Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings on March 21
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 21 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
H329630: Coastwise Transportation; Undersea Cable Laying; 46 U.S.C. § 55102; 46 U.S.C. § 55109; 19 C.F.R. § 4.80b; Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; 43 U.S.C. § 1333.
| Ruling: The proposed cable laying and burial operations do not constitute dredging within the meaning of the Dredging Statute. (2) The proposed cable laying and burial operations do not constitute coastwise trade within the meaning of the Jones Act. (3) The coastwise transportation of such individuals is not in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act. |
| Issues: (1) whether or not the proposed cable laying and burial operations constitute a violation of the Dredging Statute; (2) whether or not the proposed cable lay and burial operations by a non-coastwise-qualified vessel violate the Jones Act; (3) whether or not the proposed transportation of the project installation crew by a non-coastwise qualified vessel violates the Passenger Vessel Services Act. |
| Item: N/A |
| Reason: (1) the cable burial jetting tool will fluidize the seabed without the use of a mechanical plow or cutter. This is a “temporarily lift” of a “narrow ‘slice’” of the seabed that amounts to a “temporary manipulation of the seabed” rather than the creation of a furrow or trench by operation of a share or plow and disc cutting wheel and does not constitute dredging. (2) The direct transportation of the cable between a foreign location and a U.S. point does not constitute coastwise transportation. (3) The members of the subject project installation crew are not “passengers.” |
| Ruling Date: March 9, 2023 |
H316380: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 2704-20-141406; Classification of Torque Beams
| Ruling: The torque beams at issue are classified in Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 7306.69.50 as “Other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seamed or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel: Other, welded, of noncircular cross section: Of other noncircular cross section: Having a wall thickness of less than 4 mm: Of iron or nonalloy steel.” |
| Issue: Whether the torque beams are classified in heading 7306 as other tubes, heading 7308 as metal structures, or heading 8483 as other transmission shafts |
| Items: Welded, cut-to-length octagonally-shaped tubes that are made from either hot-dipped galvanized steel or pregalvanized steel. They have not been drilled, bent or notched. They are imported either with specially-shaped couplers that are welded at each end of the torque beams or with polyethylene end caps, instead of the couplers. The beams are used in a single axis solar panel tracking system that generates power in utility scale power plants. |
| Reason: The subject torque beams are not a part of the solar panel tracking system because they are not necessary for the system to perform its function of generating power from sunlight. The fact that the torque beams are manufactured and designed specifically for use in a solar panel tracking system does not mean that the merchandise is an integral part of the system. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 19, 2023 |
H305462: Revocation of NY N297394; tariff classification of fashion show items from France
| Ruling: The Chanel runway haute couture wearing apparel, headwear, footwear, jewelry and accessories are classified according to their constituent materials. |
| Issue: Whether the Chanel runway haute couture wearing apparel is properly classified in Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9705 as a collectors' piece of historical interest or in the HTS heading that corresponds to the constituent material of each item. |
| Items: Chanel’s “one of a kind haute couture runway items,” which include fashion apparel, accessories, jewelry and footwear. No specific year or semi-annual time frame was mentioned for the runway showcases, nor were styles of identification mentioned for the clothing and accessory items paired together to create specific looks. The runway apparel items are crafted by hand. Some pieces require more than 600 hours to create, and use rare and in many cases one-of-a-kind fabrics and decorative elements. |
| Reason: While Chanel itself may be considered an iconic fashion house, that alone does not bestow historical significance on all of its haute couture runway merchandise for purposes of classification in HTS heading 9705. Unless a particular piece is closely associated with a historically significant event or historically famous person, it does not qualify for classification in heading 9705. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 4, 2023 |