Filing Products (racks, carts, carriage systems); Chapter 94, note 2; Section XV, note 1(k); EN 83.02; EN to chapter 94 ("furniture"); EN 94.03; Add. U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a); HQ 735083; HQ 954708

HQ 955269 February 17, 1994 CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 955269 LTO CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8302.50.00; 9403.10.00 Mr. Peter van der Heijden Jalema Filing Systems Division Jalema, Inc. 7397 Washington Boulevard Elkridge, MD 21227 RE: Filing Products (racks, carts, carriage systems); Chapter 94, note 2; Section XV, note 1(k); EN 83.02; EN to chapter 94 ("furniture"); EN 94.03; Add. U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a); HQ 735083; HQ 954708 Dear Mr. van der Heijden: This is in response to your letter of August 9, 1993, which made reference to a letter dated February 24, 1993, to Customs in New York, requesting the classification of various filing products (racks, carts and carriage systems) under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). In HQ 954708, dated October 12, 1993, we advised you as to the tariff classification of various filing products identified as Job- files, Repro-files, Design-files, Code strip, Code tabs, Triangular flags, Self-adhering flags and Ziplabel. In HQ 735083, dated August 5, 1993, we responded to your inquiry concerning the country of origin marking for various office products. FACTS: The articles in question are various filing products, consisting of racks, carts and carriage systems. The racks consist of Uni-racks (6440000, 6440500, 6455500), Duo-Profile/T- bar racks (6460200, 6460300, 6460400), Offset-racks (6480007), Wall-filing racks (5810800, 5811600), Wall-unit racks (5812500) and Table-arm racks (6431200). The racks are made of various materials with metal being the main component. With the exception of the Wall-filing racks and Wall-unit racks, all are designed to stand on the floor or ground. - 2 - The carts consist of Auxiliary Carts, Transport Carts and Offset Carts (6417507, 6418507, 6419007), which are made predominately of metal. They are designed to store files on the floor or ground, while permitting the movement of those files from place to place. The Expanso Carriage Systems (tracks-6721000, 6731250, 6741500; carriages-6704700, 6706500, 6708400) consist of a wheeled aluminum carriage which moves along a set of metal floor tracks. The tracks allow for the storage of files in remote areas, as well as, the movement of those files. ISSUE: Whether the racks and carriage systems are classifiable as other furniture under heading 9403, HTSUS, and the carts as base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture under heading 8302, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1 states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes . . . ." The headings at issue are as follows: 8302 Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases, windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closers of base metal; and base metal parts thereof * * * * * * * * * * * * * 9403 Other furniture and parts thereof Note 1(k) to section XV, HTSUS, which includes heading 8302, HTSUS, states that section XV does not cover articles of chapter 94, including the furniture of heading 9403, HTSUS. Therefore, if any of the articles in question are classifiable under heading 9403, HTSUS, those articles cannot be classified under heading 8302, HTSUS. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System - 3 - Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the Customs Co-operation Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. The General EN to chapter 94, pg. 1574, states that for the purposes of this chapter, the term furniture is defined, in part, as follows: Any 'movable' articles (not included under other more specific headings of the Nomenclature), which have the essential characteristic that they are constructed for placing on the floor or ground, and which are used, mainly with a utilitarian purpose, to equip . . . offices . . . All of the articles in question, with the exception of the Table-arm racks, Wall-filing racks and Wall-unit racks (which are not designed to stand on the floor), meet this above definition and are considered "furniture" for tariff purposes, and are designed for placing on the floor or ground. Note 2 to chapter 94 states that the articles of heading 9403, HTSUS, must be designed for placing on the floor or ground. EN 94.03, pg. 1478, states that the heading covers furniture for offices, such as, "filing cabinets, filing trolleys, card index files, etc." Accordingly, these articles are classifiable under heading 9403, HTSUS, which provides for other furniture and parts thereof. It is our opinion that these articles are principally used in offices and are therefore classifiable as metal furniture of a kind used in offices under subheading 9403.10.00, HTSUS. See Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a). With regard to the classification of the Table-arm racks, Wall-filing racks and Wall-unit racks, heading 8302, HTSUS, provides for base metal hat racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures. EN 83.02, pg. 1120, states that the heading covers "brackets (fixed, hinged or toothed, etc.) and similar fixtures such as coat racks, towel racks, dish-cloth racks, brush racks, key racks [emphasis in original]." It is our opinion that the Table-arm racks, Wall-filing racks and Wall-unit racks, which are designed to suspend files, are similar to the fixtures listed above. As such, these racks are classifiable as brackets and similar fixtures of base metal under subheading 8302.50.00, HTSUS. HOLDING: The Uni-racks, Duo-Profile/T-bar racks, Offset-racks, Auxiliary Carts, Transport Carts, Offset Carts and Expanso - 4 - Carriage Systems are classifiable as metal furniture of a kind used in offices under subheading 9403.10.00, HTSUS. The corresponding rate of duty for articles of this subheading is 4% ad valorem. The Table-arm racks, Wall-filing racks and Wall-unit racks are classifiable as brackets and similar fixtures of base metal under subheading 8302.50.00, HTSUS. The corresponding rate of duty for articles of this subheading is 3.4% ad valorem. Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division cc: NIS Larry Mushinske