Staplers; NY N029455 affirmed

HQ H031367 March 13, 2009 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H031367 IDL CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8205.59.55 Mr. Darren Lenox Customs Compliance Manager Acco Brands Corporation 300 Tower Parkway Lincolnshire, Illinois 60069-3640 Re: Staplers; NY N029455 affirmed Dear Mr. Lenox: This letter is in response to your request for reconsideration (including follow-up supplemental information you submitted) of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N029455, dated June 2, 2008, issued to you by the National Commodity Specialist Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The issue in NY N029455 was the correct classification of various staplers imported from China under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). We have reviewed NY N029455 and have found that it is correct. FACTS: In NY N029455, the staplers were described as follows: Soft Grip Hand Stapler #S7009901 (black color) Ready Grip Plus Stapler #S707914 and [#]S7079195 Ready Grip Stapler #S7079190 and [#]S7079191 (assorted colors and blue color) The outer surface of each stapler is non-metallic and the stapling mechanism is made of steel. They use standard size staples. The staplers are designed to operate in the hand without support. The open ends of the staplers are flat, allowing them to be placed on any flat surface in a vertical/upright position when not in use. They do not have, and do not require, a base for operation [emphasis added]. CBP classified the subject staples in heading 8205, HTSUS, as “handtools not elsewhere specified or included”. ISSUE: Whether the subject staplers described above are properly classified in heading 8205, HTSUS, as “handtools,” or in heading 8472, HTSUS, as “other office machines”? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).  GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter Notes.  In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, HTSUS, and if the headings or notes do not require otherwise, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may be applied in order. GRI 3 provides for goods that are prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings. GRI 6 provides that "for legal purposes", classification of goods in the subheading of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes, and mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. GRI 6 thus incorporates GRIs 1 through 5 in classifying goods at the subheading level. The 2009 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 8205 Handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included; blow torches and similar self-contained torches; vises, clamps and the like, other than accessories for and parts of machine tools, anvils, portable forges; hand- or pedal-operated grinding wheels with frameworks; base metal parts thereof: * * * Other handtools (including glass cutters) and parts thereof: * * * 8205.59 Other: Other: Of iron or steel: * * * Other. . . . * * * 8472 Other office machines (for example, hectograph or stencil duplicating machines, addressing machines, automatic banknote dispensers, coin-sorting machines, coin-counting or wrapping machines, pencil-sharpening machines, perforating or stapling machines: * * * 8472.90 Other: * * * 8472.90.90 Other. . . . Heading 8205, HTSUS, falls within the provisions of Section XV, Note 1(f), which excludes “[a]rticles of section XVI (machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical goods)….” Heading 8472, HTSUS, falls within the provisions of Section XVI, Note 1(k), HTSUS, which excludes articles of chapter 82. Therefore, the applicable section notes mutually exclude goods falling under the competing chapters, and are not determinative of the proper classification here. Although the term “handtools” is not defined by the HTSUS or the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs), courts have accepted a definition provided in the Encyclopaedia Brittanica (Vol. 22, p.286), which defines “hand tool” as "any tool which is held and operated by the unaided hands; e.g., a chisel, plane or saw." Western Oilfields Supply Co. v. United States, 296 F. Supp. 330, 62 Cust. Ct. 182 (1969); Hollywood Accessories, Division of Allen Electronics & Equipment Co. v. United States, 282 F. Supp. 499, 60 Cust. Ct. 360 (1968); F.B. Vandegrift & Co., Inc. v. United States, 65 Cust. Ct. 260 (1970). According to the description in NY N029455, the staplers are specifically designed and marketed as hand-operated tools. It is clear that they meet the definition cited above as “hand tools,” and are, prima facie, classifiable in heading 8205, HTSUS, as “handtools.” However, “handtools” may only be classified in heading 8205, HTSUS, provided that said goods are “not elsewhere specified or included.” Heading 8472 covers “other office machines,” and lists “stapling machines” as one example, among many, of office machines. Neither term is defined in the HTSUS. However, all of the machines in the examples noted in the legal text regularly sit on a desk or table, or are mounted there. Furthermore, there are various kinds of stapling tools available on the market, not all of which are office machines of heading 8472, HTSUS. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the ENs may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The ENs to Chapter 82 provide the following: In general, the Chapter covers tools which can be used independently in the hand…. EN 82.05 provides, in pertinent part, the following: This heading covers all hand tools not included in other headings of this Chapter or elsewhere in the Nomenclature (see the General Explanatory Notes to this Chapter), together with certain other tools or appliances specifically mentioned in the title [emphasis added]. It includes a large number of hand tools (including some with simple hand-operated mechanisms such as cranks, ratchets or gearing). … EN 84.72 provides, in pertinent part, the following: This heading covers all office machines not covered by the preceding three headings or more specifically by any other heading of the Nomenclature. The term “office machines” is to be taken in a wide general sense to include all machines used in offices, shops, factories, workshops, schools, railway stations, hotels, etc., for doing “office work” (i.e., work concerning the writing , recording, sorting, filing, etc., of correspondence, documents, forms, records, accounts, etc.). Office machines are classified here only if they have a base for fixing or for placing on a table, desk, etc. The heading does not cover the hand tools, not having such a base, of Chapter 82 [emphasis added]. * * * The heading includes, inter alia: * * * (11) Stapling machines (used to fix documents together with a staple) and de-stapling machines. * * * The ENs to Chapter 82, and ENs 82.05 and 84.72 support our position that the instant staplers are classified in heading 8205, HTSUS. The ENs to Chapter 82 provide that “tools which can be used independently in the hand” are covered in that Chapter. EN 82.05 covers “all hand tools not included in other headings” of the HTSUS. EN 84.72 provides that an office machine must have a “base for fixing or for placing on a table, desk, etc.” in order to be classified therein. Further, EN 84.72 excludes hand tools of chapter 82 not having such a base. The provision for “stapling machines” in EN 84.72(11), must be read in accordance with the language preceding it. Therefore, EN 84.72(11) covers only those stapling machines that have a base, as discussed above. Furthermore, EN 84.72(11) distinguishes and excludes various types of stapling tools. Under the guidelines of EN 84.72, it is clear that there are limitations on stapling tools that fall under heading 8472, HTSUS. In support of your argument, you have cited several rulings, all of which classified merchandise in heading 8472, HTSUS. Upon our review of those rulings, we find that those decisions are not relevant to the instant case. NY K87599, dated June 30, 2004, and NY K85876, dated May 26, 2004, involved staplers designed with a base for desktop use. NY 894160, dated January 28, 1994, involved an “electronic dictionary” device incorporating a base for placing on a table or desk. NY 860540, dated February 20, 1991, involved a “personal directory-translator-calculator” device incorporating a base for placing on a desk or table. The information provided in those decisions fails to demonstrate any likeness to a hand tool, as defined herein. Further, we do not have sufficient product information to determine whether any of the following rulings you cited are similar to the instant staplers, and whether they should have been classified in heading 8205, HTSUS, as “handtools”: NY B86335, dated June 13, 1997, involved a “personal document shredder [that] can be operated while stationary on a desk, but appears to be more commonly used when in one hand;” NY 862383, dated April 17, 1991, involved a “personal directory…a hand-held device which incorporates a base for placing it on a desk or table;” NY L87307, dated September 19, 2005, involved “labeling printers,” one of which was a “desktop” printer, and does not meet the definition of a “hand tool,” and two others that were “hand-held machines” designed with a flat base for placing on a desk or table. Accordingly, pursuant to the terms of heading 8205, HTSUS, and consistent with the guidance provided by the ENs to Chapter 82, and ENs 82.05 and 84.72, we find that the staplers are properly classified in heading 8205, HTSUS, as “handtools,” and more specifically, are provided for under subheading 8205.59.55, HTSUS. HOLDING: By application of GRI 1, the staplers described above are classified in heading 8205, HTSUS, and more specifically, are provided for under subheading 8205.59.55, HTSUS, as: “Handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included…; Other handtools (including glass cutters) and parts thereof: Other: Other: Of iron or steel.” The 2009 general, column one rate of duty is 5.3% ad valorem. Duty rates are provided for your convenience 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 http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS: NY N029455, dated June 2, 2008, is affirmed. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division