The tariff classification of a vehicle part from Germany

N030136 June 13, 2008 CLA-2-87:OT:RR:NC:N1:101 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8708.29.5060 Robert Resetar, Customs Manager Porsche Cars North America, Inc. 980 Hammond Drive, Suite 1000 Atlanta, GA 30328-6163 RE: The tariff classification of a vehicle part from Germany Dear Mr. Resetar, In your letter dated May 27, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Along with your Ruling Request, you provided a sample that will be returned per your request. The item in question is a Glove Compartment Dampener (Part # 997 552 484 01). The Dampener is a plastic cylinder approximately 4.75 inches in length and .75 inches in diameter. It has a pneumatic piston that extends out from the middle of the cylinder approximately 3.62 inches. On the outside of the cylinder body is a circular protrusion that acts as a fastening point to the dashboard while the end of the piston attaches to the side of a vehicle’s glove compartment. The purpose of the Dampener is to provide resistance and regulate the rate at which the glove compartment door opens and closes; it operates by utilizing a pneumatic valve mechanism that is attached to the piston inside the Dampener’s cylinder which restricts the airflow within the cylinder when the glove compartment is opened and, to a lesser extent, when it is closed. In your Request, you propose classification of the Glove Compartment Dampener in either subheading 3926.30.5000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) which provides for “Other articles of plastic…: Fittings for … coachwork or the like: Other” or subheading 8708.99.8180 of the HTSUS which provides for “Parts … of … motor vehicles … : Other parts … : Other: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other”. Classification of goods in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1. states, “ ... classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings ... ". General Note 3. (h) (vi) to the HTSUS states, “ ... a reference to “headings” encompasses subheadings indented thereunder.” Subheading 8708.29 of the HTSUS provides for “Parts … of … motor vehicles … : Other parts … of bodies … : Other”. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of the HTS at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and the GRIs. EN 87.08(B) lists floor boards, dashboards, visors and safety seat belts as “Parts of bodies”; since the ENs consider permanently-attached interior furnishings of a vehicle, not more specifically enumerated elsewhere in the HTSUS, as “Parts of bodies”, then the Glove Compartment Dampener, which is permanently attached to the dashboard and glove compartment door is also to be considered as a part of the vehicle body. In addition, the Dampener is necessary for the glove compartment, a part of the dashboard, to operate as intended, therefore it is not merely a “fitting” of HTSUS subheading 3926.30.5000. The applicable classification subheading for the Glove Compartment Dampener (Part # 997 552 484 01) will be 8708.29.5060, HTSUS, which provides for “Parts…of…motor vehicles… : Other parts…of bodies…: Other: Other: Other”. The rate of duty will be 2.5%. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at http://ww.usitc.gov /tata/hts/. 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 Richard Laman at 646-733-3017. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division