H332743

HQ H332743 June 21, 2024 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H332743 SKK CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8525.89.30 Assistant Center Director Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center of Excellence and Expertise U.S. Customs & Border Protection 157 Tradeport Drive, Suite B Atlanta, GA 30354 ATTN: Cody Miller, Import Specialist RE: Request for Internal Advice; Classification of digital security camera; continuous capture still images; motion activated video; flash memory Dear Assistant Center Director: This letter is in response to your request for Internal Advice (IA) made pursuant to § 177.11(b)(2) of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR §177.11(b)(2)), dated November 22, 2022. The IA request was initiated by counsel on behalf of Amazon.com Services, LLC (Amazon) and concerns the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTSUS) of Amazon’s “Ring Video Doorbell” products. FACTS: The subject articles are Amazon “Ring Video Doorbell” (RVD) devices, identified by Amazon Standard Item Numbers (ASINs) B089N2QZTP and B08JNR77QY. The RVD consists of a doorbell, camera, sensors, speaker, and microphone and is described by Amazon as a home security monitoring device. It allows 2-way communication with visitors and captures both still and video images for remote viewing and recordation on external devices (i.e., automatic data processing machines, smartphones, etc.) via the Ring® mobile application (app). It features an analogue/digital converter (ADC) and wireless output mechanism that streams video to the cloud. A user controls the RVD’s functions via the app. The RVD does not incorporate an external SD slot for external memory. The RVD has the following features: “Live View” – when connected to the internet, the user can instruct the camera to capture and stream video images to an external device in real time. “Motion Event” – when connected to the internet, the camera captures video when the motion sensor detects an event. Still images are captured at a rate of 30 frames per second and concatenated into moving images (video) with synchronized audio recording and stored as H.264 video files on the device’s in-built Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) flash memory where it is buffered for transmission to the cloud. The H.264 file format stores images in an Advanced Video Coding (AVC) video compression standard, based on block-oriented, motion-compensated coding. All images are automatically deleted 24 hours after uploading to the cloud. If the camera loses internet connection before video is sent to the cloud, the images remain on the device’s flash memory until internet connection is reestablished. “24/7 Snapshot Capture” technology -- regardless of internet connectivity, still images are captured at a fixed cadence or on user command. The still images comprise individual frames of time-lapse moving images and are integrated into the user’s app-exclusive “Event History Timeline” with the videos taken during motion events and live view. The still images may be externally viewed as a thumbnail still image on the user’s app. Still frame images are uploaded to the cloud where they are stored for 7 days and then automatically deleted (this does not affect “Motion Event” or “Live View” videos which remain on the cloud). Still images are temporarily stored on the device’s EEPROM flash memory and automatically deleted when memory reaches capacity (130 images, with the oldest images being overwritten by newer images) or within 24 hours of the images being uploaded to the cloud. ISSUE: What is the proper classification of the subject camera under the HTSUS? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If 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 may then be applied in order. Under GRI 6, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading is determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5. The 2024 HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows: 8525 Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: * * * * * Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: * * * * * 8525.89 Other: Television cameras: * * * 8525.89.30 Other… 8528.89.40 Digital still image video cameras… Legal Note 3 to Section XVI (Chapters 84 - 85) provides: 3. Unless the context otherwise requires, composite machines consisting of two or more machines fitted together to form a whole and other machines designed for the purpose of performing two or more complementary or alternative functions are to be classified as if consisting only of that component or as being that machine which performs the principal function. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System 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 the headings. It is CBP’s practice to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The EN to heading 85.25 provides, in pertinent part: (B) TELEVISION CAMERAS, DIGITAL CAMERAS AND VIDEO CAMERA RECORDERS This group covers cameras that capture images and convert them into an electronic signal that is: (1) transmitted as a video image to a location outside the camera for viewing or remote recording (i.e., television cameras); or (2) recorded in the camera as a still image or as a motion picture (i.e., digital cameras and video camera recorders). * * * * * Television cameras may or may not have an incorporated device for remote control of lens and diaphragm as well as for remote control of the horizontal and vertical movement of the camera (e.g., television cameras for television studios or for reporting, those used for industrial or scientific purposes, in closed circuit television (surveillance) or for supervising traffic). These cameras do not have any inbuilt capability of recording images. Some of these cameras may also be used with automatic data processing machines (e.g., webcams). * * * * * In digital cameras and video camera recorders, images are recorded onto an internal storage device or onto media (e.g., magnetic tape, optical media, semiconductor media or other media of heading 85.23). They may include an analogue/digital converter (ADC) and an output terminal which provides the means to send images to units of automatic data processing machines, printers, televisions or other viewing machines. Some digital cameras and video camera recorders include input terminals so that they can internally record analogue or digital image files from such external machines. Generally, the cameras of this group are equipped with an optical viewfinder or a liquid crystal display (LCD), or both. Many cameras equipped with an LCD can employ the display both as a viewfinder when capturing images and as a screen for displaying images received from other sources or for reproducing images already recorded…. The subject camera is a composite machine, consisting of a doorbell, camera, sensors, speaker, and microphone. There is no dispute that the camera component performs the principal function, with the other components serving a subsidiary function to the camera. Accordingly, pursuant to Section XVI Note 3

Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If 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 may then be applied in order. Under GRI 6, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading is determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5.The 2024 HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:8525 Transmission apparatus for radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders: * * * * * Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders:* * * * *8525.89 Other: Television cameras:   * * *8525.89.30 Other…8528.89.40 Digital still image video cameras…Legal Note 3 to Section XVI (Chapters 84 - 85) provides: 3.  Unless the context otherwise requires, composite machines consisting of two or more machines fitted together to form a whole and other machines designed for the purpose of performing two or more complementary or alternative functions are to be classified as if consisting only of that component or as being that machine which performs the principal function.The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System 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 the headings. It is CBP’s practice to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D