Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings May 8
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 8 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):
H309901: Request for reconsideration of NY N306427 (10/24/19); classification of 4-post vehicle lifts; affirmed
| Ruling: N306427 is affirmed. The lifts are classified in subheading 9903.88.01 as “Other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery (for example, elevators, escalators, conveyors, teleferics): Other machinery…Other.” |
| Issue: What is the correct classification of four-post vehicle lifts from China? |
| Items: The lifts are drive on, four-post vehicle lifts used in garages or other commercial settings. The lifts are anchored to the floor, have a 14,000 pound lift capacity, and rise to approximately 78 inches to lift vehicles for sustained periods of time. The lifts operate with a single actuating hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic force is applied to a synchronizing pull bar that has four cables that are attached to the end of the hydraulic cylinder within the platform. Each cable runs through a pulley system to the top of a post. When the cylinder is activated, each corner of the lift is raised at the same time. Each post has its own cable and pulley. |
| Reason: The importer suggested that the vehicle lifts are commonly and commercially known as “jacks,” and therefore classified in heading 8525 as “[P]ulley tackle and hoists other than skip joists; winches and capstans; jacks” or under heading 8528 as “hoists.” The common commercial identify of jacks is distinct from that of vehicle lifts. EN to heading 8425 describes “jacks” as “designed to raise heavy loads through short distances.” As the subject vehicle lifts are capable of raising heavy loads to elevations of approximately 78 inches, they are not designed to lift through “short distances” in the manner of jacks. |
| Ruling Date: March 30, 2021 |