HQ 954094: Protest No. 4110-93-100011; Screws; Bolts; HQ 075964; HQ 951362; HQ 084581; Explanatory Note 73.18; 7318.15.20

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 954094
                         August 24, 1993


CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954094 DWS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7314.10.50; 7318.14.10; 7318.15.40; 7318.15.50;      
             7318.15.60; 7318.15.80

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
55 Erieview Plaza
Cleveland, OH 441114

RE: Protest No. 4110-93-100011; Screws; Bolts; HQ 075964;
    HQ 951362; HQ 084581; Explanatory Note 73.18; 7318.15.20

Dear District Director:

     The following is our decision regarding the request for
further review of Protest No. 4110-93-100011 concerning your action
in classifying and assessing duty on fasteners under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

     The merchandise consists of fasteners for use in motor
vehicles.  Specifically, based upon the information provided to us,
the merchandise is comprised of screws with shanks or threads of
a diameter of both less than and more than 6mm, machine screws
which are 9.5mm or more in length and 3.2mm in diameter, studs,
self tapping screws with shanks or threads of a diameter of both
less than and more than 6mm.  The importer has not furnished any
samples, drawings, or descriptive information concerning the
fasteners.

     The fasteners were entered under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS,
as bolts.  The entries were liquidated on December 4, 1992, and
December 11, 1992.  Entries regarding the screws with shanks or
threads of a diameter of less than 6mm were liquidated under
subheading 7318.15.60, HTSUS, as other screws having shanks or
threads with a diameter of less than 6mm.  Entries regarding the
screws with shanks or threads of a diameter of more than 6mm were
liquidated under subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, as other screws
having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm or more.  Entries
regarding the machine screws were liquidated under subheading
7318.15.40, HTSUS, as machine screws.  Entries regarding the studs
were liquidated under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs. 
Entries regarding the self-tapping screws with shanks or threads
of a diameter of less than 6mm were liquidated under subheading
7318.14.10, HTSUS, as self-tapping screws with shanks or threads
of a diameter of less than 6mm.  Entries regarding the self-
tapping screws with shanks or threads of a diameter of more than
6mm were liquidated under subheading 7318.14.50, HTSUS, as self-
tapping screws with shanks or threads of a diameter of 6mm or more. 
The protest was timely filed on March 2, 1993.

     The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

     7318.15.20: [s]crews, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks,
                 rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including
                 spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or 
                 steel: [t]hreaded articles: [o]ther screws and 
                 bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers:
                 [b]olts and bolts and their nuts or washers 
                 entered or exported in the same shipment.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 0.7 percent ad
     valorem.

     7318.15.60: [t]hreaded articles: [o]ther screws and bolts,
                 whether or not with their nuts or washers:      
                  [o]ther: [h]aving shanks or threads with a     
                   diameter of less than 6mm.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 6.2 percent ad
     valorem.

     7318.15.80: [t]hreaded articles: [o]ther screws and bolts,
                 whether or not with their nuts or washers:      
                  [o]ther: [h]aving shanks or threads with a     
                   diameter of 6mm or more.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 9.5 percent ad
     valorem.

     7318.15.40: [m]achine screws 9.5mm or more in length and 
                 3.2mm or more in diameter (not including cap
                 screws).

     The general, column one rate of duty is 1 cent per kilogram
     (kg).

     7318.15.50: [s]tuds.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 4.7 percent ad
     valorem.

      7318.14.10: [s]elf-tapping screws: [h]aving shanks or threads
                 with a diameter of less than 6mm.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 6.2 percent ad
     valorem.

     7318.14.50: [s]elf-tapping screws: [h]aving shanks or threads
                 with a diameter of 6mm or more.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 9.5 percent ad
     valorem.

ISSUE:

     Whether the fasteners are classifiable under subheading
7318.15.20, HTSUS, as bolts, or under the subheadings in the HTSUS
which specifically describe them.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance
with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order.
GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
             
     In HQ 075964, dated January 31, 1986, it was stated that:

     [t]he tariff classification of a threaded fastener is       
      determined primarily by its design characteristics and not 
       necessarily by the chief service application or the trade
name       given by the manufacturer or seller.

     This classification criteria is reinforced by an American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) specification which establishes
a recommended procedure for determining the identity of externally
threaded fasteners.  See HQ 951362, dated June 24, 1992.  ANSI
describes bolts and screws as follows: 

     [a] bolt is an externally threaded fastener designed for    
      insertion through holes in assembled parts, and is normally 
      intended to be tightened or released by torquing a nut. 
 
     A screw is an externally threaded fastener capable of being 
      inserted into holes in assembled parts, of mating with a   
       preformed internal thread or forming its own thread, and of 
      being tightened or released by torquing the head. 
 
      A bolt is designed for assembly with a nut.  A screw has    
      features in its design which makes it capable of being used
in       a tapped or other preformed hole in the work.  Because of
the       basic design, it is possible to use certain types of
screws in       combination with a nut.  Any externally threaded
fastener          which has a majority of the design
characteristics which           assist its proper use in a tapped
or other preformed hole is       a screw, regardless of how it is
used in its service               application. 
 
    ANSI/ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) B 18.2.1 
    (1981). 
 
    ANSI provides four "Primary Criteria" and nine "Supplementary
Criteria" for consideration in distinguishing bolts from screws. 
If the fastener conforms to any of the "Primary Criteria" for
either a bolt or a screw, it is classified accordingly.  If none
of the "Primary Criteria" are met, one must look to the
"Supplementary Criteria".  "The Supplementary Criteria detail the
principal 
features in the design of an externally threaded fastener which
contribute to its proper use as a screw.  A fastener having a
majority of these characteristics shall be identified as a screw."
ANSI/ASME B 18.2.1 (1981). 
 
     In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be
utilized.  The Explanatory Notes, although not dispositive, are to
be used to determine the proper interpretation of the HTSUS.  54
Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

     The protestant cites Explanatory Note 73.18 in support of his
claim that the proper classification for the subject fasteners is
under subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS.  Explanatory Note 73.18 (p.
1028) states that  

     [a] bolt is designed to engage in a nut, whereas screws for 
      metal are more usually screwed into a hole tapped in the   
       material to be fastened and are therefore generally threaded 
     throughout their length whereas bolts usually have part of the 
     shank unthreaded. 
 
     In HQ 084581, dated August 28, 1990, involving the
classification of a shoulder fastener, we relied on the procedure
established by ANSI.  It was stated that: 
 
     [t]he design characteristics which the ANSI considers to    
      determine if a fastener is a screw include the following: the 
     presence of a controlled fillet at the junction of the head 
      with the body, a smooth and flat under head bearing surface, 
     the angularity of the under head bearing surface, a closely 
      controlled body, a straight shank, concentric threads, the 
       length of the threads, a specially prepared point on its
end,       and the length of the fastener. 

     The protestant did not provide any samples, drawings, or
descriptive information concerning the fasteners.  Your office
applied the above ANSI standards to the merchandise and it was
determined that the fasteners are not bolts.  Based upon previous
case precedent concerning this issue, and the fact that the
protestant has failed to identify the fasteners sufficiently so
that they may be compared with fastener industry standards, it is
our position that your office acted correctly in classifying and
assessing duty on the fasteners.  

HOLDING:

     Based upon the information provided to us, the screws with
shanks or threads of a diameter of less than 6mm are classifiable
under subheading 7318.15.60, HTSUS.  The screws with shanks or
threads of a diameter of more than 6mm are classifiable under
subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS.  The machine screws are classifiable
under subheading 7318.15.40, HTSUS.  The studs are classifiable
under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS.  The self-tapping screws with
shanks or threads of a diameter of less than 6mm are classifiable
under subheading 7318.14.10, HTSUS.  The self-tapping screws with
shanks or threads of a diameter of more than 6mm are classifiable
under subheading 7318.14.50, HTSUS. 

     The protest should be denied.  A copy of this decision should
be attached to the Customs Form 19 and provided to the protestant
as part of the notice of action on the protest.

                           Sincerely,


 
                           John Durant, Director