N339557

N339557 May 9, 2024 CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:463 CATEGORY: Classification; Country of Origin TARIFF NO.: 9403.60.8081 Lynee McGowan GHY USA Inc. 572 South 5th Street Pembina, ND 58271 RE: The tariff classification, country of origin and AD/CVD reporting of a bathroom vanity Dear Ms. McGowan: This ruling is being issued in reply to your letter dated April 16, 2024, requesting the tariff classification and country of origin of a bathroom vanity on behalf of your client, The Vanity Store. In lieu of samples, illustrative literature, product descriptions and pictures were provided, as were dimensions, values, and component classifications under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). You inquired about the following: 1) Can the cabinet base, countertop, and sink, which will be imported together on one pallet and sold as one bathroom vanity, be classified as 9403.60.8081 with the country of origin of Canada? 2) Is the stainless-steel sink still subject to anti-dumping, A-570-983, and countervailing duty, C-570-984, if it is sold as part of the bathroom vanity? 3) Does the stainless-steel sink need to be listed as a separate line item, with its own classification number and country of origin, because of the anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders? 4) If the sink is listed separately, can the cabinet base and countertop still be listed as one vanity under subheading 9403.60.8081 and with the country of origin as Canada? GENERAL: The 60" Vanity Single Sink (SKU # TEO-011-60S-BLACK) bathroom vanity, subject of this ruling, is comprised of an assembled wood cabinet base, an engineered stone countertop (93% quartz, 7% resin), and one stainless-steel sink. The components are boxed separately to prevent damage during transit but are secured and shipped together on one pallet as one complete bathroom vanity, and they are sold together as one bathroom vanity. In some cases, a wood cabinet base will be imported and sold separately. The countertop and sink are not imported and sold separately. The 60" Vanity Single Sink (SKU # TEO-011-60S-BLACK) is a floor-standing bathroom vanity with one centrally located stainless-steel sink and an engineered stone countertop and backsplash. There are two cabinet doors immediately underneath the sink and two columns of three drawers, one at each end of the vanity. The cabinet base is made of solid wood and stands on four wood legs, one at each corner. You state that the drawn stainless-steel sink is within the scope of antidumping order A-570-983 and countervailing duty order C-570-984. Vanity dimensions and materials, as well as the costs, classification numbers and origins of those materials are as follows: DIMENSIONS: Complete Vanity 60" (L) x 22" (W) x 35-36" (H) Wood Cabinet Base 59" (L) x 21.5" (W) x 34.5" (H) Engineered Stone Countertop 60" (L) x 22" (W) x 1.18" (H) Drawn Stainless-Steel Sink 15.25" (L) x 12.25" (W) x 6.5" (H) COSTS: (Expressed as a Percentage) Wood Cabinet Base 82% Engineered Stone Countertop 17% Stainless-steel Sinks < 1% Drawer Slides, Pulls, etc. < 1% The principal components, their HTSUS numbers and countries of origin are as follows: MATERIAL HTSUS ORIGIN Wood Ch. 44 Canada Engineered Stone Countertop 6810.99.0040 Spain Stainless-Steel Sink 7324.10.0050 China Drawer Slides, Pulls, etc. Various Various PROCESSING OPERATIONS: Cabinet Base: Canadian wood boards used to produce the interior frame, exterior panels, drawer boxes, doors, legs, etc. are cut to size, drilled, glued, sanded, sprayed, and assembled into a finished cabinet in Canada. It is subsequently boxed. Stone Countertop: The engineered stone slab (93% quartz, 7% resin) is manufactured in Spain and imported into Canada. In Canada, the slab is cut to the required size, holes are cut for the sink, holes are drilled for the faucet, and the edges are smoothed and polished. It is subsequently boxed. Drawn Stainless-Steel Sink: The drawn stainless-steel sink is manufactured in China and imported into Canada. It undergoes no processing operations in Canada, and it remains boxed. The finished cabinet base is then palletized with the finished stone countertop and finished stainless-steel sink in Canada and subsequently shipped. The cabinet base, countertop and sink will be assembled to create a complete bathroom vanity in the U.S. VANITY CLASSIFICATION: You inquired whether the three components that comprise the vanity (cabinet base, countertop, and sink) can be classified as 9403.60.8081 when imported together on one pallet and sold as one bathroom vanity. Classification under the HTSUS is made 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. Since the subject article is imported unassembled, GRI 2(a) of the HTSUS applies. Under GRI 2(a) of the HTSUS, “Any reference to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as presented, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or failing to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule) entered unassembled or disassembled.” The subject article is a complete unassembled vanity and will thus, by virtue of GRI 2(a), be classified as a complete and assembled vanity. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and coding System, which constitutes the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. The ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS state, in relevant part, that the term “furniture” means: “(A): Any “movable” articles (not included under other more specific headings of the Nomenclature), which have the essential characteristic that they are constructed for placing on the floor or ground, and which are used, mainly with a utilitarian purpose, to equip private dwellings, hotels…. Similar articles (seats, chairs, etc.) for use in gardens, squares, promenades, etc., are included in this category.” The subject vanity meets this definition of furniture and therefore will be classified as furniture in heading 9403. Since the article is composed of different materials (wood, engineered stone, stainless-steel, etc.), it is considered a composite good for tariff purposes. The ENs to the HTSUS, GRI 3(b) (VIII), state that “the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight, or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.” When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good. With respect to the vanity, the cabinet base is significantly larger and more expensive than either the countertop or the sink. Additionally, barring significant evidence to the contrary, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has historically found that the cabinet base imparts the essential character to a bathroom vanity (see NYRLs N337700, N321371, N072162, N025049, and N024951). The essential character of the complete unassembled vanity is imparted by the wood cabinet base. The applicable classification for the subject article, 60" Vani

when determining the country of origin for purposes of applying antidumping and countervailing duties. The courts have held that a substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing.  United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267, C.A.D. 98 (1940); National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F. 2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982).However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), aff’d, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (Uniroyal). Substantial transformation determinations are based on the totality of the evidence. See Headquarters Ruling (HQ) W968434, date January 17, 2007, citing Ferrostaal Metals Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 470, 478, 664 F. Supp. 535, 541 (1987).Since the Chinese stainless-steel sink is merely packaged with the cabinet base and countertop, it does not undergo a substantial transformation and retains its identity as a Chinese sink and thus remains subject to A-570-983 and countervailing duty C-570-984.Two or more entry lines are required on the entry summary to report AD/CVD when a shipment contains multiple goods covered by a single HTSUS number and only a portion of those goods are subject to AD/CVD.  In this instance, the Chinese stainless-steel sink should be reported on one entry summary line, and the rest of the vanity should be reported on another.  (See CSMS 18-000379.)Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Enforcement and Compliance office in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce and are separate from ta