H356477

H356477 April 9, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H356477 PF CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8476.89.00 Center Director Machinery Center of Excellence and Expertise U.S. Customs and Border Protection 109 Shiloh Dr., Suite 300 Laredo, TX 78045 Attn: Douglas Petitt, Import Specialist Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1703-24-116553; Tariff classification of Vending Machines Dear Center Director: The following is our decision regarding the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest No. 1703-24-116553 timely filed by Longview Intl Technology Solutions, Inc. (Protestant). The Protest pertains to the tariff classification of vending machines under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). This ruling takes into consideration supplemental information filed by counsel on behalf of the protestant, dated March 23, 2026. The subject merchandise was entered between October 6, 2022 and February 15, 2023 and was liquidated between 11/17/2023 and 03/22/2024, under heading 8479, HTSUS, and specifically subheading 8479.89.95, HTSUS, which provides for “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Other.” Protestant alleges that the subject merchandise should be classified under heading 8476, HTSUS, and specifically subheading 8476.89.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Automatic goods-vending machines (for example, postage stamp, cigarette, food or beverage machines), including money-changing machines; parts thereof: Other machines: Other.” 2 FACTS: The subject merchandise are kiosks for storing and dispending COVID-19 kits in various public locations. A consumer initiates a purchase on the subject merchandise via smartphone. A consumer scans a QR code displayed on the subject merchandise or accesses a provided link, selects the desired product(s) through a proprietary software interface and initiates a transaction, and completes payment using a credit or debit card via a payment processor. At importation, the subject merchandise is preconfigured and intended to operate with various payment processors including Stripe, PayPal or Square. Upon successful payment, the subject merchandise immediately dispenses the selected product. ISSUE: Whether the subject merchandise is classifiable in heading 8476, HTSUS, as “Automatic goods-vending machines” or in heading 8479, HTSUS, as “Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions.” LAW AND ANALYSIS: Initially, we note that the matters protested are protestable under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2) as decisions on classification. The protest was timely filed, within 180 days of liquidation of the entries at issue. (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, Pub.L. 108-429, § 2103(2)(B)(ii), (iii) (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3) (2006)). Further Review of Protest No. 1703-24-116592 is properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(a) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of CBP or his designee, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise. Classification under the HTSUS is determined in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be 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 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. The HTSUS provisions under consideration are: 8476 Automatic goods-vending machines (for example, postage stamp, cigarette, food or beverage machines), including money-changing machines; parts thereof: 8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: In addition, in interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally 3 indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). EN 84.76 provides, in part, as follows with respect to the scope of heading 8476, HTSUS: This heading covers the various kinds of machines which supply some kind of merchandise when one or more coins, tokens or a magnetic card are put in a slot (other than those machines covered more specifically by other headings of the Nomenclature or excluded from the Chapter by a Chapter or Section Note). The term “vending” in the context of this heading refers to a “monetary” exchange between the purchaser and the machine in order to acquire a product. This heading does not cover machines which dispense a product but do not have a device to accept payment. * * * The heading covers not only machines in which the distribution is automatic, but also those consisting of a number of compartments from which the merchandise can be withdrawn after the coin has been inserted, the machine incorporating a device for releasing the lock of the appropriate compartment (e.g., by pressing on a corresponding button). * * * The term “vending machine” is not defined in the HTSUS. In the absence of a statutory definition, a tariff term is construed according to its common and commercial meaning, which are presumably identical. Tyco Fire Products v. United States, 841 F.3d 1353, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Dictionaries and other lexicographic authorities may be utilized to determine a term's common meaning. See Mast Indus., Inc. v. United States, 9 C.I.T. 549 (1985), aff’d, 786 F.2d 1144 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Among the sources that are regularly consulted pursuant to this maxim is industry literature, which may inform a term’s commercial meaning. See Rocknell Fastener, Inc. v. United States, 267 F.3d 1354, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (citing ANSI specifications as industry standards indicative of commercial designation); see also Well Luck Co., Inc. v. United States, 208 F. Supp. 3d 1364 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2017); and Specialty Commodities, Inc. v. United States, 190 F. Supp. 3d 1277, 1285-1286 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2016) (both citing industry references in defining tariff terms at issue). “Vending machine” is consistently defined in dictionaries as an apparatus that dispenses merchandise in exchange for coins or another form of payment. See, e.g., Oxford English Dictionary (2026), available at http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/222068 (defining vending machine as a “slot machine from which comestibles or other small goods may be obtained”); Merriam-Webster.com, definition of VENDING MACHINE, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vending%20machine (defining term as “a coin-operated machine for selling merchandise”); Collins English Dictionary, vending machine, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/vending-machine (defining term as “a machine that automatically dispenses consumer goods such as cigarettes, food, or petrol, when money is inserted.”) (last visited February 9, 2026). This definition of vending machine is consistent with characterizations of such in industry literature and EN 84.76. See National 4 Automatic Merchandising Association, Vending 101 (stating that vending involves provision of service at an “unattended point of sale” through the use of monetarily-driven equipment); and EN 84.76 (“’Vending’ in the context of this heading refers to a ‘monetary’ exchange between the purchaser and the machine in order to acquire a product.”); see also Headquarters Ruling (HQ) 962415, dated February 22, 2000 (determining that medication dispenser did not qualify as a vending machine because dispensation did not involve a monetary tran

Initially, we note that the matters protested are protestable under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2) as decisions on classification. The protest was timely filed, within 180 days of liquidation of the entries at issue. (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, Pub.L. 108-429, § 2103(2)(B)(ii), (iii) (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3) (2006)). Further Review of Protest No. 1703-24-116592 is properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(a) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of CBP or his designee, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise. Classification under the HTSUS is determined in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be 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 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. The HTSUS provisions under consideration are: 8476 Automatic goods-vending machines (for example, postage stamp, cigarette, food or beverage machines), including money-changing machines; parts thereof: 8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof: In addition, in interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally 
 3 indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). EN 84.76 provides, in part, as follows with respect to the scope of heading 8476, HTSUS: This heading cov