or flat point. The intended service application of this fastener is not indicated. The fasteners were entered under the provision for bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment, in subheading 7318.15.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The Customs Form 7501, commercial invoice and packing list all describe the fasteners as hex head cap screws. Accordingly, the protested entry was liquidated under the provision for other screws of iron or steel having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more, in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS. Protestant maintains these descriptions are nothing more than differences in terminology, and that the article is threaded on one end, part of the shank is smooth, and the leading end is not pointed. These, he claims, are characteristics of bolts. Your office visually examined a sample fastener and determined - 2 - that it conformed to the majority of the supplementary criteria for screws in American National Standards Institute/American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ANSI/ASME) specification B 18.2.1. As the entry in question was liquidated on August 2, 1991, and the Customs Form 19 received in your office on August 9, 1991, the protest is timely filed. ISSUE: Whether the sample fastener has the majority of design characteristics of bolts or screws. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6. - 3 - It is noted under Explanatory Data in specification B 18.2.1 that because of basic design, it is possible to use certain types of screws in combination with a nut. Thus, the primary criteria are often inconclusive in differentiating bolts from screws. Where drawings are not available, the supplementary criteria must be applied by the appearance of the sample. The concerned import specialist made this visual examination and determined that the sample fastener conformed to the majority of the design characteristics for screws contained in the supplementary criteria of ANSI/ASME specification B 18.2.1. As the protestant has offered no evidence to refute this conclusion we will not independently reexamine the sample. HOLDING: Under GRI 1, grade 5 hex head cap screws represented by the submitted sample are screws of heading 7318. Actual classification is in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, as liquidated. The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Form 19, and mailed to the protestant, through his representative, as part of the notice of action on the protest. Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division