HQ 952942

APRIL 27 1993

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 952942 JAS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 8479.89.90, HTSUS

District Director of Customs

1000 Second Avenue, Suite 2200

Seattle, WA 98104-1049

RE: PRD 3001-92-100622: Motorized Trolley; Motor-Driven Wheels,

Bearings and Bracket Assembly; Mechanism Used With Electric

Chain Hoist in Material Handling, 8428.90.00; Parts of

Handling Machinery, 8428.39.00; Accessory; Machines and

Appliances Having Individual Functions

Dear District Director:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of

Protest No. 3001-92-100622, dated June 23, 1992, filed by counsel

on behalf of Ingersoll-Rand Corp., against your action in

liquidating multiple entries of motorized trolleys from Japan.

The entries under protest were dated December 24, 1991, February

4 and 19, and March 9, 1992, and were liquidated on April 24, May

8 and May 15, 1992. This protest was timely filed on July 23,

1992\.

FACTS:

The article in issue is a mechanical device used with a

hoist to move goods and materials in the horizontal plane. It is

a motor-driven assembly consisting of wheels, bearings and a

bracket. The wheels are designed to run on an I-beam comprising

part of an overhead track. Thus, a load attached to the hoist

can be lifted vertically and then moved horizontally along the

length of the track.

The motorized trolley was entered under the provision for

other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery, in

subheading 8428.90.00, HTSUS. The concerned import specialist

determined that the trolley is not part of the hoist, and that

the two units are separate and distinct articles that function

independently of each other. He further determined that the

hoist can be and often is used without the trolley and that the

trolley merely enhances the ability of the hoist to lift by - 2 -

permitting horizontal movement. The entry was liquidated under

subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUS, as other machines and mechanical

appliances having individual functions, not specified or included

elsewhere in \[chapter 84\].

In submissions dated July 22, 1992, and April 22, 1993,

counsel supports the entered classification on the basis that the

motorized trolley performs a handling function along a vertical

plane; while it does not directly contact the material being

handled, it transports the hoist together with any materials

suspended from the hoist. He claims an alternative

classification as parts of handling machinery on the basis that

the motorized trolley and hoist, together with the chain and hook

and control device, comprise a material handling system, and that

the trolley and hoist are components that perform complimentary

functions of vertical and horizontal movement; that the trolley

is dedicated for use with the hoist based on their respective

load bearing capabilities, and without physical joinder to the

suspended trolley, it could not function as a hoist. Submitted

literature purports to evince commercial recognition of the

trolley and hoist as a single entity. Finally, certain HTS

Explanatory Notes list trolleys for overhead transporters as

being within the scope of heading 8431.

The provisions under consideration are as follows:

8428.90.00 Other lifting, handling, loading or

unloading machinery\...\...\...2 percent

\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*

8431.39.00 Other parts suitable for use solely or

principally with the machinery of

headings 8425 to 8430\...\....2 percent

\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*

8479.89.90 Other machines and mechanical appliances

having individual functions, not specified

or included elsewhere in \[chapter 84\]\.....

3.7 percent

ISSUE:

Whether the motorized trolley is handling machinery of

heading 8428, a part of handling machinery, or a good of heading

8479\.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the - 3 -

General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in part

that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined

according to the terms of the headings and any relative section

or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not

require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.

The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System

Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the Customs Cooperation

Council\'s official interpretation of the Harmonized System.

While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and

therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the

scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus

useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under

the System. Customs believes the notes should always be

consulted. See T.D. 89-80.

Concerning the claim under subheading 8428.90.00, the

provision covers a wide range of machinery for the mechanical

handling of materials and goods. Among these are lifting

machines usually based on pulley, winch or jacking systems, and

that often include large proportions of static structural

steelwork. In its condition as imported, the motorized trolley

in issue is not lifting, loading or unloading machinery, nor does

it \"handle\" materials or goods. In the narrowest and most

literal sense it performs a handling function only when used in

conjunction with a hoist.

Concerning the claim under subheading 8431.39.00, a part of

an article, for tariff purposes, is a thing necessary to the

completion of that article. It is an integral, constituent or

component part, without which the article to which it is joined

could not function as such article. An accessory, on the other

hand, is something that is not essential in itself but adds to

the effectiveness of something else. In each case, the nature,

function, and purpose of an article must be examined in relation

to the article to which it is attached or which it is designed to

serve. In our opinion, the motorized trolley merely augments the

use of the hoist or makes it more versatile, but is not necessary

to its completion or proper functioning. The hoist is fully

capable of operating independently of the trolley, even when the

two are used together. Submitted literature depicts the hook

mounted hoist, the motorized trolley hoist, the plain trolley

hoist and the geared trolley hoist. Clearly, the hoist is

advertised as a separate commercial entity and is often bought

and sold that way. The reference in the ENs to trolleys as goods

of heading 8431 is inconclusive. The notes group trolleys with

crabs, buckets and skips for overhead transporters. Crabs and

skips are mechanized material transporting devices while buckets

are the working members of mechanical shovels and loaders that

hold materials and goods being moved from place to place. By

design and function, the motorized trolley is not analogous to

these articles. In our opinion, the motorized trolley does not - 4 -

qualify as a part; rather, it is an accessory for tariff

purposes.

Heading 8479 covers machinery that is not otherwise excluded

from chapter 84 by a legal note, and is not specified or included

in any other chapter. Machinery of heading 8479 is distinguished

from parts that are classified in accordance with the general

provisions governing parts by the fact that it has individual

functions.

Relevant ENs, at p. 1314, indicate that a mechanical device

which cannot perform its function unless mounted on another

machine or appliance, or is incorporated in a more complex entity

is deemed to have an \"individual function\" for heading 8479

purposes if this function is distinct from that performed by the

machine on which it is to be mounted or in which it is to be

incorporated, and the function does not play an integral and

inseparable part in the operation of such machine or appliance.

The motorized trolley in issue permits a load that has been

lifted vertically to be moved horizontally. Its function,

therefore, is distinct from that of the hoist and it does not

play an integral and inseparable part in the operation of the

hoist. We conclude that the motorized trolley is a good of

heading 8479.

HOLDING:

Under the authority of GRI 1, the motorized trolley is

provided for in heading 8479. It is classifiable in subheading

8479.89.90, HTSUS, as other machines and mechanical appliances

having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere

in \[chapter 84\].

The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision

should be attached to the Customs Form 19, and forwarded to

protestant, through counsel, as part of the notice of action on

the protest.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director