H338099

 HQ H338099 October 22, 2024 OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H338099 SC CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO: 9504.90.90 Mr. Robert D. Stang Husch Blackwell 1801 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20006 RE: Classification of Certain Shuffleboard Tables Dear Mr. Stang: This is in response to your request, dated March 18, 2024, on behalf of your client, Global Merchants, Inc., for a binding ruling concerning the tariff classification of certain shuffleboard tables under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). You claim classification under subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS, which provides for “[c]hess, checkers, parchisi, backgammon, darts and other games played on boards of a special design, all the foregoing games and parts there of (including their boards); mah-jong and dominoes; any of the foregoing games in combination with each other, or with other games, packaged together as a unit in immediate containers of a type used in retail sales; poker chips and dice.” CBP disagrees with that contention and concludes that the subject shuffleboard tables are properly classified under subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS, which provides for “[v]ideo game consoles and machines, articles for arcade, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, bagatelle, billiards and special tables for casino games; automatic bowling alley equipment; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other: Other.” In making this decision, we considered your arguments presented during a virtual conference on September 3, 2024, and the supplemental information submitted on September 12, 2024. FACTS: The products are designed and marketed for playing shuffleboard, which is a game in which players on opposing teams slide metal pucks lengthwise on the shuffleboard tabletop. Scoring is based on where the puck ultimately lands on the tabletop space (i.e., sections 1, 2 or 3), and whether the puck hangs off or falls off the edge of the table. The shuffleboard tables contain the following components: A two-piece cradle constructed of solid wood that supports the shuffleboard playing surface, and the shuffleboard tabletop. The wooden cradle rests on trestle-style legs and stretcher beam. The wooden cradle is equipped with metal brackets, referred to as climate adjusters. The climate adjusters are mounted to the table underneath the playing surface and are used to apply pressure across the width of the tabletop with a slightly concave shape. This design is to inhibit the pucks that slide along the table from slipping off the tabletop. The shuffleboard tabletop playing surface is made from vertically oriented, solid wood strips, which are edged, glued, planed and printed with scoring markings and covered with a polymer to create a solid, smooth surface that enables the shuffleboard pucks to smoothly glide along the length of the shuffleboard table. The shuffleboard tables are 20” wide and 3” high with varying lengths (approximately 131” to 181”) depending on the table. The shuffleboard tables will be imported with two sets of metal pucks, one red and one blue. The tables are also imported with speed wax, which is applied to the shuffleboard tabletop in order to reduce the pucks’ friction as they slide along the playing surface. ISSUE: Whether the subject shuffleboard tables are classified under subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS, as other games played on boards of a special design; or subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS, as other games. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 the goods cannot be classified solely based on 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. GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, 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, with the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. The 2024 HTSUS subheadings under consideration are the following: 9504 Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any means of payment: 9504.90 Other: Other: 9504.90.60 Chess, checkers, parchisi, backgammon, darts and other games played on boards of a special design, all the foregoing games and parts there of (including their boards); mah-jong and dominoes; any of the foregoing games in combination with each other, or with other games, packaged together as a unit in immediate containers of a type used in retail sales; poker chips and dice 9504.90.90 Other * * * * * The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989). 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. See id. EN 95.04 states, in pertinent part, as follows: This heading includes: *** (3) Tables of the furniture type specially constructed for games (e.g., tables with a draught-board top). *** (5) Table football or similar games. *** (10) Dartboard and darts. *** (12) Boards and pieces (chessmen, draughtsmen, etc.) for games of chess, draughts, dominoes, mah-jong, halma, ludo, snakes and ladders, etc. * * * * * Heading 9504, HTSUS, provides for “[v]ideo game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment.” There is no dispute that the subject merchandise is classified in heading 9504, HTSUS, and in subheading 9504.90, HTSUS, under GRI 1. As such, this analysis moves, per GRI 6, to an examination of the eight-digit subheadings. The issue here is whether the subject shuffleboard table falls under subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS, which provides for “other games played on boards of a special design,” or under subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS, which covers games that are not specifically described in the other subheadings of heading 9504, HTSUS. You assert that the subject shuffleboard tables are correctly classified under subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS. We disagree. You contend that the phrase “played on boards of a special design” supports the classification of the subject shuffleboard tables under subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS. This phrase is not defined in the tariff schedule. The ENs to heading 9504, HTSUS, enumerate the following items as being classified under this heading: “[t]ables of the furniture type specially constructed for games (e.g., tables with a draught-board top),” “[t]able football or similar games,” “[d]artboards and darts,” and “[b]oards and pieces (chessmen, draughtsmen, etc.) for games of chess, draughts, dominoes, mah-jong, halma, ludo, snakes and ladders, etc.” The ENs distinguish between board and table games, along with their various pieces or parts, but do not provide guidance regarding in which specific subheading of heading 9504, HTSUS, such items should be classified. Subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS, is an eo nomine provision, as it provides for specific commodities by name. “Shuffleboard tables” are not listed in subheading 9504.90.60, HTSUS; the subheading only specifically includes chess, checkers, parchisi, backgammon, and darts. The list of specific examples followed by the reference to “other games” sharing the 

Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 the goods cannot be classified solely based on 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.GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, 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, with the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. The 2024 HTSUS subheadings under consideration are the following:9504 Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any means of payment: 9504.90 Other: Other: 9504.90.60 Chess, checkers, parchisi, backgammon, darts and other games played on boards of a special design, all the foregoing games and parts there of (including their boards); mah-jong and dominoes; any of the foregoing games in combination with each other, or with other games, packaged together as a unit in immediate containers of a type used in retail sales; poker chips and dice 9504.90.90 Other* * * * *The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989). 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. See id. EN 95.04 states, in pertinent part, as follows