HQ 082090: Prefabricated grain storage units

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                                       HQ 082090

                                     June 10, 1988




            CLA-2:CO:R:C:G  082090 JAS

            CATEGORY: Classification

            TARIFF NO.: 7308.90.90

            Mr. James R. Allen
            Research Products Company
            P.O. Box 1460
            Salina, Kansas 67402-1460

            RE:  Prefabricated grain storage units

            Dear Mr. Allen:

                 In your letter of February 19, 1988, you inquire as to
            the tariff classification of prefabricated grain storage units
            from Brazil.  You forwarded more detailed information on
            April 29, 1988.

                 Submitted literature describes the AGRAPORT self-
            supporting warehouse.  It is advertised as a grain storage
            warehouse and as a bulk storage facility which costs less to
            build and operate than conventional flat bulk storage units of
            the same capacity.

                 The AGRAPORT is a quonset-style structure consisting of a
            semicircular arched roof of self-supporting corrugated steel
            panels, joined side by side into rigid arches with a maximum
            width of 121 ft. 3 in.  Large sliding doors provide access.
            The AGRAPORT can rest on a concrete slab (not a part of the
            importation) or on compacted earth with only concrete consoles
            at each end in which anchor plates are set.  It has louvered
            end panels for ventilation, fiberglass panels for illumina-
            tion, and steel beam structures at each end to support the end
            panels.

                 Inloading and outloading are accomplished by overhead and
            underground conveyors.  As probes with thermocouples suspended
            from the ceiling sense hot spots on the floor, the end panels
            are opened or closed either by computer or manually by the
            warehouse operator.  When completed, the AGRAPORT has a grain
            capacity of 10,000-20,000 metric tons (365,000-730,000
            bushels).  You indicate these units will be marketed to U.S.
            grain handlers.












                                         - 2 -

                 Bulk storage facilities such as the AGRAPORT are
            classifiable under the provision for other structures and
            parts of structures, of base metal, in item 653.00, Tariff
            Schedules of the United States (TSUS), dutiable at the rate of
            5.7 percent ad valorem.

                 Item 870.40, TSUS, is a duty-free provision covering
            machinery, equipment, and implements to be used for agricul-
            tural or horticultural purposes.  Structures ordinarily
            classifiable in item 653.00, TSUS, would be eligible for duty-
            free entry under item 870.40, TSUS, provided they are actually
            used by a farmer on a farm, and relate directly to the
            production or preservation of an agricultural product, or as
            shelters for farm animals.

                 Item 870.40 does not apply, for example, to structures
            such as tool shops or vehicle maintenance buildings which may
            be used on the farm but have no direct relationship to the
            production of food or the raising of animals.  Item 870.40
            also does not apply to articles used by a co-op or similar
            non-farm user.

                 Item 870.40, TSUS, would apply to the AGRAPORT bulk
            storage facility only if satisfactory evidence is given that
            it is actually used in the manner indicated.  In the absence
            of such actual use evidence, the AGRAPORT would be classifi-
            able in item 653.00, TSUS.  Copies of our actual use
            regulations are enclosed for your reference.

                 The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
            Annotated (HTSUSA), is scheduled to replace the TSUS as the
            tariff code of the United States.  The HTSUSA provision for
            the AGRAPORT bulk storage facility is 7308.90.90, Structures
            and parts of structures of iron or steel, other.  The HTSUSA
            equivalent of item 870.40, TSUS, is 9817.00.50, Machinery,
            equipment and implements to be used for agricultural or
            horticultural purposes.  The same actual use requirements
            apply.  However, certain administrative errors in the current
            HTSUSA make Subheading 9817.00.50 inapplicable to the
            AGRAPORT.  Customs has brought these errors to the attention
            of the responsible agency and we expect them to be corrected
            before the next HTSUSA supplement is issued in the Fall.




















                                        - 3 -

                 This represents the present position of the Customs
            Service on the classification of this merchandise.  However,
            if there are changes in these provisions prior to enactment of
            the HTSUSA, this advice may not continue to apply.

                                        Sincerely,




                                        John Durant, Director,
                                        Commercial Rulings Division

            Enclosure