Request for Reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter N010027;Classification of a window switch base, Part No. 135-5005

HQ H017648 May 5, 2010 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H017648 JER CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8538.90 Peter T. Middleton, Esq. Middleton & Shrull, Attorneys at Law 50 Mall Road, Suite 205 Burlington, MA 01803-4508 RE: Request for Reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter N010027; Classification of a window switch base, Part No. 135-5005 Dear Mr. Middleton: This letter is in response to your request of August 29, 2007, for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N010027, dated May 7, 2007, which classified the subject merchandise under heading 8538, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The ruling concerned the classification of four articles imported by ept automotive, LP (ept). As per your request for reconsideration, this ruling shall be limited to Part No. 135-5005, also referred to as a “window switch base.” We have reviewed NY N010027 and found it to be correct for the reasons set forth below. FACTS: NY N010027 classified four articles, in which Part No. 135-5005, was included. Three of the articles were classified under heading 8536, HTSUS, as electrical connectors while the subject merchandise was classified under heading 8538, HTSUS, as a part of an apparatus of heading 8536, HTSUS. NY N010027 described the subject merchandise as follows: The second connector is item number 135-5005. This item is a plastic molded base measuring approximately one inch by ½ inch. This base features six contacts on the top corresponding to six press-fit printed circuit pins on the bottom. Extending upwards from the base approximately ¾ of an inch are two tabs with holes drilled through the center of the upper portion. This base serves as part of a rocket [sic] switch used for automobile power windows. Part No. 135-5005, or the “window switch base” is specifically designed to accept installation of several components necessary to complete the assembly of a modular rocker switch. The additional components of the switch assembly include: one Actuator (the rocker lever), two Rocker Contacts, two Followers and two Springs. The completed switch is affixed to a printed circuit board (PCB) and is used for automobile power windows. ISSUE: Whether Part No. 135-5005 is classified under heading 8536, HTSUS, as an electrical connector (e.g., plug, socket or other connector) or under heading 8538, HTSUS, as a part of an apparatus of heading 8536, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. The 2010 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 8536 Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example, switches, relays, fuses, surge suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders and other connectors, junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V; connectors for optical fibers, optical fiber bundles or cables: * * * Lampholders, plugs and sockets: * * * 8536.69 Other: 8536.69.40 Coaxial connectors; cylindrical multicontact connectors; rack and panel connectors; printed circuit connectors; ribbon or flat cable connectors * * * 8538 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of heading 8535, 8536 or 8537: * * * 8538.90 Other: Other: 8538.90.60 Molded parts…. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While not legally binding or dispositive, the ENs 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, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The ENs to heading 8536, HTSUS, provide in pertinent part, as follows: APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONNECTIONS TO OR IN ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS This apparatus is used to connect together various parts of an electrical circuit. It includes: (A) Plugs, sockets and other contacts for connecting movable lead or apparatus to an installation which is usually fixed. This catageory includes: Plugs and sockets (including those for connecting two movable leads). A plug may have one or more pins or side contacts which match corresponding holes or contacts in the socket[.] * * * (B) Other connectors, terminals, terminal strips, etc. These include small squares of insulating material fitted with electrical connectors (dominoes), terminals which are metal parts intended for the reception of conductors, and small metal parts designed to be fitted on the end of electrical wiring to facilitate electrical connection (spade terminals, crocodile clips, etc.). * * * PARTS Subject to the general provisions regarding the classification of parts (see the General Explanatory Note to Section XVI), parts of the apparatus of this heading are classified in heading 85.38. * * * You argue that the subject merchandise is classified as a plug or electrical connector under heading 8536, HTSUS, because as you state, “it joins the printed circuit board and the rocker switch providing the electrical connections for the completed device to operate as intended.” You further assert that NY N010027 erred in finding that the subject merchandise did not meet the definition of plugs and sockets used for connecting and disconnecting moveable leads or apparatus to a fixed installation. You argue that the completed switch is in fact “readily removable for repair and replacement” and therefore the subject merchandise meets the definition of an electrical connector of heading 8536, HTSUS. In support of your position you cite HQ 964504 dated October 25, 2002 in which CBP defined “printed circuit connectors” for purposes of heading 8536, HTSUS. CBP has previously addressed the classification of plugs, sockets and other electrical connectors under heading 8536, HTSUS. The term “printed circuit connectors” (connectors which are mounted onto a printed circuit board), is not defined in the tariff. However, in HQ 964555, dated October 18, 2001, CBP utilized the industry definition and explained that there are two distinct styles of printed circuit connectors (1) the edgeboard; wherein the printed circuit board (PCB) edge enters the connector and (2) the two-piece: wherein one part of the connecting pair is physically attached to the PC board itself while the other is attached to something else such as a cable or motherboard. HQ 964555 citing the Electronic Engineer’s Master Online Glossary, at www.eem.com. See also, HQ 964504 dated October 25, 2002. In HQ 964555, CBP classified a modular jack electrical connector used to connect telecommunication cable to PCBs, under heading 8536, HTSUS, finding that modular jacks with pins or contacts that match corresponding holes or contacts on PCBs conformed to the general industry definition of “printed circuit connectors.” In that ruling, CBP also held that the modular jacks met the description provided for in the ENs to heading 8536, HTSUS, because they were “plugs used for connecting moveable leads or apparatus to a fixed installation, i.e., a printed circuit board to which they are permanently affixed.” In HQ 964504 CBP classified connectors used to connect a headphone to a personal computer as well as a modular telephone jack under heading 8536, HTSUS, as electrical connectors in part, because “when the mounted prongs of each article mate with a matching socket in a printed circuit…they form a connection to or in an electrical circuit” and because they were plugs used for connecting moveable leads or apparatus (headphone or telephone line) to a fixed installation (a printed circuit board). See also NY D87005 dated February 16, 1999 (in which CBP classified jacks used in cable connections under heading 8536, HTSUS, as electrical connectors). Likewise, in NY L84869, dated June 7, 2005, CBP held that female backpanel connectors which were designed to be permanently soldered to a PCB were classified under heading 8536, HTSUS. The articles in NY L84869 met the definition of a socket with the meaning of heading 8536, HTSUS, in part, because they allowed the PCB board to act as a receptacle for removable hard disk drive (HDD) devices. In the instant case, the rocker switch, once assembled is designed to remain affixed to the PCB. Unlike the modular jack of HQ 964555 and HQ 964504 or the headphone connector of HQ 964504, the completed switch does not possess any removable features. As previously stated, the switch (including Part No. 135-5005) can only be removed for “repair or replacement.” As the EN 85.36 explains, plugs and sockets are apparatus used for connecting and disconnecting moveable leads or apparatus to a fixed installation. In the instant case, the press-fit printed circuit pins in the base of the subject merchandise provide a permanent connection of the switch to a PCB. The upper portion of this article is designed to accept the rocker part of the switch while the bottom portion is permanently soldered onto the PCB. Unlike the articles of HQ 964555, HQ 964504 and NY D87005, the subject merchandise does not connect a moveable apparatus to a fixed installation. Instead, the completed switch is designed to remain permanently affixed to the PCB and does not possess any moveable features as is the case with headphone jacks, telephone jacks and cable connectors. Moreover, the subject merchandise differs from the female connectors in NY L84869, as those articles were female sockets designed to accept companion connectors from various removable HDD devices. Therefore, we find that the subject merchandise does not meet the definition of a plug or socket within the meaning of heading 8536, HTSUS. Similarly, heading 8536, HTSUS, provides in pertinent part, for: “Electrical apparatus for switching…or for making connections to or in electrical circuits (for example,…plugs, sockets…).” In the instant case, the subject merchandise lacks the necessary components required to form a connection between the switch and the PCB. Instead, it is the rocker contacts which facilitate the connection between the switch and the electrical circuit (or PCB). As your submission points out, in HQ 964731 dated January 17, 2002, CBP held that an article which did “not contain that which is essential to make a connection, the metal contacts” was not classifiable as an electrical connector of heading 8536, HTSUS. In the instant case, absent the presence of the rocker contacts, an electrical connection cannot be made between the switch and the PCB. Specifically, the rocker contacts match the upper contacts of Part No. 135-5005. The rocker contacts are synchronized with the on and off movement of the rocker switch lever; causing the rocker contacts to press down onto the metal contacts of Part No. 135-5005, thus enabling the connection of the electrical circuit. Since it is the rocker contacts which form the electrical connection between the switch and the PCB and trigger the electrical activity, it cannot be said that the subject merchandise is an apparatus for making a connection to or in electrical circuits. Accordingly, the subject merchandise is not an electrical connector of heading 8536, HTSUS. Finally, as the submitted diagram indicates, the instant merchandise is one of several components which are used to form a modular rocker switch to be installed on a PCB. Part No. 135-5005 is specifically designed to accept installation of several components necessary to complete the assembly of a modular rocker switch, which includes: one Actuator (the rocker lever), two Rocker Contacts, two Followers and two Springs. The subject merchandise, which houses the remaining components, is an integral constituent component of a modular rocker switch, as it provides the means through which the rocker lever attaches to the frame of the assembly, the means to connect the rocker contacts to the switch and the means to connect the entire assembly to the PCB. Moreover, the sole use of Part No. 135-5005 is for the assembly of a rocker switch. The completed rocker switch would be prima facie classifiable under heading 8536, HTSUS, as an electrical apparatus for switching electrical circuits. Accordingly, we find that the subject merchandise is classifiable as a part of a switch and is therefore classified under heading 8538, HTSUS. HOLDING: By application of GRI 1, the subject window switch base, Part No. 135-5005, is classified in heading 8538, HTSUS. It is specifically classified in subheading 8538.90.60, HTSUS, which provides for: “Parts suitable for use solely or principally with apparatus of heading 8535, 8536 or 8537: Other: Other: Molded parts.” The 2010 column one, general rate of duty is 3.5% ad valorem. Duty rates are provided for convenience only and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov. EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS: NY N010027, dated November May 7, 2007, is hereby Affirmed. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division