Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings on April 10
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated April 10 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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H321952: Modification of HQ 953673, NY 882039, and NY N113743 by Operation of Law; Classification of Canopies for Child Safety Seats
| Ruling: The canopies for child safety seats are classified in subheading 9401.99.90 as “Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof: Parts: Other: Other.” |
| Issue: whether the canopies for child safety seats are classified in heading 6307, as other made up articles, or in heading 9401, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., as parts of seats |
| Items: Canopies for child safety seats made of a woven blend of 50% polyester and 50% cotton fabric. |
| Reason: Child safety seats are precluded from subheading 9401.20.00, due to the 2007 change in the HTSUS. Additional U.S. Note to chapter 94 is triggered when classifying parts of child safety seats under GRI 6 because the note specifically directs that child safety seats do not constitute seats for motor vehicles. Applying the rationale behind AUSN 1’s exclusion of child safety seats from the provision for “seats of a kind used for motor vehicles” in subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS, we find that this note can be specifically referenced when classifying parts of child safety seats as other than “seats of kind used for motor vehicles.” While 9401.99.10 is a use provision, CBP is restricted from conducting a use analysis because CBP is bound by the holding in Bauerhin. Analyzing whether parts of child safety seats constitute parts of seats for motor vehicles, in contradiction of the Bauerhin holding, would effectively result in unlawful encroachment of judicial power. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 24, 2023 |
H311569: Instruments of International Traffic; 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a); 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(a)(1); HTSUS subheading 9803.00.50; World Courier; Plastic Shipping Containers.
| Ruling: The subject plastic shipping containers are instruments of international traffic within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(a)(1). |
| Issue: whether the subject plastic shipping containers are instruments of international traffic (IITs) |
| Items: Rectangular plastic containers that are used to ship automotive parts and accessories between the U.S. and Mexico. Grupo ABC de Mexico owns 2,260 of the subject plastic containers, but not all are in use at any one time. Instead, three truckloads, with 66 of the subject containers fitting in a 53-foot trailer, are used per day. These containers are used for 380 shipments per year, and because these are round-trip shipments, the containers will be reused 380 times a year. The lifespan of these containers is three years. The containers are manufactured in the U.S. The automotive parts that Grupo ABC de Mexico manufactures are made in Mexico. |
| Reason: The subject containers are substantial in that they have a life expectancy of three years. They are used in significant numbers in international traffic in that there are 198 of them currently in circulation and they are used in approximately 380 shipments a year. The concept of reuse is contemplated for commercial shipping or transportation purposes, and not incidental or fugitive uses. |
| Ruling Date: June 24, 2020 |