H304427

H304427 January 7, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H304427 MFT CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8704.31.01 Mr. William Sanford, CEO Metro Motors Corp. 2595 N. Orange Blossom Trail Kissimmee, FL 34744 RE: Revocation of HQ 965246 and HQ 964598; Tariff classification of certain vehicles for the transportation of goods Dear Mr. Sanford: On November 6, 2001, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued to you Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 965246. In that ruling, CBP classified the subject vehicles, marketed under the name “Micro Truk,” as “works trucks” of heading 8709 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). HQ 965246 revoked New York Ruling Letter (NY) F82672, dated February 11, 2000, which had classified the “Micro Truks,” Models 1010 and 1020, as “motor vehicles for the transport of goods” under heading 8704, HTSUS. In addition, CBP issued to you HQ 964598, dated November 13, 2001, in which CBP again classified the “Micro Truks” as “works trucks” under heading 8709, HTSUS. Upon reconsideration, we find the classification of the subject merchandise in the previously identified HQ rulings to be in error and hereby revoke those rulings. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. No. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed action was published on September 3, 2025, in Volume 59, Number 36, of the Customs Bulletin. No comments were received in response to this notice. FACTS: HQ 965246 describes the “Micro Truk” models as follows: The Micro Truck [sic] was described in the cited ruling [i.e., New York Ruling Letter (NY) F82672, dated February 11, 2000] as having a cab for two people and a rear cargo bed with fold down sides and tailgate. It is available as a 130-inch Standard Bed, model 1010, or a 145-inch Long Bed, model 1020. The vehicle is powered by a 38 hp, gasoline powered spark ignition internal combustion engine, and has a 3-speed manual transmission and 4-wheel hydraulic brakes. Design features include front bumper, headlights, taillights, brake lights and turn signals, and four-way flashers. The Micro Truk is equipped with two-speed intermittent wipers with washer, heater/defroster, inside/outside rearview mirrors, seat belts and dome light. The Micro Truk is capable of a 25[-]mph maximum speed and is not advertised for use on the public roads. The vehicle is advertised for use in landscaping, facility maintenance, security, i.e., police [/] fire protection, food service delivery, and in athletic applications such as removing injured players from the field and moving around equipment and personnel. HQ 964598 describes the “Micro Truk” models in similar terms as follows: The vehicle at issue is one of the Metro Motors Micro series of vehicles, the Micro Truk, models 1010 and 1020. It has a cab for two people and a rear cargo bed with fold down sides and tailgate. The model 1010 is available as a 130-inch Standard Bed, while the model 1020 is the 145-inch Long Bed. The vehicle is powered by a 38 hp, gasoline powered spark ignition internal combustion engine, and has a 3-speed manual transmission and 4-wheel hydraulic brakes. Design features include 12-inch tires, front bumper but no rear bumper, headlights, taillights, brake lights and turn signals, and four-way flashers. The Micro Truk is equipped with two-speed intermittent wipers with washer, heater/defroster, inside/outside rearview mirrors, seat belts and dome light. The Micro Truk is capable of a 25[-]mph maximum speed and is not advertised for use on the public roads. Marketing literature depicts the use of this vehicle in landscaping, facility maintenance, security, i.e., police [/] fire protection, food service delivery, and in athletic applications such as removing injured players from the field and moving around equipment and personnel. We do not dispute the description of the vehicles described in the aforementioned rulings. Rather, we now reconsider whether they are classifiable as “works trucks” of heading 8709, HTSUS, based upon these descriptions. 2 ISSUE: Whether the subject vehicles are classified as “[m]otor vehicles for the transport of goods” under heading 8704, HTSUS, or as “works trucks” of heading 8709, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods will be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 will then be applied in order. The HTSUS headings under consideration are as follows: 8704 Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: * * * * * 8709 Works trucks, self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment, of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short distance transport of goods; tractors of the type used on railway station platforms; parts of the foregoing vehicles: The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings.1 EN 87.04 states the following, in pertinent part: The following features are indicative of the design characteristics generally applicable to the vehicles which fall in this heading: (a) Presence of bench-type seats without safety equipment (e.g., safety seat belts or anchor points and fittings for installing safety seat belts) or passenger amenities in the rear area behind the area for the driver and front passengers. Such seats are normally fold-away or collapsible to allow full use of the rear floor (van- type vehicles) or a separate platform (pick-up vehicles) for the transport of goods; (b) Presence of a separate cabin for the driver and passengers and a separate open platform with side panels and a drop-down tailgate (pick-up vehicles); (c) Absence of rear windows along the two side panels; presence of sliding, swing- out or lift-up door or doors, without windows, on the side panels or in the rear for loading and unloading goods (van-type vehicles); 1 See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35127–28 (Aug. 23, 1989). 3 (d) Presence of a permanent panel or barrier between the area for the driver and front passengers and the rear area; (e) Absence of comfort features and interior finish and fittings in the cargo bed area which are associated with the passenger areas of vehicles (e.g., floor carpeting, ventilation, interior lighting, ashtrays). EN 87.09 states the following, in pertinent part: This heading covers a group of self-propelled vehicles of the types used only in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for the short distance transport of various loads (goods or containers) or, on railway station platforms, to haul small trailers [emphasis added]. Such vehicles are of many types and sizes. They may be driven either by an electric motor with current supplied by accumulators or by an internal combustion piston engine or other engine. The main features common to the vehicles of this heading which generally distinguish them from the vehicles of heading 87.01, 87.03 or 87.04 may be summarised as follows: (1) Their construction and, as a rule, their special design features, make them unsuitable for the transport of passengers or for the transport of goods by road or other public ways. In this regard, they typically lack safety features (e.g., head and tail lamps, turn signal lamps), and the suspension (springs), of a kind required for road 

Classification under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods will be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 will then be applied in order. The HTSUS headings under consideration are as follows: 8704 Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: * * * * * 8709 Works trucks, self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment, of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short distance transport of goods; tractors of the type used on railway station platforms; parts of the foregoing vehicles: The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings.1 EN 87.04 states the following, in pertinent part: The following features are indicative of the design characteristics generally applicable to the vehicles which fall in this heading: (a) Presence of bench-type seats without safety equipment (e.g., safety seat belts or anchor points and fittings for installing safety seat belts) or passenger amenities in the rear area behind the area for the driver and front passengers. Such seats are normally fold-away or collapsible to allow full use of the rear floor (van- type vehicles) or a separate platform (pick-up vehicles) for the transport of goods; (b) Presence of a separate cabin for the driver and passengers and a separate open platform with side panels and a drop-down tailgate (pick-up vehicles); (c) Absence of rear wind