H333673

HQ H333673 May 14, 2024 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H333673 MFT CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8543.70.98 Center Director, Machinery Center of Excellence and Expertise U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service Port of Chicago 5600 Pearl Street Rosemont, IL 60018 Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3901-23-129760; Classification of a Rain-Light-Solar-Humidity Sensor from China Dear Center Director: The following is our decision on the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest No. 3901-23-129760, which was filed on June 30, 2023, on behalf of Rivian Automotive, LLC. The protest pertains to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of a certain rain-light-solar-humidity sensor from China. FACTS: The subject merchandise is a rain-light-solar-humidity (RLSH) sensor from China. It is a device that mounts behind the windshield of a motor vehicle. The RLSH sensor houses four ancillary sensors which are each designed to detect certain environmental conditions surrounding the vehicle and individually control specific vehicle functions. The first ancillary sensor is a rain sensor for automatic windshield wiper control. The rain sensor uses an infrared emitter and receiver diode to detect rain on a windshield. It further calculates the intensity of the rain and uses an Application Programming Interface (API) to calculate the appropriate wiper speed. A receiver diode on the rain sensor collects light that reflects off the windshield’s exterior. Raindrops accumulating on the windshield can decouple that light beam and reduce the amount of light the receiver diodes collect. An electronic evaluation unit records this decoupling effect as a change in light intensity, and this measurement determines the wiping frequency. The sensitivity of the rain sensor’s windshield wiper activation depends on the sensitivity setting selected by the driver, ambient brightness, dirt and salt on the windshield, the vehicle’s speed, and other conditions. The second and third ancillary sensors are light sensors: one ambient light sensor and one front light sensor. According to the protestant’s submitted specification for the RLSH sensor, the ambient light sensor measures and “records the illuminance around the vehicle in a solid angle as big as possible without emphasizing any direction in particular.” The ambient light sensor only measures light within the visible light spectrum and with a spectral range of photosensitivity of 475 to 650 nanometers. In contrast, the front light sensor measures illuminance from directly in front of the vehicle and in the spectrum of 700 to 1,100 nanometers. This spectrum corresponds to the infrared light spectrum. The front light sensor uses infrared receiver diodes and is primarily designed for detecting when the vehicle enters and exits a tunnel. Together, the light sensors detect the brightness of the surrounding environment and, in response, automatically control the vehicle’s low beams and instrument lighting. The fourth ancillary sensor is a solar sensor that measures solar radiation. Although a vehicle’s interior temperature sensor measures the warmth of the vehicle’s interior, it does not measure the warmth the passengers feel from absorbing the sun’s radiation. To account for this radiation and increase passenger comfort, the solar sensor acts as an additional reference variable for automatically adjusting the vehicle’s air conditioning system. The solar sensor uses an infrared receiver diode and operates within a spectral range of 750 to 1,050 nanometers, which corresponds to the infrared light spectrum. The RLSH sensor can also support an ancillary humidity sensor and heads-up display. The humidity sensor detects the relative humidity and temperature of the windshield, which can provide another reference variable for controlling the vehicle’s air conditioning system. In addition, the specification for the subject merchandise indicates that the automatic wiper control, light control, and air conditioning control systems “are to be regarded exclusively as comfort functions” or driver assistance functions, and that “[t]he highest priority for switching on” the respective functions “belongs to the corresponding operating switch.” The protestant entered the subject merchandise from April 22, 2022, to January 15, 2023, under subheading 8543.70.98, HTSUS, which covers “Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and apparatus: Other: Other.” The protestant also claims that the subject merchandise is excluded from additional Section 301 duties under Note 20(ttt)(ii)(25) to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS. ISSUE: Whether the subject RLSH sensor is described in statistical reporting number 8543.70.9860, HTSUS Annotated (HTSUSA), as an “[a]pparatus using passive infrared detection sensors designed for turning lights on and off.” LAW AND ANALYSIS: A decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable is a protestable matter under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2). The subject protest was timely filed on March 9, 2021, within 180 days of liquidation of the first entry, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3). Further review of Protest No. 3029-21-100294 is properly accorded pursuant to 19 CFR § 174.24(a), as the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with NY N025432. 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. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) may be utilized. The ENs, though not dispositive or legally binding, provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the relative section, chapter, and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires. The HTSUS heading and subheadings under consideration are as follows: 8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: 8543.70 Other machines and apparatus: Other: 8543.70.98 Other: Note 20(ttt)(ii)(25) to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, provides as follows: Apparatus using passive infrared detection sensors designed for turning lights on and off (described in statistical reporting number 8543.70.9960 prior to January 27, 2022; described in statistical reporting number 8543.70.9860 effective January 27, 2022) In NY N025432 (April 15, 2008), we considered the tariff classification of a control unit that mounts to certain automobile windshields. The merchandise at issue in that ruling was described as follows: The article concerned is referred to as a Sensor, Lighting Control unit (Part Number 8634A001). This item is a dual function sensor unit which is to be installed on the windshields of certain Mitsubishi automobiles. This unit incorporates two lighting sensors (a forward light sensor and an ambient light sensor) and a rain sensor which consists of an infrared emitter and receiver. In operation, this sensor module send

A decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable is a protestable matter under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2). The subject protest was timely filed on March 9, 2021, within 180 days of liquidation of the first entry, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3). Further review of Protest No. 3029-21-100294 is properly accorded pursuant to 19 CFR § 174.24(a), as the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with NY N025432. 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. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) may be utilized. The ENs, though not dispositive or legally binding, provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the relative section, chapter, and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires.The HTSUS heading and subheadings under consideration are as follows:8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: 8543.70 Other machines and apparatus: Other: 8543.70.98 Other