Internal Advice # 00/20; Antennas; Antennas for cellular telephones

HQ 964396 September 19, 2000 CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 964396 GOB CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8529.10.70 Port Director U.S. Customs Service 9 N. Grand Avenue Nogales, AZ 85621 RE: Internal Advice # 00/20; Antennas; Antennas for cellular telephones Dear Sir: This letter is in response to your letter of June 8, 2000, forwarding Internal Advice # 00/20, initiated by a letter of June 8, 2000, submitted by a customs broker on behalf of Amphenol Optimize (“Amphenol’). FACTS: Amphenol receives components from its U.S. parent company for assembly at its “maquila” in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico into finished antennas. It has submitted product literature and samples. The antennas at issue “are solely used in cellular telephones and range from 820-960 MHZ and 1700-1990 MHZ.” Amphenol contends that the antennas are classifiable under subheading 8529.10.70, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), as: “Antennas and antenna reflectors of a kind used with apparatus for radiotelephony and radiotelegraphy.” Documentation submitted on behalf of Amphenol indicates that your office believes the antennas are classifiable under subheading 8529.10.90, HTSUS, an “other” provision. In response to our request for additional information, Amphenol advised that the company name is now Amphenol T & M Antennas. The antennas which are the subject of this request are part # 8000145 and the dimensions are 42.28 mm by 5.37 mm. In a letter of August 15, 2000, Amphenol states that “[t]he 80-000145 is used only in a cellular phone application.” ISSUE: What is the tariff classification of the subject antennas? 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 GRI’s may then be applied. 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. See T.D. 89-80. The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 8529 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of headings 8525 to 8528: 8529.10 Antennas and antenna reflectors of all kinds; parts suitable for use therewith: 8529.10.70 Antennas and antenna reflectors of a kind used with apparatus for radiotelephony and radiotelegraphy 8529.10.90 Other Based upon the descriptive literature, it is our determination that the subject antennas are used with cellular telephones. Cellular telephones are provided for in heading 8525, HTSUS, as they use radio frequencies to transmit and receive through the atmosphere. See HQ 950247 of November 25, 1991. Accordingly, we find that the subject antennas are provided for in heading 8529, HTSUS, as: “Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of headings 8525 to 8528,” and are classified in subheading 8529.10.70, HTSUS, as “Antennas and antenna reflectors of a kind used with apparatus for radiotelephony and radiotelegraphy.” Our determination is consistent with NY D83253 of October 20, 1998, which found certain cellular telephone antennas to be classified under subheading 8529.10.70, HTSUS. HOLDING: The subject antennas are provided for in heading 8529, HTSUS, as: “Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of headings 8525 to 8528,” and are classified in subheading 8529.10.70, HTSUS, as “Antennas and antenna reflectors of a kind used with apparatus for radiotelephony and radiotelegraphy.” This decision should be mailed to the internal advice requester no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to Customs personnel, and to the public on the Customs Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.customs.treas.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution. Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division