Neco Electrical Products v. United States

14 Ct. Int'l Trade 181
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedMarch 19, 1990
DocketCourt Number 82-01-00077
StatusPublished

This text of 14 Ct. Int'l Trade 181 (Neco Electrical Products v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Neco Electrical Products v. United States, 14 Ct. Int'l Trade 181 (cit 1990).

Opinion

Re, Chief Judge:

The question presented in this case pertains to the proper classification, for customs duty purposes, of merchandise imported from Mexico and described on the customs invoice as “heating pads.” The merchandise entered at the port of Brownsville, Texas.

The merchandise was classified by the Customs Service as “ [t]oasters, waffle irons, skillets, ovens, stoves, coffee makers and other portable electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances,” under item 684.20 of the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS). Consequently, duty was assessed at the rates of 8.1 per centum or 7.7 per centum ad valorem, depending upon the year of entry.

Plaintiff protests this classification and contends that the merchandise is properly classifiable under item 684.50, TSUS, which is now codified at item 684.48, TSUS, the “basket” provision for electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances, dutiable at arate of 5.3 per centum or 5.1 per centum ad valorem, depending upon the year of entry. Alternatively, plaintiff claims that the merchandise is classifiable as “ [electrical articles and electrical parts of articles, not specially provided for,” under item 688.45, TSUS, which is now codified at item 688.42, TSUS, dutiable at a rate of 5.3 per centum or 5.1 per centum ad valorem, depending upon the year of entry.

The pertinent statutory provisions of the tariff schedules are as follows:

Classified under:
Schedule 6, Part 5:
Electric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric soil heating apparatus, and electric space [182]*182heating apparatus; electric hair dryers, hair curlers, and other electric hair dressing appliances; electric flatirons; electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances; electric heating resistors other than those of carbon; all the foregoing and parts thereof:
*******
Item 684.20 Toasters, waffle irons, skillets, ovens, stoves, coffee makers and other portable electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances.8.1% ad val. (1980)
7.7% ad val. (1981) (emphasis added)
Claimed under:
Other:
Item 684.50 Other 5.3% ad val. (1980)
5.1% ad val. (1981)
Alternatively Claimed Under:
Schedule 6, Part 5:
Electrical articles and electrical parts of articles, not specially provided for:
Item 688.45 Other.5.3% ad val. (1980)
5.1% ad val. (1981)

The question presented is whether the imported heating pads have been properly classified as “portable electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances,” under item 684.20, TSUS, as classified by Customs, or whether they are properly classifiable under item 684.50, TSUS, the “basket” provision for portable electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances, as claimed by plaintiff. Alternatively, plaintiff contends that, if the heating pads are not to be classified under the ‘basket’ provision, they are classifiable as “[ejlectrical articles and electrical parts of articles, not specially provided for,” under item 688.45, TSUS.

The parties have stipulated the essential facts, and have submitted the case for decision in lieu of trial.

In order to decide the question presented, the court must consider “whether the government’s classification is correct, both independently and in comparison with the importer’s alternative.” Jarvis Clark Co. v. United States, 733 F.2d 873, 878, reh’g denied, 739 F.2d 628 (Fed. Cir. 1984).

After a careful examination of the merchandise, the stipulated facts and supporting papers, the pertinent tariff provisions and case law, it is the determination of the court that plaintiff has not overcome the presumption of correctness that attaches to the classification by Customs. See 28 U.S.C. § 2639(a)(1) (1982); Jarvis Clark Co., 733 F.2d at 878. Since the court holds that Customs has correctly classified the imported merchandise under item 684.20, TSUS, the classification is sustained and the action dismissed.

[183]*183Background

The imported articles consist of various styles of heating pads. As indicated by the stipulated facts, “[a] heating pad is a portable thermal electric appliance * * Hence, it is clear at the outset that the imported merchandise consists of portable electro-thermic appliances. It is significant that it is stipulated that the heating pads are most frequently used in the household, although the parties acknowledge that they are also used in hospitals and elsewhere.

The heating pads at issue in this case are typically used “under, around or atop a portion of the human anatomy. ” The heating pads are intended “to ease body discomfort caused by muscle strain and to help relieve comparable human physiological disfunctions.”

The heating pads have an appliance cord which connects to an electric outlet, and a control switch which permits the user to select from a number of heat settings. The parties also agree that “[t]he heating pads, while relying on electrical elements to generate heat, also contain thermostats and other comparable mechanisms to insure that heat does not generate to the point that it would burn the user.”

In support of its contention that the Customs Service erroneously classified the heating pads, plaintiff relies on two principal arguments. Primarily, plaintiff contends that paragraphs 339 and 353 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which are the predecessor provisions of the tariff items in issue, indicate that the proper classification of the merchandise should be under item 684.50, TSUS. Secondly, plaintiff maintains that the imported merchandise is not ejusdem generis with the exemplars or articles specifically mentioned in item 684.20, TSUS. See, e.g., Nomura (Am.) Corp. v. United States, 62 Cust. Ct. 524, 529-32, C.D. 3820, 299 F. Supp. 535, 540-42 (1969), aff’d, 58 CCPA 82, C.A.D. 1007, 435 F.2d 1319 (1971).

In support of the classification by Customs, defendant contends that the heating pads are embraced by the designation for “portable electro-thermic kitchen and household appliances,” in item 684.20, TSUS, and that they are within the common meaning of the terms “portable electro-thermic household appliances.” Hence, the defendant submits that plaintiff has “plainly failed to rebut the Government’s presumptively correct determination that the heating pad is correctly classified under item 684.20, TSUS, which expressly provides for portable electro-thermic household appliances.”

Discussion

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14 Ct. Int'l Trade 181, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/neco-electrical-products-v-united-states-cit-1990.