HQ 955605: PRD 1101-93-100434; Wood Screws, Woodgrip Screws; Threaded Fasteners Designed for Use in Wood; Metal Tapping Screws, Subheading 7318.14.10; HQ 072945

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 955605
                     
                            DECEMBER 13, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M  955605 JAS

CATEGORY:   Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7318.12.00

District Director of Customs
2nd and Chestnut Streets, Rm. 102
Philadelphia, PA 19106-2999 

RE:  PRD 1101-93-100434; Wood Screws, Woodgrip Screws; Threaded
     Fasteners Designed for Use in Wood; Metal Tapping Screws,
     Subheading 7318.14.10; HQ 072945

Dear District Director:

     This is our decision on Protest 1101-93-100434, filed
against your action in classifying certain threaded fasteners
from Taiwan.  The entry was liquidated on May 7, 1993, and this
protest timely filed on August 5, 1993.

FACTS:

     The fasteners under protest, designated Woodgrip No. 9-15,
are represented by five (5) samples ranging from 1 3/4 to 3 1/4
inches in length.  They are made from American Iron and Steel
Institute (AISI) 1019 carbon steel, each having a fully threaded
shank with double lead thread, recessed hexagon washer head, and
gimlet point.  After importation, a zinc-aluminum coating is
applied for corrosion resistance.  These fasteners are said to be
used generally in the manufacture of easily fabricated buildings
such as barns and warehouses.  

     The fasteners were entered under a provision in heading 7318
for self-tapping screws.  The import specialist determined that
the fasteners more closely resembled standard wood screws and
liquidated the entry under the provision in heading 7318 for wood
screws.  Counsel for the protestant makes the following arguments
in support of the self-tapping screw classification: the
fasteners are built for performance specifications designed to
join metal to metal and that while they are capable of joining
metal to wood they cannot successfully join wood to wood; these
fasteners are of case hardened AISI 1019 carbon steel of the type
specified in American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
standard B 18.6.4 for recessed head tapping screws; tapping
screws are usually fully threaded whereas the screws in issue are
2/3 threaded; the rolled threads of these fasteners exceed 2/3
the nominal screw length which is not characteristic of wood                              - 2 -

screws; the special gimlet point allows the fasteners to
penetrate 26 gauge sheet metal.

     The provisions under consideration are as follows:

     7318          Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw
                     hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins,
                     washers, (including spring washers) and
                     similar articles, of iron or steel:

                     Threaded articles:

     7318.12.00          Other wood screws...12.5 percent

     7318.14             Self-tapping screws:

     7318.14.10              Having shanks or threads with
                                a diameter of less than 6 mm
                                ...6.2 percent

     7318.14.50                Having shanks or threads with
                                a diameter of 6 mm or more
                                ...9.5 percent
     
ISSUE:

     Whether the fasteners designated Woodgrip No. 9-15 are wood
screws or self-tapping screws for tariff purposes.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).  GRI 1 states in part
that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section
or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.  

     The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the Customs Cooperation
Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized system. 
While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and
therefore not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the
scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus
useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under
the System.  Customs believes the notes should always be
consulted.  See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23,
1989).
                              - 3 -

     American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard      
B 18.6.1 is a recognized designation for wood screws while
standard B 18.6.4 is a similar designation for slotted and
recessed head tapping screws.  The fasteners under protest are
special screws that may have some features of one standard or the
other, but do not conform fully to either standard.
     
     Relevant ENs state, at p. 1029, that screws for wood differ
from bolts and screws for metal in part by the fact they have a
steeper cutting thread and almost always have slotted or recessed
heads.  Self-tapping screws, on the other hand, are said to
resemble wood screws in that they have a slotted head, a cutting
thread and tapered point.  The screws in issue here do not have
slotted heads; however, they do have double lead threads which
indicates a steeper thread pitch.  Double lead is a thread type
specifically identified in ANSI standard B 18.6.1 for wood
screws.  Double lead threads are not specified in ANSI
designation B 18.6.4 or any other recognized tapping screw
standard.  Therefore, under the HTSUS, double lead threads which
would be indicative of a steeper cutting thread, while not
conclusive, are considered significant. 
     
     It is clear even before the Tariff Act of 1930 that the term
wood screw meant a screw intended for use in wood.  The provision
in subheading 7318.12.00 describes wood screws eo nomine, by
name.  However, the use or uses of an article is often relevant
in establishing its identity as the named article.  In HQ 072945,
dated May 31, 1984, Customs discussed, among other things, the
significance of twin threads in establishing the identity of a
threaded fastener as a wood screw or a metal tapping screw under
the HTSUS predecessor tariff code, the Tariff Schedules of the
United States (TSUS).  The decision noted that wood screws and
tapping screws are both available with twin threads, and
concluded that this feature, while normally characteristic of
wood screws, should not be controlling if the fastener is
otherwise designed, marketed and actually used as a tapping
screw.  This conclusion was predicated on the fact the screws
under consideration in that decision were neither intended for
use in wood nor were they primarily used in wood.  

     The evidence in this case, when fairly and comprehensively 
evaluated, suggests a different conclusion.  An engineer's
drawing submitted with the protest identifies a Woodgrip
fastener; the packing list and seller's invoice contain an
identical reference; protestant's literature identifies the
Woodgrip screw "for all metal-to-wood applications"; a mock-up
presented by counsel at a meeting with Customs officials on
November 9, 1994, showed the screws in a metal-to-metal
application as well as a metal-to-wood application.  It was
indicated that a majority of service applications involved the
fastening of metal sheets to the wood framework of structures so
that the shank of the fastener would be embedded in wood.                                - 4 -

     There are numerous indications in the protest file that the
principal service application of these fasteners involves use in
wood.  This, together with the reference in the cited EN to a
steeper cutting thread as characteristic of wood screws, is
evidence which, in our opinion, establishes the identity of these
fasteners as wood screws.
     
HOLDING:

     Under the authority of GRI 1, the fasteners in issue here
are provided for in heading 7318 as screws.  They are
classifiable in subheading 7318.12.00, HTSUS, as wood screws.

     The protest should be DENIED.  In accordance with Section
3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4,
1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, you should mail this
decision, together with the Customs Form 19, to the protestant no
later than 60 days from the date of this letter.  Any
reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the
decision must be accomplished prior to mailing 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 to the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, the
Freedom of Information Act and other public access channels.


                              Sincerely,


                              John Durant, Director
                              Commercial Rulings Division