HQ 955337: Protest No. 0901-93-101326; Knurled Neck Stake Bolts; HQ 951995; 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 955337
                         January 5, 1994


CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 955337 DWS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.50

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
111 W. Huron Street, Room 603
Buffalo, NY 14202-2378

RE: Protest No. 0901-93-101326; Knurled Neck Stake Bolts;
    HQ 951995; 7318.15.20

Dear District Director:

     The following is our decision regarding the request for
further review of Protest No. 0901-93-101326 concerning your action
in classifying and assessing duty on knurled neck stake bolts under
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

FACTS:

     The merchandise consists of flat-head steel knurled neck stake
bolts (model no. C-A6366 P-716), which measure 10mm x 1.5mm x 25.4
mm.  The bolt, threaded on one end, is fed through a close
tolerance hole, and then struck on the head.  The sizing ring,
under the head, is forced through the hole and the projections
permanently deform the mating surface.  The elastic property of
the mating steel causes it to lock onto the projections and neck
of the bolt.  This locking action serves two functions: to prevent
the bolt from falling out of the mating part before assembly, and
from rotating during the tightening process. 

     The merchandise was entered under subheading 7318.15.20,
HTSUS, as other bolts.  The entry was liquidated on July 2, 1993,
under subheading 7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs.  The protest was
timely filed on July 19, 1993.

      The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

     7318.15.20: . . . bolts . . . of iron or steel: [t]hreaded
                 articles: [o]ther . . . 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 for goods classifiable
     under this provision is 0.7 percent ad valorem.

     7318.15.50: [t]hreaded articles: [o]ther . . . bolts,       
                  whether or not with their nuts or washers: 
                 [s]tuds.

     The general, column one rate of duty for goods classifiable
     under this provision is 4.7 percent ad valorem.

ISSUE:

     Whether the knurled neck stake bolts are classifiable under
subheading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, as other bolts, or under subheading
7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs.

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 951995, dated September 15, 1992, knurl bolts similar
to the subject bolts were held to be classifiable under subheading
7318.15.50, HTSUS.  In that ruling, we stated that:

     [c]ustoms traditionally classifies fasteners in accordance
     with their primary design characteristics.  American
     National Standards Institute (ANSI) specification B18.2.1
     establishes a recommended procedure for determining the
     identity of an externally threaded fastener as a bolt or
     a screw.  This specification regards as a bolt an
     externally threaded fastener designed for insertion through
     holes in assembled parts which, because of head design or
     other feature, is prevented from being turned during        
      assembly, and which can be tightened or released only by 
     torquing a nut.

      A stud, on the other hand, is a type of bolt, but is 
     distinguished from a bolt by its intended service           
      application.  Studs are normally short rods or pins threaded
     on one or both ends, sometimes with heads on one end to
     allow them to be fixed in place resulting in a protuberance
     to which other articles may be suspended or attached by a   
      nut or other means.

     It is our understanding that the subject bolts, threaded and
with heads on one end, are designed to be fixed in place to provide
a threaded protuberance to which other things can be attached by
means of nuts or otherwise.  Therefore, in accordance with HQ
951995, the subject bolts are classifiable under subheading
7318.15.50, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

     The knurled neck stake bolts are classifiable under subheading
7318.15.50, HTSUS, as studs.  Goods classifiable under this
provision, upon compliance with sections 10.301 - 10.311, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 10.301 - 10.311), are dutiable at 1.8 percent
ad valorem under the U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement. 

     The protest should be denied in full.  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, Lexis, Freedom of
Information Act, and other public access channels.

                           Sincerely,



                            John Durant, Director