Computer-connected printers classifiable as ADP machine units when Chapter 84 note conditions are met, not as printing machinery.

Thermal label printers connected to a computer were held classifiable under CTH 84.71.60 as units of automatic data processing machines, because they fell within Note 5(D) to Chapter 84 and satisfied Notes 5(B)(b) and 5(B)(c) by being connectable to the CPU and capable of receiving or delivering usable data. Note 5(E), which concerns machines performing a specific function, did not displace Note 5(D) for printers meeting those requirements. The classification under CTH 8443.59 as printing machinery was therefore rejected, following prior Tribunal rulings on similar printers.

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Issues: Whether thermal label printers connected to a computer were classifiable under Customs Tariff Heading 8471.60 as units of automatic data processing machines or under Customs Tariff Heading 8443.59 as printing machinery.

Analysis: The goods were printers connected to a computer and therefore fell within Note 5(D) to Chapter 84. Once treated as printers, they had to satisfy the requirements of Note 5(B)(b) and 5(B)(c), namely that they be connectable to the central processing unit and capable of accepting or delivering data in a form usable by the system. Those conditions were satisfied. Note 5(E), dealing with machines performing a specific function, did not exclude the goods from Heading 84.71 because Note 5(D) governed printers that met Note 5(B)(b) and (c). The interpretation was supported by earlier Tribunal decisions holding that printers satisfying those conditions are classifiable under Heading 84.71.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly classifiable under CTH 84.71.60 and not under CTH 8443.59.

Ratio Decidendi: A printer connected to a computer is classifiable under Heading 84.71 when it satisfies the conditions of Note 5(B)(b) and 5(B)(c), and Note 5(E) does not override Note 5(D) for such goods.

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