Untimely Reliquidations Protect 2 Entries of Mirror-Speakers From Reclassification

Vanity mirrors with speaker and a charging port or wireless charging pad are still classifiable in the tariff schedule as mirrors, CBP said in a recent ruling, denying an importer's protest for one entry but granting it for two others on the basis that the underlying entries were untimely reliquidated.

The protest came to CBP headquarters by way of an application for further review by importer SDI Technologies. The three entries were initially liquidated under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8518 as loudspeakers, but in May 2021 CBP reliquidated the protested entries under heading 7009 as glass mirrors.

CBP found that two of the reliquidations were untimely because they occurred 91 days after the original liquidation. CBP noted that untimely reliquidations are "not void, but rather voidable" and to contest the legality of a CBP reliquidation, an importer must timely file a protest, which SDI did here.

As to the larger classification issue and the entry that CBP timely reliquidated, SDI argued that the mirrors should have remained classified in heading 8518 as loudspeakers. But CBP found that the mirror speakers were composite goods, and that the mirrors imparted the essential character.

Speakers "merely" provided entertainment to the user "during personal grooming," CBP said. The agency also said consumers are "unlikely to purchase this article primarily for use as a speaker or a charger" and added that it's "unlikely that the vanity mirror speakers would be transported to different settings solely for the use of the speaker or charger."

SDI's own description of the goods suggested that the speakers serve a subordinate function by allowing users to enjoy music "during personal grooming."

CBP also considered heading 8504 as "electrical transformers" because of the mirrors' charging function, but the agency likewise found that the charging component was ancillary as it "merely offers convenience to users" by providing the ability to charge electronics nearby.