HQ 953713: Protest No. 3004-92-100125; brake lever extensions; parts vs. accessories; 8714.94.15; 9902.87.14; HQ 087704; HQ 088579

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 953713

                         August 11, 1993
                                                               


CLA-2 CO:R:C:M  953713 LTO

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  8714.99.90

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
9901 Pacific Highway
Blaine, Washington 98230

RE:  Protest No. 3004-92-100125; brake lever extensions; parts
     vs. accessories; 8714.94.15; 9902.87.14; HQ 087704; HQ
     088579

Dear District Director:

     The following is our decision regarding the request for
further review of Protest No. 3004-92-100125, which concerns the
classification of brake lever extensions under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).  The subject
merchandise was entered on April 10, 1992, and the entry was
liquidated on August 28, 1992.  The protest was timely filed on
August 31, 1992.

FACTS:

     The articles in question are brake lever extensions for
bicycles.  The protestant contends that the extensions are parts
of bicycle brakes, and that they are essential safety features
for mountain bicycles which are equipped with handlebar
extensions.  Handlebar extensions are attached to the end of
handlebars to place the rider's hands in a better position for
climbing.  Without the extensions, the rider cannot reach the
brake lever while holding onto the handlebar extensions.  The
hand must be moved to the main handlebar for the main brake lever
to be used.

     The brake lever extensions were entered under subheading
8714.94.15, HTSUS, which provides for bicycle caliper and
cantilever brakes.  The entries were liquidated under subheading
8714.99.90, HTSUS, which provides for other bicycle accessories.
                              - 2 -


     The subheadings at issue are as follows:

     8714       Parts and accessories of vehicles of             
                headings 8711 to 8713:
                   Other:
                      Brakes, including coaster braking
                      hubs and hub brakes, and parts 
                      thereof:
     8714.94.15          Caliper and cantilever bicycle
                         brakes  (6% 1/)

     8714.94.60          Other (including parts)  (10% 1/)

     8714.99.90       Other  (10%)

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

   1/9902.87.14 Caliper and cantilever brakes, drum brakes,
                front and rear derailleurs, shift levers,
                cables and casings for derailleurs, coaster
                brakes, two-speed hubs with internal gear-
                changing mechanisms, three-speed hubs,
                whether or not incorporating coaster 
                brakes, click twist grips, trigger and 
                twist grip controls for three-speed hubs, 
                free wheel sprockets, cotterless type crank
                sets, frame lugs, and parts of all the 
                foregoing (provided for in subheading 
                3917.32.00 or heading 7312 or 8714)  (Free)

ISSUE:

     Whether the brake lever extensions are parts or accessories
of the bicycles of heading 8712, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS
govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule.  GRI 1
states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes . . . ."

     Heading 8714, HTSUS, provides for parts and accessories of
vehicles of heading 8711 to 8713, HTSUS.  Bicycles are vehicles
of heading 8712, HTSUS.  The brake lever extensions are covered
by heading 8714, HTSUS, as they are suitable for use solely or
principally with the articles of heading 8712, HTSUS.  Further,
they are not more specifically included elsewhere in the tariff  - 3 -

schedule, nor are they excluded by the terms of note 2 to section
XVII.  See Note 3 to section XVII; General EN to section XVII,
pg. 1410.  However, a question remains as to whether the
extensions are classifiable as bicycle parts or bicycle
accessories.

     In HQ 087704, dated September 27, 1990, this office, with
regard to the classification of "accessories" under the HTSUS,
stated as follows:

     [T]he 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 or
     subordinate 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.

     In HQ 088579, dated May 23, 1991, this office stated that "a
part is generally an article which is an integral, constituent or
compound part, without which the article to which it is joined
could not function."  Originally, for an item to be classified as
a 'part' of an article, that item must have been "something
necessary to the completion of that article . . .[and] an
integral, constituent, or component part, without which the
article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such
article."  United States v. Willoughby Camera Stores, Inc., 21
CCPA 322, 324, T.D. 46, 51 (1933) (emphasis in original), cert.
denied, 292 U.S. 640 (1934); United States v. Antonio Pompeo, 43
CCPA 9,11, C.A.D. 602 (1955).  This rule has been somewhat
modified so that a device may be considered a 'part' of an
article even though the device is not necessary to the operation
of the article, provided that once the device is installed the
article cannot function properly without it.  Clipper Belt Lacer
Co., Inc. v. United States, 14 C.I.T. 146, 738 F.Supp. 528
(1990), aff'd 923 F.2d 835 (1991).   

     While the articles in question contribute to the
effectiveness of a bicycle, they are not an integral component of
a bicycle, nor are they necessary for the safe operation of a
bicycle.  The extensions enable the rider to apply the brakes
while using the handlebar extensions, without relocating his or
her hands.  However, the extensions are not replacement brake
levers.  Rather, they are an optional piece of equipment
installed for the convenience of the rider and used in           - 4 -

conjunction with another optional piece of equipment, the
handlebar extensions.  As such, the brake lever extensions are
classifiable as bicycle accessories, rather than as bicycle
parts.  Because they are bicycle accessories classifiable under
subheading 8714.99.90, HTSUS, subheading 9902.87.14, HTSUS, is
inapplicable.

HOLDING:

     The brake lever extensions are classifiable as bicycle
accessories under subheading 8714.99.90, HTSUS. 

     Accordingly, the protest should be denied.  A copy of this
ruling 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