Application for Further Review of Protest No: 5501-06-100129; Ceiling Fan Light Kits

HQ H071775 February 18, 2010 CLA-2- OT:RR:CTF:TCM H071775 TNA CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9405.10.80 Port Director, Dallas/Ft. Worth Service Port U.S. Customs and Border Protection 7501 Esters Blvd., Suite 160Irving, TX 75063 Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No: 5501-06-100129; Ceiling Fan Light Kits Dear Port Director: The following is our decision regarding the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No. 5501-06-100129, timely filed on August 28, 2006, on behalf of Litex Industries, Inc. (“Litex”). The AFR concerns the classification of ceiling fan lighting fixtures under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). FACTS: The subject merchandise consists of three different types of light fixtures. All three have glass shades and metal fitters which are designed for installation directly onto the bottom of a ceiling fan so as to provide light to a room from above. The lights function entirely separately from the workings of the fan. Style LK1 consists of a metal fitter and a glass shade in the form of a globe. The shade measures 9 inches by 6 inches. It weighs 0.70 pounds. The metal fitter weighs 0.025 pounds, and measures 4.5 inches by 1.125 inches. Style LK758 consists of a metal fitter with three glass bell-shaped shades. Its fitter has a small diameter and contains three independent lamp-holders with set-screws for securing the glass shades. Each shade weighs 0.07 pounds, for a total weight of 0.21 pounds. Each globe measures 4.25 inches by 4.625 inches. The metal fitter weighs 0.65 pounds, measures 3 inches by 5.75 inches. Style LK126 consists of a metal fitter and a glass shade in the form of a dome. The glass shade weighs 2.25 pounds, and measures 4.75 inches by 12.75 inches. The metal fitter weighs 0.60 pounds, and measures 7.5 inches by 5.75 inches. There are 28 entries at issue in this protest. The fixtures entered at the Dallas Port between July 17, 2005 and September 29, 2005 under subheading 9405.10.60, HTSUS. CBP liquidated the entries as entered between June 2, 2006 and August 11, 2006. The importer filed its protest on August 28, 2006, claiming that the correct classification for the fixtures is under subheading 8414.90.10, HTSUS, which provides for parts of fans. The protest was held in abeyance pending the court’s decision in Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc. v. United States, 427 F. Supp. 2d 1278 (C.I.T. 2006). ISSUE: Whether ceiling fan lighting fixtures should be classified under subheading 9504.10.60, HTSUS, as other electric ceiling or wall lighting fittings of base metal, under subheading 9405.10.80, as other electric ceiling or wall lighting fittings of other than metal, or under subheading 8414.90.10, HTSUS, as parts of fans? LAW AND ANALYSIS: This matter is protestable under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2) as a decision on classification. The protest was timely filed, within 180 days of liquidation for entries made on or after December 18, 2004.  (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, Pub.L. 108-429, § 2103(2)(B)(ii), (iii) (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3) (2006)). Further Review of Protest No. 5501-06-100129 is properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(c) because the protest involves matters previously ruled upon by the Commissioner of Customs or the Customs court, but facts are alleged or legal arguments presented which were not considered at the time of the original ruling. In the alternative, Protestant argues for AFR under §174.24(a) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of Customs or with a decision made at any point with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise. Specifically, the Protestant states that the classification for which it argues is supported by the court’s decision in Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc. v. United States, 427 F. Supp. 2d 1278 (C.I.T. 2006), and that the holding in New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) M84050, on which the port relied in its liquidation decision, is inconsistent with prior rulings. Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in their appropriate order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5. GRI 3(b) states that: When, by application of Rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are prima facie classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows: … Mixtures, composite goods consisting or different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. The HTSUS headings under consideration are the following: 8414 Air or vacuum pumps, air or other gas compressors and fans; ventilating or recycling hoods incorporating a fan, whether or not fitted with filters; parts thereof: 8414.90 Parts: 8414.90.10 Of fans (including blowers) and ventilating or recycling hoods * * * * * * * * * * * * * 9405 Lamps and lighting fittings including searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: 9405.10 Chandeliers and other electric ceiling or wall lighting fittings, excluding those of a kind used for lighting public open spaces or thoroughfares: Of base metal: 9405.10.60 Other: 9405.10.80 Other Section XVI Note 2 states, in pertinent part: Subject to Note 1 of this Section, Note 1 to Chapter 84 and Note 1 to Chapter 85, parts of machines are to be classified according to the following rules: (a) Parts which are goods included in any of the headings of Chapter 84 or 85 are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(c) states, in pertinent part: In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires-… (c) a provision for parts of an article covers products which solely or principally used as a part of such articles but a provision for “parts” or “parts and accessories” shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). The EN for heading 9405 states, in pertinent part, the following: This heading covers in particular:   Lamps and lighting fittings normally used for the illumination of rooms, e.g. : hanging lamps; bowl lamps; ceiling lamps; chandeliers; wall lamps; standard lamps; table lamps; bedside lamps; desk lamps; night lamps; watertight lamps The EN for heading 8414 states, in pertinent part, the following: This heading covers machines and appliances, hand-operated or power driven, for the compression of air or other gases, or for creating a vacuum, and also machines for circulating air or other gases…. (B) FANS These machines, which may or may not be fitted with integral motors, are designed either for delivering large volumes of air or other gases at relatively low pressure or merely for creating a movement of the surrounding air… Fans are used, inter alia, for ventilating mines and premises of all kinds, silos, ships; for extracting by suction dust, steam, smoke, hot gases, etc.; for drying many materials (leather, paper, textiles, paint, etc.); in mechanical draught apparatus for furnaces. This group also includes room fans, whether or not with a tilting or oscillating device. These include ceiling fans, table fans, wall bracket fans, ring mounted fans for building into walls, window panes, etc. This heading excludes fans fitted with elements additional to their motors or housing (such as large dust separating cones, filters, cooling or heating elements and heat exchangers) if such elements give them the characteristics of more complex machines of other headings, e.g., air heaters, not electrically heated (heading 73.22), air conditioning machines (heading 84.15), dust extractors (heading 84.21), air coolers for the industrial treatment of materials (heading 84.19) or for premises (heading 84.79), electric space heating apparatus with built-in fans (heading 85.16). Explanatory Note IX to GRI 3(b) states that: For the purposes of this Rule, composite goods made up of different components shall be taken to mean not only those in which the components are attached to each other to form a practically inseparable whole, but also those with separable components, provided these components are adapted one to the other and are mutually complementary, and that together they form a whole which would not normally be offered for sale in separate parts… As a general rule, the components of these composite goods are put up in a common packing. EN VIII to GRI 3(b) provides: The factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. Protestant argues that the subject lighting fixtures should be classified as parts of ceiling fans under heading 8414, HTSUS. Section XVI Note 2(a), HTSUS, directs the classification of parts of machines of Chapters 84 and 85 into their respective headings. However, the instant ceiling fan lamps are not “[p]arts which are goods included in any of the headings of Chapter 84 or 85 . . .,” as required by note 2(a). Lamps are not classifiable in Chapters 84 or 85; to the contrary, they are classifiable outside of Section XVI, in Chapter 94. In a case such as this one, where we have unrestricted language as to the classification of a good classified outside Section XVI, Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation (AUSRI) 1(c) provides us with the necessary guidance. AUSRI 1(c) states that a provision for “parts” or “parts and accessories” shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory. Since lamps are specifically provided for in Chapter 94, they cannot be classified as parts or goods in Section XVI. See, e.g., HQ 966041, dated April 29, 2003; HQ 561353, dated September 19, 2002. Furthermore, the subject merchandise does not meet the definition of a “part.” “It is a well established rule that a ‘part’ of an article is something which is necessary to the completion of that article. It is an integral, constituent or component part, without which the article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such an article.” United States v. Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9; 1955 CCPA LEXIS 149; C.A.D. 602 (emphasis in original). In the present case, the light fixtures are attached to a ceiling fan. The function of a ceiling fan is to create airflow. Attaching a light to the fan does not impact on this function in any way. In addition, the subject lights function entirely separately from the workings of the fan. Therefore, lights are not integral, constituent or component parts of the fan, without which the fan could not function as such. As a result, the subject lighting fixtures cannot be classified as parts under heading 8414, HTSUS. The fixtures in the present case are imported packaged ready for retail sale with the metal fixture fully assembled and the glass shades individually wrapped or otherwise protected within the same box as the fixture.  Therefore, the instant merchandise is fully described by the terms of heading 9405, HTSUS, as a lighting fixture. However, at GRI 6, its classification depends upon their essential character as a composite good under GRI 3(b). Home Depot USA, Inc. v. United States, 427 F. Supp. 2d 1278, 1295-1356 (CIT 2006), aff’d 491 F.3d 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2007). In Home Depot, the court classified many types of lighting fixtures, performing an essential character analysis on each lighting fixture at issue. In particular, the Home Depot court examined interior ceiling-mounted fixtures, such as globes and domes, that are at issue here. There, the court found that the glass portion of the fixture had a larger weight than the fixture’s metal component and contributed more to the role of the fixture in relation to the use of the good than did the metal component. As a result, the court found that the glass formed the essential character of a globe-shaped fixture. Furthermore, CBP has published “Guidance on the Classification of Decorative Light Fixtures” to guide the classification of these fixtures in accordance with the Home Depot decision. See http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/entry_summary/light_ fixtures.xml. This guidance states that “interior ceiling mounted fixtures consisting of a standard metal fitter and shade are classified by the material of the shade. These usually include, but are not limited to: globe, bubble, mushroom, dome, and drum.” Under this guidance, interior ceiling-mounted fixtures are classified according to their glass component. In the present case, all three subject fixtures are interior mounted ceiling fixtures. The weight of the glass in two of the three fixtures is much greater than that of the metal component. In all three, the glass also plays a larger role in relation to the use of the good than the metal fixture because it contributes more to the fixture’s overall appearance and decorative aspects. As a result, we find that the glass constitutes the essential character of each of the three styles of fixtures at issue. Therefore, the globe-shaped fixture (Style LK1), the three bell-shaped fixture (Style LK758), and the dome-shaped fixture (Style LK126) are classified in subheading 9405.10.80, HTSUS, as chandeliers and other electric ceiling or wall lighting fittings, excluding those of a kind used for lighting public open spaces or thoroughfares: other: household. Protestant cites to NY M84050, dated June 28, 2006, which placed ceiling fan lights in subheading 9504.10.60, HTSUS. Home Depot specifically placed this type of merchandise in subheading 9504.10.80, HTSUS. As a result, NY M84050 is superseded by operation of law. Protestant also cites to NY D87010, dated February 3, 1999. In that ruling, however, the merchandise’s description only discusses metal parts. Thus, it is not clear that there are any non-metal parts in those light fixtures. As a result, NY D87010 is distinguishable from the present case. HOLDING: By application of GRI 3(b), Styles LK1, LK758, and LK126 are classified in heading 9405, HTSUS, specifically under subheading 9405.10.80, HTSUS, which provides for: chandeliers and other electric ceiling or wall lighting fittings, excluding those of a kind used for lighting public open spaces or thoroughfares: other: household. As such, the duty rate is 3.9% ad valorem. Since re-classification of the merchandise as indicated above will result in a lower rate of duty than claimed, you are instructed to allow the protest in full. In accordance with Sections IV and VI of the CBP Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (HB 3500-08A, December 2007, pp. 24 and 26), you are to mail this decision, together with the CBP Form 19, to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office International Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division