Ruling of the Week 2017.6: Printers vs. Printing Machines

This one will be quick, for lots of reasons. Mostly, I don’t have much to add to the ruling other than a question. The ruling at issue is HQ H128416 (Feb. 9, 2017). It involves the tariff classification of digital wide-format ink-jet printer used to print and cut vinyl graphics for outdoor advertising and similar applications.

The printer is a combination of a printing machine and a cutting machine. As such, the competing tariff provisions are in Heading 8443 (Printing machinery) and 8477 (Machinery for working rubber or plastic). That is the sole question addressed in the ruling.


To resolve the classification, Customs and Border Protection applied Note 3 to Section XVI of the HTSUS, which states in relevant part:

Unless the context otherwise requires, composite machines consisting of two or more machines fitted together to form a whole and other machines designed for the purpose of performing two or more complementary or alternative functions are to be classified as if consisting only of that component or as being that machine which performs the principal function.

According to the importer, the principal function is printing, making the machine an article of 8433. Customs agreed, finding that the machine would not be used solely for cutting but that it might be used for printing without cutting. Customs examined the factors set out in United States v. Carborundum Co., 63 C.C.P.A 98, 536 F.2d 373 (1976), including physical characteristics, channels of trade, expectation of the ultimate purchaser, and recognition in the trade to ultimately agree that this machine is primarily a printer.

OK, so here’s my question: Why not consider this to be an 8471 unit of an automatic data processing machine? In other words, why is this ink-jet printer different than the ink-jet printer on my desk? The difference between 8471 printers and 8443 printing machines was discussed at length by the Court of International Trade in Xerox, which we reviewed here. The ruling states that these are “digital” printers. That means that they function in conjunction with a computer to translate digital data into signals to the printer. The only difference is that they print on large format plastic rather than on paper and they can cut the plastic. Once we determine that printing is the principal function, it seems to me that the cutting becomes irrelevant. What we know from Xerox is that large scale digital printing is still a data processing function. That would make these printers units of ADP machines of Heading 8471.


I am probably wrong for some factual reason not stated in the ruling. Heck, I may be wrong on the legal analysis. My analysis ends up with the potentially absurd result that all digital printers are ADP machines and 8443 printing machines would cover only Gutenberg-style presses and similar analog machines. It would be nice to know whether this was discussed and how it was decided that 8471 is not relevant.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CAFC Decision in Double Invoicing Case

The Federal Circuit has issued a decision on the merits in United States v. Inn Foods, Inc.  There had been a previous decision on jurisdiction, which was followed by a trial at the Court of International Trade and then this appeal on the substance. The initial issue is whether Inn Foods' invoicing practice amounts to fraud.  Inn Foods had been receiving an invoice from growers in Mexico that had a relatively low sales prices on it.  Subsequent to entry, Inn Foods created a second invoice at something more similar to market value, retaining the original invoice number, and paid at that higher amount.   Superficially, this looks like a standard-issue double-invoicing scheme.  But, in the age of reconciliation, is it really more like a provisional pricing mechanism?  It might have been possible to make that argument had Inn Foods adjusted its entries accordingly.  It didn't and the loss of revenue was approximately $624,000.  Based on testimony and evidence indicating both knowl
Read more

Ninestar and UFLPA Exhaustion

Image
Exhaustion is a key doctrine in administrative law. When applicable, it requires that a party unhappy with an agency’s determination complete the administrative appeal process before turning to the courts for judicial review. Requiring exhaustion typically promotes judicial efficiency by ensuring that disputes are resolved at the agency and, if they are not, that there is a complete record of the agency process. Exhaustion also ensures that the judiciary respects the executive agencies and their expertise.  There are, on the other hand, times when the courts will find that exhaustion is not necessary or appropriate. Such is the case in  Ninestar Corporation et al. v. United States  et al., a decision of the U.S. Court of International Trade.  Ninestar is also interesting because it is one of the first cases in the CIT involving the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, known as UFLPA. In my hiatus from active blogging, I missed the rise of UFLPA as a major compliance topic. So, let's
Read more

Precious Tritium

Image
One thing I have learned as a customs lawyer who does a lot of classification work is that there are millions of odd items moving in international trade the existence of which I am completely ignorant. Such is the case of the gaseous tritium light sources used in, among other things, firearm sights. These things use tritium sealed in a glass that has been coated in phosphor. The radioactive tritium decays, releasing beta particles, which interact with the phosphor causing it to emit light. In other words, it creates light with no external power source. Pretty cool.  Tritium is, of course, a real thing. It is an isotope of hydrogen. We know this from the excellent documentary "Spider-Man." This comes up in relation to the Court of International Trade decision in Trijicon, Inc. v. United States  in which the importer challenged the tariff classification of several versions of the gaseous tritium light sources ("GTLS"). The plaintiff uses them to make gun sights. The
Read more