Sept. 3 CBP Bulletin Proposes to Revoke Rulings on Vehicles for the Transport of Goods
In the Sept. 3 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 36), CBP published proposals to modify and revoke ruling letters concerning the tariff classifications of certain vehicles for the transport of goods.
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Comments on Proposals Due Oct. 3
CBP said consideration will be given to any written comments received by Oct. 3 before taking these actions. In addition, any party that has received a ruling or decision on the merchandise that is subject to the proposed revocations or modifications, or any party involved with a substantially identical transaction, should advise CBP by the date that written comments on the proposed ruling are due. (An importer's failure to advise CBP of such rulings, decisions or substantially identical transactions may raise issues of reasonable care on the part of the importer or its agents for importations after the effective date of the final decision in this notice.)
Proposals
CBP is proposing to revoke or modify the rulings below, and any rulings on these products that may exist but have not been specifically identified. CBP also is proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
Vehicles for the Transport of Goods
| Items: HQ 965246: Micro Truck, which consists of a cab for two people and a rear cargo bed with fold-down sides and tailgate; HQ 964598: Micro Truk models 1010 and 1020. They have a cab for two people and a rear cargo bed with fold-down sides and tailgate. These vehicles have been advertised for use in landscaping, facility maintenance, security, i.e., police fire protection, food service delivery, and in athletic applications such as removing injured players from the field and moving around equipment and personnel. |
| Current: Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8709, which provides for “Works trucks, self-propelled, not fitted with lifting or handling equipment, of the type used in factories, warehouses, dock areas or airports for short distance transport of goods; tractors of the type used on railway station platforms; parts of the foregoing vehicles.” |
| Proposed: Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8704, specifically in subheading 8704.31.01, which provides for “Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: Other, with spark-ignition internal combustion piston engine: G.V.W. [gross vehicle weight] not exceeding 5 metric tons.” |
| Reason: Examining the Explanatory Notes amply shows that the “Micro Truks” incorporate design features that result in their falling outside the scope of heading 8709. The “Micro Truks” feature a closed driver and passenger cab for two people, as well as a front bumper, headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals, and four-way flashers, all of which indicate that the vehicles are intended to transport goods on public ways, in contrast to the environments in which works trucks of heading 8709 operate. Also, the letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was an inappropriate consideration and should not have influenced CBP’s classification of the “Micro Truk.” |
| Proposed for revocation: HQ 965246, dated Nov. 6, 2001; and HQ 964598, dated Nov. 13, 2001 |
| Proposed new ruling: HQ H304427 |