Classification of bicycle outer cable as a bicycle part, not a spring, under customs tariff heading rules.

Outer cable for bicycles, though made of steel and coated with PVC, was held not to have the elastic quality or self-restoring character required of a spring under HSN Explanatory Notes to Heading 73.20. The product functioned as a hollow cylindrical protective sheath for the inner cable, so it was correctly treated as a bicycle part under Heading 87.14 rather than as a spring of iron and steel. The appeal was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the intermediate product, Outer Cable for bicycles, is classifiable under Chapter Heading 73.20 as a spring of iron and steel or under Chapter Heading 87.14 as a bicycle part.

Analysis: The classification was tested against the HSN Explanatory Notes to Heading 73.20, which treat springs as goods made of sheet metal, wire or rod of elastic quality and capable of returning to their original form after considerable displacement. The product in question, though made of steel and coated with PVC, functioned as a hollow cylindrical sheath meant to protect the inner cable. It had flexibility, but it did not possess the elastic quality or the ability to return to its original form that is characteristic of a spring.

Conclusion: The product is not classifiable as a spring under Chapter Heading 73.20 and is correctly classifiable as a bicycle part under Chapter Heading 87.14. The appeal was rejected.

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