H317748

 HQ H317748 September 26, 2021 OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H317748 AJK CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9403.20.0035 Mr. Leslie Alan Glick Butzel Long Attorneys and Counselors 1909 K Street N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20006 RE: Request for Reconsideration of NY N317139; Classification of Communicating Adjustable Bed Base Dear Mr. Glick: This letter is in response to your reconsideration request, dated March 29, 2021, on behalf of your client, Ascion, LLC, doing business as Reverie, in which you request reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N317139, dated February 23, 2021, concerning the classification of the communicating adjustable bed base under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). We have reviewed NY N317139, together with the information in your request for reconsideration, and have found the ruling to be correct for the reasons set forth below with respect to the classification of the subject merchandise. FACTS: The subject merchandise is described in NY N317139 as follows: The subject of this ruling request is the Reverie Adjustable Bed, model number R350, herein “adjustable bed,” a series of adjustable bed bases each designed to accommodate a [sic] mattresses of one of the following sizes: Twin (39" x 75"), Twin-XL (39” x 80”), Full (54” x 75”), Queen (60” x 80”), King (76” x 80”) and California King (72” x 84”). The Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled adjustable bed has a regulable metal sub-frame with vibration motors. The textile-covered steel or wood platform is comprised of four articulated sections corresponding to a person’s upper torso, hips, thighs, and calves/feet. Ports mounted on the frame allow for the connection and control of accessories that may include a heating pad, audio-vibration feedback, a cooling fan, a temperature sensor, etc. In its imported condition, the adjustable bed is disassembled and it does not include either a mattress or the aforementioned accessories. ISSUE: Whether the communicating adjustable bed base is classified in heading 8517, HTSUS, as a machine for conversion of data, or heading 9403, HTSUS, as other metal furniture. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification of goods under HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), and, in the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation (ARI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall 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 may then be applied in order. ARI 1(a), which applies to principal use provisions, provides as follows: In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires-- a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use; …. * * * * * * The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows: 8517 Telephone sets, including telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528; parts thereof: Other apparatus for transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network): 8517.62 .00 Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus 9403 Other furniture and parts thereof: 9403.20.00 Other metal furniture Household: Other: 9403.20.0035 Mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base, not foldable, having the characteristics of a bed or bed frame, of a width exceeding 91.44 cm, of a length exceeding 184.15 cm, and of a depth exceeding 8.89 cm * * * * * * Note 2 to Chapter 94, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part: 2. The articles (other than parts) referred to in headings 9401 to 9403 are to be classified in those headings only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground. * * * * * * The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the HS. While not legally binding or dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HS at the international level, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (Aug. 23, 1989). EN 94.03 provides, in pertinent part, as follows: The heading includes furnitures for: Private dwellings, hotels, etc., such as: … beds (including wardrobe beds, camp-beds, folding beds, cots, etc.) …. * * * * * * In NY N317139, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified, by application of GRI 1, the subject communicating adjustable bed base in heading 9403, HTSUS, as metal furniture, because it found that the physical characteristics of the merchandise were of a mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base. In your reconsideration request, however, you contend that CBP’s classification was incorrect and that the merchandise should be classified in heading 8517, HTSUS, as machines for conversion of data. In your reconsideration request, you assert that the subject communicating adjustable bed base is properly classified in subheading 8517.62.0090, HTSUS, as machines for conversion of data, because the plurality patent for the merchandise is registered in the class of “data processing” under the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) patent classification system. In determining the correct classification of the merchandise, you contend that CBP should consider and recognize the expertise of USPTO. As held in Inabata Specialty Chemicals v. United States, however, CBP is not bound by the classification of other federal government agencies, including USPTO. 29 C.I.T. 419, 424 (2005) (“Definitions and classifications of other agencies do not control tariff classifications.”). Thus, the evidence of USPTO’s patent classification does not affect CBP’s tariff classification of the subject merchandise. Heading 8517, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for other apparatus for transmission of data, is a principal use provision subject to ARI 1(a). See Logitech, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-00017, 2021 WL 3739177 at *9 (Ct. Int’l Trade Aug. 24, 2021). To classify an article under a principal provision, ARI 1(a) requires that the classification is controlled by the principal use of “goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong”. In United States v. Carborundum Co., the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals held that to determine whether an article is included in a particular class or kind of merchandise, the court must consider a variety of factors, including: (1) the general physical characteristics of the merchandise; (2) the channels, class or kind of trade in which the merchandise moves (i.e., where the merchandise is sold); (3) the expectation of the ultimate purchasers; (4) the environment of the sale (i.e., accompanying accessories and marketing); (5) usage, if any, in the same manner as merchandise which defines the class; (6) the economic practicality of so using the import; and (7) the recognition in the trade of this use. 536 F.2d 373, 377 (C.C.P.A. 1976). While these factors were developed under the Tariff Schedule of the United States (predecessor to the HTSUS), the courts have also applied them under the HTSUS. See e.g., Minnetonka Brands v. United States, 24 C.I.T. 

Classification of goods under HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), and, in the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation (ARI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall 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 may then be applied in order. ARI 1(a), which applies to principal use provisions, provides as follows:In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires--a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use; ….* * * * * *The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:8517 Telephone sets, including telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528; parts thereof: Other apparatus for transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network):8517.62 .00 Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus9403 Other furniture and parts thereof: 9403.20.00 Other metal furniture Household: Other:9403.20.0035 Mechanically adjustable bed or mattress base, not foldable, having the charac