Smart Shopping Cart Classified as a Vehicle, CBP Rules

CBP ruled that the Caper Cart, a "'smart' shopping cart" imported by Instacart, is classified as a vehicle under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8716. The agency said in a customs ruling released Jan. 12 that the cart is "essentially" a manually propelled vehicle that transports goods and functions as a cart, regardless of whether the electronic payment features and point-of-sale system are on the cart.

Instacart describes the Caper Cart as a "mobile point of sale" device that uses a series of "built-in Computer Vision (CV) cameras and a scanner, along with an artificial intelligence (AI) unit with built-in machine learning algorithms" to identify products that customers might want in their cart, CBP said. It also comes with a built-in scale to measure items sold by weight and a touchscreen display to allow shoppers to add things to their cart. People can pay for their goods using the "cart’s credit/debit card terminal" or a touchscreen for a "cloud-based payment facility," the ruling said.

Instacart argued that the Caper Cart should be classified under heading 8470 as a cash register because the cart is a "'composite article that consists of the basket with wheels and the [point of sale (POS)] electrical components,'" the company told CBP. The company also said that the POS components impart the essential character of the cart.

CBP said that the Caper Cart is a vehicle regardless of whether it has electronic equipment or not, because its main function is to "push items" through the store until the items are paid for, and it can be used without the electronic enhancements to the cart.

"The Caper Cart is supplied by a supermarket, for use by customers inside the shop for transport of merchandise," CBP said. "The additional features, including the installation of electronics, only add to the convenience in use of the shopping cart," CBP said.

That's consistent with the explanatory note 87.16, which says that vehicles fitted with machinery that derive their "essential character" from the vehicle itself are covered in 8716, CBP said.

CBP classified the Caper Cart in subheading 8716.80.50, which provides for "Trailers and semi-trailers; other vehicles, not mechanically propelled; and parts thereof: Other vehicles: Other" and has a rate of 3.2%.

Instacart didn't respond to our request for comment.