H343160

HQ H343160 December 10, 2024 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H343160 PF CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8504.40.9550 Kenneth R. Paley Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C. 75 Broad Street New York, NY 10004 Re: Modification of HQ H337821 Dear Mr. Paley: This is in response your November 4, 2024, request for reconsideration of Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) H337821, dated October 17, 2024. HQ H337821 was issued in response to a ruling request, filed on behalf of your client, SDI Technologies, Inc., regarding the tariff classification of the “iHome Artificial Plant,” Model No. iPP45 (iPP45) under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Based on the clarifications provided in the reconsideration request and a meeting held with counsel on December 5, 2024, we are modifying HQ H337821 with respect to the facts discussed in the ruling. We have considered the arguments provided by counsel in the reconsideration request and in the meeting held with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials and have determined HQ H337821 to be correct. We are accordingly affirming the tariff classification of the “iHome Artificial Plant,” Model Number iPP45 (iPP45) in HQ H337821 and modifying the ruling with respect to the facts, law and analysis. FACTS: The article at issue is the “iHome Artificial Plant,” Model Number iPP45 (iPP45). The iPP45 is an artificial succulent plant housed in a cylindrical plastic flowerpot that serves as an electric static converter with two USB-C sockets (20Watts (W) max shared) and one 10 W USB-A socket on its side. An electrical cord extends from the bottom of the flowerpot and includes a universal 30 W power adapter. The iPP45 comes in several styles, with each one composed of plastic that is “assembled over molded wire stuck into a foam base,” according to the importer. The base is permanently attached to the flowerpot. The iPP45 comes with an alternating current (AC) adapter and will be produced in China. You claim that the iPP45 will be primarily “marketed and purchased for interior home or office decoration.” The iPP45 is also marketed as a charging station and is listed in the electronics department on retailer websites. On one retailer website, the iPP45 is described as an “Artificial Plant Charging Station with Multiple USB Charging Ports.” A second retailer website, describes the iPP45 as a “PowerPlant Charging Station, Faux Succulent with USB-C and USB-A Charging Station… [c]harge your iPhone, Android, and other compatible devices.” Images of the subject merchandise are shown below: 

 
 ISSUE: Whether the “iHome Artificial Plant,” Model Number iPP45, as described above, is properly classified under heading 6702, HTSUS, or heading 8504, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provision of law for all purposes. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in their appropriate order. GRI 2(a) relates to incomplete or unfinished goods. GRI 2(b) relates to mixtures and combinations of materials or substances. GRI 3 provides: When, by application of Rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows: The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods. Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character…. When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration. * * * The following 2024 HTSUS headings are under consideration: 6702 Artificial flowers, foliage and fruit and parts thereof; articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit: * * * 8504 Electrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors; parts thereof: * * * In this case, headings 6702 and 8504 refer only to part of the composite good in question. As such, GRI 3(b) controls. 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 Harmonized System and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the heading. The EN to GRI 3(b) provides, in pertinent part: (VII) In all these cases the goods are to be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. (VIII) The factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. Moreover, in Conair Corp. v. United States, 29 C.I.T. 888 (2005), the court considered the classification of a tabletop fountain implicating GRI 3(b). The court held that the essential character of the fountain, which consisted of a plastic housing, water pump, and decorative rocks, was imparted by the pump. The court found that consumers would not buy a tabletop fountain “for the purpose of enjoying the visual aspects of the plastic sculpture.” Rather, it reasoned that any visual or auditory appeal was present only when the pump was running and water was flowing through the fountain. Therefore, the pump was the indispensable item that imparted the essential character. The court thus classified the fountain under heading 8413, HTSUS, which provides for pumps for liquids. It is clear from the listed components and materials provided about the product that the USB charging ports on the flowerpot’s side, in conjunction with the accompanying corded wall adapter, serve to convert AC electricity to direct current (DC) electricity. The consumer utilizes this electricity via the USB sockets. Accordingly, this is a static conversion function. The product’s decorative nature, in the form of an artificial plant, does not change its electrical function. Even though approximately 59 percent of the iPP45’s value and 62 percent of its bulk weight is attributable to the artificial plant component, the electrical charger component is nevertheless housed in the same plastic flowerpot base as the artificial succulent. Thus, the electrical static converter and the artificial plant share much of the overall materials which comprise the product. Instead, the iPP45 is better compared to the tabletop fountain in Conair. The tabletop fountain in that case was a composite good wherein its internal water pump was the component most responsible for the visual and audito

Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provision of law for all purposes. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in their appropriate order. GRI 2(a) relates to incomplete or unfinished goods. GRI 2(b) relates to mixtures and combinations of materials or substances. GRI 3 provides: When, by application of Rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows: The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods. Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character…. When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among th