HQ 957719

July 26, 1995

CLA-2 R:C:M 957719 RFA

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 8473.30.50

District Director

U.S. Customs Service

33 New Montgomery Street

Post Office Box 2450

San Francisco, CA 94126

RE: Protest No. 2809-94-101505; Computer Slot Boards;

Backplanes; Expansion Slots for ADP Units; Accessories of

ADP units; Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs); Electrical

Apparatus for Making Connections to Electrical Circuits;

Legal Note 4 to chapter 85; Headings 8473, 8534, 8536; HQs

953712 and 087704; NYs 877073, 878069, and 880138

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding Protest No. 2809-94-101505,
which concerns the classification of ISA Riser slot

boards under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

(HTSUS).

FACTS:

The subject merchandise is the ISA Riser slot boards, model

PZ250DB (\"Riser slot boards\"), which consists of capacitors,

resistors, and slot boards mounted on a printed circuit board.

The Riser slot boards plug into motherboards of automatic data

processing (ADP) units to provide slots for expansion boards

(memory, fax/modem, game cards, etc.), which are inserted to

upgrade system performance or add capability. According to the

information provided, the capacitors and resistors were produced

by methods other than a printing process or \"film circuit\"

technique.

The merchandise was entered under subheading 8473.30.50,

HTSUS, as parts of ADP units. The entry was liquidated on

August 12, 1994, under subheading 8534.00.00, HTSUS, as printed

circuits. The protest was timely filed on November 10, 1994.

Classification of the merchandise under subheading

8536.69.00, HTSUS, as printed circuit connectors is also under

consideration.

The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

8473.30.50: Parts and accessories . . . suitable for use

solely or principally with machines of

headings 8469 to 8472: \[p\]arts and

accessories of the machines of heading 8471:

\[n\]ot incorporating a cathode ray tube:

\[o\]ther: \[o\]ther. . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision have a general,

column one rate of duty of free.

8534.00.00 Printed circuits . . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision have a general,

column one rate of duty of 5.3 percent ad valorem.

8536.69.00 Electrical apparatus for switching or

protecting electrical circuits, or for making

connections to or in electrical circuits (for

example, switches, relays, fuses, surge

suppressors, plugs, sockets, lamp-holders,

junction boxes), for a voltage not exceeding

1,000 V: \[l\]amp-holders, plugs and sockets:

\[o\]ther. . . .

Goods classifiable under this provision have a general,

column one rate of duty of 5.3 percent ad valorem.

ISSUE:

Whether the Riser slot boards are classifiable as printed

circuits, or as electrical apparatus for making connections to or

in electrical circuits, or as parts and accessories of ADP units,

under the HTSUS?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in

accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI\'s). GRI

1 provides that classification shall be determined according to

the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter

notes.

To classify the merchandise under heading 8534, HTSUS, it

must meet the criteria of Legal Note 4 to chapter 85, HTSUS,

which provides that:

For the purposes of heading 8534 \"printed

circuits\" are circuits obtained by forming on an

insulating base, by any printing process (for example,

embossing, plating-up, etching) or by the \"film

circuit\" technique, conductor elements, contacts or

other printed components (for example, inductances,

resistors, capacitors) alone or interconnected

according to a pre-established pattern, other than

elements which can produce, rectify, modulate or

amplify an electrical signal (for example,

semiconductor elements).

The term \"printed circuits\" does not cover

circuits combined with elements other than those

obtained during the printing process. Printed circuits

may, however, be fitted with non-printed connecting

elements.

Thin- or thick-film circuits comprising passive

and active elements obtained during the same

technological process are to be classified in heading

8542\.

According to the information provided, the capacitors and

resistors attached to the printed circuit were produced by

methods other than a printing process or \"film circuit\"

technique. Based upon this information, we conclude that the

Riser slot board does not meet the definition of a \"printed

circuit\" as described in Legal Note 4 to chapter 85, HTSUS.

Classification of the Riser slot board under heading 8536,

HTSUS, as electrical connectors, was also suggested. We note

that the classification of slot boards and backplanes has been

addressed by Customs on several occasions. \"Backplane\" is

defined as a \"\[p\]rinted circuit board, or device, containing

slots, or sockets, for plugging in boards or cables.\" See The

Computer Glossary, p. 32, by Alan Freedman. Industrial node

chassis comprised of a 6-slot passive backplane or a 12-slot

passive backplane, a power supply, a fan, and a rugged housing

for one or more disk drives have been classified under subheading

8473.30.40, HTSUS, as parts and accessories of the machines of

heading 8471, HTSUS. See HQ 953712 (April 16, 1993); NY 877073

(August 7, 1992). Customs also classified slot board computer

cards incorporating central processing unit (CPU)

microprocessors, as well as an on-board keyboard connectors,

real-time clock/calendars, and battery interfaces under

subheading 8471.91.00, HTSUS, as digital processing units. See NY

877073\.

However, Customs determined that passive backplane boards

without a CPU or other discrete components merely operates as a

connector between other boards inside of an industrial chassis,

allowing signals to travel from one board to another. These

boards were classified under subheading 8537.10.00, HTSUS, which

provides for boards, equipped with two or more apparatus of

headings 8535 or 8536, HTSUS, for the electric control or the

distribution of electricity. See NY 880138 (November 19, 1992).

The Riser slot board consists of a printed circuit,

capacitors and resistors (discrete components), and slots for

expansion boards. According to the above-cited rulings and the

descriptions of headings 8536 and 8537, HTSUS, we believe that

only the slot components, when entered separately, are provided

for under heading 8536, HTSUS. Because the Riser slot boards

contain discrete components, classification under either heading

8536 or 8537, HTSUS, is precluded.

The Riser slot board is designed to upgrade a computer\'s

performance and/or add to its capability. In HQ 087704, dated

September 27, 1990, Customs considered the classification of

\"accessories\" under the HTSUS, and stated as follows:

The term \"accessory\" is not defined in either the

tariff schedule or the Explanatory Notes. An accessory

is generally an article which is not necessary to

enable the goods with which it is used to fulfill their

intended function. An accessory must be identifiable

as being intended solely or principally for use with a

specific article. Accessories are of secondary

importance, not essential in and of themselves. They

must, however, somehow contribute to the effectiveness

of the principal article (e.g., facilitate the use or

handling of the principal article, widen the range of

its uses, or improve its operation).

The Riser slot board meets the definition of an accessory to

an ADP unit, because it is intended solely or principally for use

with a computer and contributes to the effectiveness of the

computer by widening its range of uses (i.e., fax/modem, memory,

game cards, etc.). Based upon the holdings in HQ 953712 and NY

877073, we find that the Riser slot boards are classifiable under

heading 8473, HTSUS, as accessories of ADP units.

HOLDING:

For the foregoing reasons, the Riser slot boards are

classifiable under subheading 8473.30.50, HTSUS, which provides

that: \"Parts and accessories . . . suitable for use solely or

principally with machines of headings 8469 to 8472: \[p\]arts and

accessories of the machines of heading 8471: \[n\]ot incorporating

a cathode ray tube: \[o\]ther: \[o\]ther. . . . \"

The protest should be GRANTED. In accordance with Section

3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4,

1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together

with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office to the

protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter.

Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision

must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. Sixty

days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and

Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs

personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public

via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act

and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Commercial Rulings Division