Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1703-24-116553; Tariff classification of Vending Machines

H356477 April 9, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H356477 PF CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8476.89.00 Center Director Machinery Center of Excellence and Expertise U.S. Customs and Border Protection 109 Shiloh Dr., Suite 300 Laredo, TX 78045 Attn: Douglas Petitt, Import Specialist Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1703-24-116553; Tariff classification of Vending Machines Dear Center Director: The following is our decision regarding the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest No. 1703-24-116553 timely filed by Longview Intl Technology Solutions, Inc. (Protestant). The Protest pertains to the tariff classification of vending machines under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). This ruling takes into consideration supplemental information filed by counsel on behalf of the protestant, dated March 23, 2026. The subject merchandise was entered between October 6, 2022 and February 15, 2023 and was liquidated between 11/17/2023 and 03/22/2024, under heading 8479, HTSUS, and specifically subheading 8479.89.95, HTSUS, which provides for “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Other.” Protestant alleges that the subject merchandise should be classified under heading 8476, HTSUS, and specifically subheading 8476.89.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Automatic goods-vending machines (for example, postage stamp, cigarette, food or beverage machines), including money-changing machines; parts thereof: Other machines: Other.” 2 FACTS: The subject merchandise are kiosks for storing and dispending COVID-19 kits in various public locations. A consumer initiates a purchase on the subject merchandise via smartphone. A consumer scans a QR code displayed on the subject merchandise or accesses a provided link, selects the desired product(s) through a proprietary software interface and initiates a transaction, and completes payment using a credit or debit card via a payment processor. At importation, the subject merchandise is preconfigured and intended to operate with various payment processors including Stripe, PayPal or Square. Upon successful payment, the subject merchandise immediately dispenses the selected product. ISSUE: Whether the subject merchandise is classifiable in heading 8476, HTSUS, as “Automatic goods-vending machines” or in heading 8479, HTSUS, as “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions.” LAW AND ANALYSIS: Initially, we note that the matters protested are protestable under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2) as decisions on classification. The protest was timely filed, within 180 days of liquidation of the entries at issue. (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. 1703-24-116592 is properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(a) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of CBP or his designee, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise. Classification under the HTSUS is determined 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. If the goods cannot be classified solely based on 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 HTSUS provisions under consideration are: 8476 Automatic goods-vending machines (for example, postage stamp, cigarette, food or beverage machines), including money-changing machines; parts thereof: 8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: In addition, in interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally 3 indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). EN 84.76 provides, in part, as follows with respect to the scope of heading 8476, HTSUS: This heading covers the various kinds of machines which supply some kind of merchandise when one or more coins, tokens or a magnetic card are put in a slot (other than those machines covered more specifically by other headings of the Nomenclature or excluded from the Chapter by a Chapter or Section Note). The term “vending” in the context of this heading refers to a “monetary” exchange between the purchaser and the machine in order to acquire a product. This heading does not cover machines which dispense a product but do not have a device to accept payment. * * * The heading covers not only machines in which the distribution is automatic, but also those consisting of a number of compartments from which the merchandise can be withdrawn after the coin has been inserted, the machine incorporating a device for releasing the lock of the appropriate compartment (e.g., by pressing on a corresponding button). * * * The term “vending machine” is not defined in the HTSUS. In the absence of a statutory definition, a tariff term is construed according to its common and commercial meaning, which are presumably identical. Tyco Fire Products v. United States, 841 F.3d 1353, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Dictionaries and other lexicographic authorities may be utilized to determine a term's common meaning. See Mast Indus., Inc. v. United States, 9 C.I.T. 549 (1985), aff’d, 786 F.2d 1144 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Among the sources that are regularly consulted pursuant to this maxim is industry literature, which may inform a term’s commercial meaning. See Rocknell Fastener, Inc. v. United States, 267 F.3d 1354, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (citing ANSI specifications as industry standards indicative of commercial designation); see also Well Luck Co., Inc. v. United States, 208 F. Supp. 3d 1364 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2017); and Specialty Commodities, Inc. v. United States, 190 F. Supp. 3d 1277, 1285-1286 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2016) (both citing industry references in defining tariff terms at issue). “Vending machine” is consistently defined in dictionaries as an apparatus that dispenses merchandise in exchange for coins or another form of payment. See, e.g., Oxford English Dictionary (2026), available at http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/222068 (defining vending machine as a “slot machine from which comestibles or other small goods may be obtained”); Merriam-Webster.com, definition of VENDING MACHINE, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vending%20machine (defining term as “a coin-operated machine for selling merchandise”); Collins English Dictionary, vending machine, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/vending-machine (defining term as “a machine that automatically dispenses consumer goods such as cigarettes, food, or petrol, when money is inserted.”) (last visited February 9, 2026). This definition of vending machine is consistent with characterizations of such in industry literature and EN 84.76. See National 4 Automatic Merchandising Association, Vending 101 (stating that vending involves provision of service at an “unattended point of sale” through the use of monetarily-driven equipment); and EN 84.76 (“’Vending’ in the context of this heading refers to a ‘monetary’ exchange between the purchaser and the machine in order to acquire a product.”); see also Headquarters Ruling (HQ) 962415, dated February 22, 2000 (determining that medication dispenser did not qualify as a vending machine because dispensation did not involve a monetary transaction). Industry literature and EN 84.76 both further indicate that vending machines may incorporate a broad range of payment mechanisms, including, among other things, card readers and devices designed to process other forms of “cashless” payment. See, e.g., National Automatic Merchandising Association, Vending 101; Chris Mumford, The Components Of Credit Card Vending, Automatic Vending Merchandiser, July 22, 2014, http://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/home/article/10256874/the-components-of-credit-card-vending; and Tim Sanford, AVA Study Shows UK’s Vending Industry and Cashless Payments on Upswing, Vending Times, May 17, 2017, https://www.vendingtimes.com/news/ava-study-shows-uks-vending-industry-and-cashless-payments-on-upswing/ (last visited February 9, 2026) (all discussing the prevalence of non-cash payment mechanisms in vending machines). These mechanisms may not effectuate direct and immediate payment but instead trigger a process by which payment is eventually delivered, via third party institutions, from the purchaser’s account to that of the vendor. See Chris Mumford, The Components Of Credit Card Vending, Automatic Vending Merchandiser, July 22, 2014, http://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/home/article/10256874/the-components-of-credit-card-vending (last visited February 9, 2026); see also Credit Cards.com, How does a credit card transaction work, http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/how-a-credit-card-is-processed-1275.php (last visited February 9, 2026). Moreover, the types of goods that are sold through vending machines are varied, and can include snacks, beverages, tobacco products, boxes of detergent, fabric softener sheets, as well as rental DVDs. In NY K82080, dated January 22, 2004, CBP classified a machine used to sell and rent DVDs in heading 8476, as a vending machine. The machine in NY K82080 was described as having three components: a store, a console, and a graphics package for use with the console. The store contained a rack type storage compartment for storing and dispending videos and DVDs. The console had a touch screen and was similar in operation to a bank ATM machine and had a magnetic “swipe card” interface, it allowed a user to select a video or DVD, and once the video or DVD was dispensed from the machine the appropriate fee was immediately deducted for the video or at the time of return for the rented videos. The machine accepted cash or credit cards to re-load the magnetic card. The machine also allowed software to be configured to rent videos and DVDs without the “swipe card” using only a credit card. In the present case, a consumer initiates a purchase on the subject merchandise via smartphone. A consumer scans a QR code displayed on the subject merchandise or accesses a provided link, selects the desired product(s) through a proprietary software interface and initiates a transaction, and completes payment using a credit or debit card via a payment processor. At importation, the subject merchandise is preconfigured and intended to operate with various payment processors including Stripe, PayPal or Square. Upon successful payment, the subject merchandise immediately dispenses the selected product. The subject merchandise therefore has a mechanism that allows a consumer to initiate a payment transaction at the time of use in 5 exchange for a product. We find that the subject merchandise is described by the terms of heading 8476, HTSUS. As a result, the subject merchandise is not classifiable in heading 8479, HTSUS. Our decision is consistent with HQ H328731, dated June 6, 2023, where we determined that an e-bike docking station that allowed users to scan a code on the machine with a smartphone to pay for the bike rental and unlock the product was a vending machine within the meaning of heading 8476, HTSUS; see also HQ H269223, dated June 8, 2017 (PPE and MRO equipment dispensers which send a notice to the supplier for restocking and caused a bill to be generated were vending machines of heading 8476, HTSUS). HOLDING: By application of GRIs 1 and 6, we hold that the subject vending machines are properly classified under heading 8476, HTSUS, specifically under subheading 8476.89.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Automatic goods-vending machines (for example, postage stamp, cigarette, food or beverage machines), including money-changing machines; parts thereof: Other machines: Other.” The general, column one rate of duty is Free. This ruling does not address the applicability of any additional duties that may apply to the goods discussed herein. Likewise, 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 at www.usitc.gov. You are instructed to ALLOW the Protest. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP website at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution. Sincerely, for Yuliya A. Gulis, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division