Incase Design Fights for Preferred Classification of Car Cellphone Chargers

Importer Incase Design filed two complaints at the Court of International Trade in a bid to secure its preferred classification of its car Apple cellphone chargers. CBP liquidated the chargers under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8504.40.95, which provides for “[e]lectrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors; parts thereof: Static converters: Other,” dutiable at 1.5%. Incase argues that the proper HTS home for the car chargers is 8504.40.85, which provides for “[e]lectrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors; parts thereof: Static converters: For telecommunication apparatus,” free of duty (Incase Design Corp. v. U.S., CIT #16-00235, #17-00046).