HQ 952814: Telephone Toll Restrictor ("PhoneCUFF"); EN 85.17; 8543; EN 8543; NY 877482; HQ 952779

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 952814

                        December 7, 1992
                                                               


CLA-2 CO:R:C:M  952814 LTO

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  8517.81.00

Mr. Craig Deanto
Detect-A-Dial
8312 Spring Breeze Court
Ellicott City, Maryland 21043

RE:  Telephone Toll Restrictor ("PhoneCUFF"); EN 85.17; 8543; EN
     8543; NY 877482; HQ 952779

Dear Mr. Deanto:

     This is in response to your letter of September 24, 1992, to
the Area Director of Customs in New York, N.Y., requesting
reconsideration of NY 877482, dated September 9, 1992, which
concerned the classification of the PhoneCUFF under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).  Your
letter was referred to this office for a response.

FACTS:

     The article in question is the PhoneCUFF.  The PhoneCUFF is
an outgoing telephone barring device for use in homes as well as
a variety of business telephone systems.  You state that it
protects the subscriber from unauthorized users, such as
technicians, employees and children.

     In NY 877482, the PhoneCUFF was held to be classifiable
under subheading 8517.81.00, HTSUS, which provides for other
telephonic apparatus.  You contend that the article in question
is classifiable under subheading 8543.80.60, HTSUS, which
provides for electrical machines and apparatus, having individual
functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter.

ISSUE:

     Whether the PhoneCUFF is classifiable as electrical
apparatus for line telephony under Heading 8517, HTSUS.

                             - 2 -

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 . . . ."

     The headings in question are as follows:

     8517      Electrical apparatus for line telephony or 
               telegraphy, including such apparatus for
               carrier-current line systems . . . 

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

     8543      Electrical machines and apparatus, having
               individual functions, not specified or 
               included elsewhere in this chapter; parts
               thereof

     The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the Customs Co-operation
Council's official interpretation of the Harmonized System. 
While not legally binding, the ENs provide a commentary on the
scope of each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally
indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings.

     EN 85.43, pg. 1402, states that Heading 8543, HTSUS, "covers
all electrical appliances and apparatus, not falling in any other
heading of this Chapter, nor covered more specifically by a
heading of any other Chapter of the Nomenclature, nor excluded by
the operation of a Legal Note to Section XVI or to this Chapter
[emphasis in original]."  Thus, if the PhoneCUFF is covered by
Heading 8517, HTSUS, it cannot be classified under Heading 8543,
HTSUS.

     In NY 877482, the PhoneCUFF was held to be classifiable
under subheading 8517.81.00, HTSUS, which provides for other
electrical apparatus for line telephony.  You contend that the
PhoneCUFF cannot be classified under Heading 8517, HTSUS, because
it does not have a dialer, keypad, telephone handset or switching
device, and as such, it is not similar to devices described
therein.

     EN 85.17, pg. 1360, states that "[t]he term 'electrical
apparatus for line telephony or line telegraphy' means apparatus
for the transmission between two points of speech or other sounds
(or of symbols representing written messages, images or other 







                            - 3 -

data), by variation of an electric current or of an optical wave
flowing in a metallic or dielectric . . . circuit connecting the
transmitting station to the receiving station."  Heading 8517,
HTSUS, "covers all such electrical apparatus designed for this
purpose, including the special apparatus used for carrier-current
line systems."  EN 85.17, pg. 1360.

     The PhoneCUFF, which plugs into any telephone jack, has the
following features:  (1) 'barred' mode--prevents undesired
telephone numbers from being dialled; (2) 'allowed' mode--
prevents all numbers from being dialled except those which are
desired; (3) protection--automatically protects against
technicians or unauthorized users of the line; (4) overriding--
allows barred numbers to be dialled with personalized overriding
code; and (5) extensions--all extensions on the same phone line
are automatically included in the programming.         

     The PhoneCUFF is designed to limit the outgoing transmission
between two points of speech or other sounds.  As such, it
constitutes "electrical apparatus for line telephony," and it is
classifiable under Heading 8517, HTSUS, specifically under
subheading 8517.81.00, HTSUS, as other telephonic apparatus.  The
fact that the article in question does not have a dialer, keypad,
etc., does not preclude its classification under subheading
8517.81.00, HTSUS.  See HQ 952779, dated October 31, 1992
(wherein this office classified a "Caller ID" unit, a device that
displays the telephone number of a calling party on a liquid
crystal display, under subheading 8517.81.00, HTSUS).

HOLDING:

     The PhoneCUFF is classifiable under subheading 8517.81.00,
HTSUS, which provides for "[e]lectrical apparatus for line
telephony or telegraphy, including such apparatus for carrier-
current line systems . . . [o]ther apparatus . . . [t]elephonic." 
The corresponding rate of duty for articles of this subheading is
8.5% ad valorem. 

     NY 877482, dated September 9, 1992, is hereby affirmed.

                              Sincerely,




                              John Durant, Director
                              Commercial Rulings Division