The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 6 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):
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is a reference manual that provides duty rates for almost every item that exists. It is a system of classifying and taxing all goods imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is a global standard for naming and describing trade products, and consists of a hierarchical structure that assigns a specific code and rate to each type of merchandise for duty, quota, and statistical purposes. The HTS was made effective on January 1, 1989, replacing the former Tariff Schedules of the United States. It is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission, but the Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
There is no statutory basis for the U.S. to counterclaim seeking reclassification of an importer’s products under a Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading with a higher rate than the one under which CBP liquidated them, that importer argued in an April 30 motion for judgment in a case that began in 2013 (see 2403140067) (BASF Corp. v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 13-00318).
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 1-2 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):
Importer Nutricia North America told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that classifying its substances used to "treat life-threatening diseases in young children" as food preparations "not elsewhere specified" as opposed to "medicaments" or items "for the use or benefit" of handicapped people would lead to the "parents of very ill children" paying higher prices for these substances. In its opening brief on April 30, Nutricia said that this isn't the result Congress intended and that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule "can and should be interpreted to avoid that result" (Nutricia North America v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1436).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 29 issued its mandate in a case on the tariff classification of importer RKW Klerks' net wrap products, used in a machine to bale harvested crops. In March, the court said the products are not "parts" of harvesting machinery but in fact are "warp knit fabric," dutiable at 10% under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6005.39.00 (see 2403070047). The court clarified that when an item is "consumable," such as "bullets in a gun, staples in a stapler, or film in a camera," it's not meant solely for use within the machine just because it's used exclusively by the machine. Here, the net wrap is similarly "never a part of the baling machine" since the output product is the net wrap packaged around a hay bale (RKW Klerks v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1210).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Importer Netgear filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade on April 26 seeking reliquidation of re-imported LTE routers under duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9802.00.50. The company is seeking refunds of any overpayments of Merchandise Processing Fees and Harbor Maintenance Fees, along with a refund of Section 301 duties (Netgear v. United States, CIT # 22-00129).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Importer MKI Enterprise Group, doing business as Winbo USA, filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade on April 22 to contest CBP's denial of a Section 301 exclusion for its entries of "steel side protective attachments for motor vehicles, specifically side bars, fern bars, and bars" from China (MKI Enterprise Group v. United States, CIT # 22-00131).
Importer Saramax dismissed three customs cases it brought in 2000, 2003 and 2004 to contest the classification of its women's upper body garments. The company sought classification under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6212.90.00, dutiable at 6.8%, while CBP classified the goods under HTS subheading 6109.10.00, dutiable at 18.8% (Saramax v. United States, CIT # 00-00539, 03-00897, 04-00395).