Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings Oct. 27-29
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated between Oct. 27 and Oct. 29 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):
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H319100: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3802-20-104253; Tariff classification and applicability of Section 301 trade remedies to smart speakers and smart displays from China
| Ruling: Google Home Mini, Nest Mini (2nd Gen), and Google Home: 8518.21.00, “Microphones and stands therefor; loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures; headphones and earphones, whether or not combined with a microphone, and sets consisting of a microphone and one or more loudspeakers; audio-frequency electric amplifiers; electric sound amplifier sets; parts thereof: Loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures: Single loudspeakers, mounted in their enclosures.” Google Home Max: 8518.22.00, “Microphones and stands therefor; loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures; headphones and earphones, whether or not combined with a microphone, and sets consisting of a microphone and one or more loudspeakers; audio-frequency electric amplifiers; electric sound amplifier sets; parts thereof: Loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures: Multiple loudspeakers, mounted in the same enclosure.” Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max: 8517.62.00, “Telephone sets, including telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528; parts thereof: Other apparatus for transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network): Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus.” Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, products of China classified under subheading 8517.62.00, 8518.21.00 or 8518.22.00, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 7.5% ad valorem rate of duty. As such, the subject merchandise is properly classified under heading 9903.88.15, in addition to subheadings 8517.62.00, 8518.21.00, or 8518.22.00. |
| Issue: Whether the subject devices are classified under heading 8517, which provides for, in pertinent part, apparatus for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, or under heading 8518, which provides for, in pertinent part, loudspeakers, whether or not mounted in their enclosures; and whether the subject devices are eligible for the Section 301 trade remedy provided for in U.S. Note 20(zz)(8) to Chapter 99, under subheading 9903.88.47. |
| Item: Google's Google Home Mini, Nest Mini (2nd Gen), Google Home, Google Home Max (collectively, smart speakers), Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max (collectively, smart displays). |
| Reason: The smart speakers are composite machines that consist of reception, conversion, and transmission apparatus of heading 8517, as well as an amplifier and loudspeaker of heading 8518. The primary issue in determining their proper classification is whether the smart speakers’ principal function is their reception, conversion, and transmission function or their amplifier and loudspeaker function. Although the Protestant emphasizes that the smart speakers (and smart displays) are capable of receiving audio data and distributing it to wireless speakers that are connected to the user’s ecosystem, CBP notes that the issue is not whether the smart speakers are capable of receiving, converting, and transmitting data, but whether doing so is their principal function. As CBP observed in HQ H281100 (June 27, 2018), where the principal function of a device such as a loudspeaker is not to connect to the source of a signal, but rather to convert such signal into sound, such a device functions as a loudspeaker of heading 8518. The transmission and reception functions employed by the subject smart speaker devices are undertaken to accomplish the principal function of playing sound through the loudspeaker components of the devices. As such, the subject smart speaker devices are classifiable in heading 8518. Moreover, because the smart speakers are classified in heading 8518, they fall outside the scope the Section 301 exclusion provided for in U.S. Note 20(zz)(8). Meanwhile, like the smart speakers, the smart displays are composite machines that consist of reception, conversion, and transmission apparatus of heading 8517, as well as an amplifier and loudspeaker of heading 8518. The primary issue in determining their proper classification is whether the smart displays’ principal function is their reception, conversion, and transmission function or their amplifier and loudspeaker function. The smart displays’ principal function is to receive and transmit data, not to reproduce sound. The smart displays interact with the user, receive, interpret, transmit, and respond to the user’s commands, allowing the user to use audio (voice) to control the operation of various devices and to use internet-based services. Therefore, the principal function of the smart displays is to allow access or connection to a network for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data, not to play sound through the loudspeaker component of the device. |
| Ruling Date: Aug. 26, 2025 |
H349670: Country of Origin of a “Code in Box” Video Game
| Country of Origin: The country of origin for marking purposes of the “code in box” video game is the United States. |
| Issue: What is the country of origin for marking purposes of the “code in box” video game when imported into the United States from Mexico? |
| Item: Ubisoft's Just Dance 2024 Edition, a code in box video game imported from Mexico that consists of retail packaging that contains a paper insert with a scannable code allowing the customer, after purchase, to download the video game onto a Nintendo Switch device. |
| Reason: When determining the essential character of a good under 19 C.F.R. 102.11, 19 C.F.R. 102.18(b)(1) provides that only domestic and foreign materials that are classified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the Section 102.20 specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good shall be taken into consideration. Here, the inserts and coversheet do not undergo the applicable tariff shift. Of the materials that do not undergo the applicable tariff shift requirement, the insert with the printed code provides the good with its essential character. This material plays the most significant role in the ultimate use of the good, which is to provide access to the video game. Accordingly, because the material that imparts the essential character to the good is of U.S. origin, pursuant to Section 102.11(b)(1), the country of origin of the imported good is the United States for marking purposes. |
| Ruling Date: Oct. 15, 2025 |
H348564: Instruments of International Traffic; 19 U.S.C. § 1332(a); § 10.41a(a)(1), AESC Smyrna, LLC; Racks and Reels
| Ruling: The subject racks and reels that have not yet formally entered the United States qualify for treatment as instruments of international trade within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and § 10.41a(a)(1). However, those reels which were previously imported, entered and for which duties were paid should be entered under Subheading 9801.00.20 as “Articles, previously imported.” |
| Issue: Whether the subject reels qualify for consideration as IIT within the meaning of 19U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(a)(1); and whether the subject racks qualify for consideration as IIT within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. § 1322(a) and 19 C.F.R. § 10.41a(a)(1). |
| Item: AESC Smyrna's metal racks and plastic reels designed to transport electrode sheets through international traffic. They are to be returned to China empty for refitting with electrode sheets and eventual reuse. |
| Reason: CBP has previously determined that rigid plastic spools used to ship large quantities of yarn (90 kilograms) met the requirements necessary for designation as IITs. See HQ 113554 (Aug. 31, 1995). Additionally, plastic spools used for the transportation of steel tire cord have been found to constitute as IITs. See HQ 253872 (Aug. 1,2014). More recently, in HQ 347908 (June 25, 2025), CBP determined that transportation units comprised of reel (spool) and a base analogous to the rack at issue here satisfied the requirements for designation as IIT. Additionally, based upon review of the submission and information provided, the subject items are containers that are substantial, suitable for and capable of repeated use, and used in significant numbers in international traffic. |
| Ruling Date: Oct. 22, 2025 |
H348322: Ruling request concerning the tariff classification of printed circuit board assemblies; commercial amusement device accessories
| Ruling: 9504.30.00, “[V]ideo game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment: Other games, operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment, other than automatic bowling alley equipment; parts and accessories thereof.” |
| Issue: What is the proper classification of the subject merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S.? |
| Item: Spinner Systems' printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) for use in commercial amusement devices. |
| Reason: The information provided in the ruling request and available on the Scorbit website and other internet sources describes the subject PCBAs as dedicated in their condition as imported to enhancing the function and utility of video game consoles and machines (primarily pinball machines) by enabling remote score tracking, data analytics, and gaming options. As the subject PCBAs have a direct effect on the capabilities of the video game console and machine into which they are installed (i.e., enabling remote play and display of live scores and leaderboards), they fall within the common and commercial meaning of the term “accessory.” CBP further finds the manner by which the subject PCBAs are designed, marketed and sold to be indicative of their suitability for sole or principal use with video game consoles and machines of heading 9504, specifically subheading 9504.30.00. |
| Ruling Date: Oct. 28, 2025 |