HQ 953299

APRIL 22 1993

CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 953299 JAS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.80, HTSUS

District Director of Customs
40 South Gay St.
Baltimore, MD 21202

RE: PRD 1303-91-100302; Grade 5 Hex Head Cap Screw, Zinc Plated;
Screw, Bolt, Subheading 7318.15.20; American National
Standards Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ANSI/ASME B 18.2.1

Dear District Director:

This is our decision on Application for Further Review of
Protest No. 1303-91-100302, dated August 9, 1991, filed by
representatives of S & S Fasteners Co., Inc., against your action
in liquidating an entry of threaded fasteners from Taiwan.

FACTS:

The Customs Form 6445A describes a hex head cap screw. The
local import specialist provided us with a sample that measures 2
7/8 inches long and is threaded at the bottom 1/3 of its shank.
It has an unslotted six sided (hex) head and a blunt or flat
point. The intended service application of this fastener is not
indicated.

The fasteners were entered under the provision for bolts and
bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same
shipment, in subheading 7318.15.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS). The Customs Form 7501, commercial
invoice and packing list all describe the fasteners as hex head
cap screws. Accordingly, the protested entry was liquidated
under the provision for other screws of iron or steel having
shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more, in subheading
7318.15.80, HTSUS.

Protestant maintains these descriptions are nothing more
than differences in terminology, and that the article is threaded
on one end, part of the shank is smooth, and the leading end is
not pointed. These, he claims, are characteristics of bolts.
Your office visually examined a sample fastener and determined - 2 -

that it conformed to the majority of the supplementary criteria
for screws in American National Standards Institute/American
Society for Mechanical Engineers (ANSI/ASME) specification B
18.2.1.

As the entry in question was liquidated on August 2, 1991,
and the Customs Form 19 received in your office on August 9,
1991, the protest is timely filed.

ISSUE:

Whether the sample fastener has the majority of design
characteristics of bolts or screws.

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.

- 3 -

It is noted under Explanatory Data in specification B 18.2.1
that because of basic design, it is possible to use certain types
of screws in combination with a nut. Thus, the primary criteria
are often inconclusive in differentiating bolts from screws.
Where drawings are not available, the supplementary criteria must
be applied by the appearance of the sample. The concerned import
specialist made this visual examination and determined that the
sample fastener conformed to the majority of the design
characteristics for screws contained in the supplementary
criteria of ANSI/ASME specification B 18.2.1. As the protestant
has offered no evidence to refute this conclusion we will not
independently reexamine the sample.

HOLDING:

Under GRI 1, grade 5 hex head cap screws represented by the
submitted sample are screws of heading 7318. Actual
classification is in subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUS, as liquidated.

The protest should be denied. A copy of this decision
should be attached to the Form 19, and mailed to the protestant,
through his representative, as part of the notice of action on
the protest.


Sincerely,


John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division