The tariff classification of a gantry system from Germany

NY K82447 February 17, 2004 CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:103 K82447 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8428.90.0010 Mr. Karl F. Krueger Danzas AEI Customs Brokerage Services 29200 Northwestern Highway Southfield, MI 48034 RE: The tariff classification of a gantry system from Germany Dear Mr. Krueger: In your undated letter on behalf of Cross Hüller - North America, MI you requested a tariff classification ruling. The Liebherr gantry system is a material handling system used in a machining line for the automotive industry. The line is for the production of automotive engine cylinder heads. You note in your letter that this request covers only the gantry robot system. It does not include the machining center modules. The gantry robot system will be used to move the cylinder head castings from machining center to machining center. Literature submitted with your inquiry indicates the gantry system will consist of the gantry robots, CNC robot controllers, electromechanical drives and material handling grippers. An unique gripper attached to each robot arm moves and positions the castings automatically. In your letter, you express concern over the use of the term “gantry” in the model designation. You feel the merchandise in question might be confused with the gantry cranes provided for in heading 8426, HTS. The word “gantry” is not to be taken as being synonymous with the term “gantry crane”. As defined, in part, in the Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, a gantry is “a frame structure raised on side supports so as to span over or around something”. (“gantry.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online <http://search.eb.com/dictionary> [Accessed February 11, 2004].) As further noted in the cited definition, a gantry can be “a platform made to carry a traveling crane”. However, this is not the case with the Liebherr “Gantry Robots”. Here, the gantry or spanning frame structure is specifically designed for use with the robot system. The term “gantry” is being used generically merely to describe the design or configuration of the robot system. The merchandise in question is not a “gantry crane” but rather a programmable robot system designed to move the cylinder head castings. The applicable subheading for a the gantry robot system, consisting of all the gantry robots, control cabinets, necessary cables and connectors, and end-of-arm tooling (i.e., handling grippers) necessary to comprise a complete system, imported in a single shipment and forming a functional unit will be 8428.90.0010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery: other machinery: other: industrial robots. The rate of duty will be free. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Robert Losche at 646-733-3011. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division