In ruling NY N315085 (October 19, 2020), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discussed the classification of a kitchen appliance, referenced as the PowerXL Grill Air Fryer Combo. The item is a multi-functional appliance intended for use in a home kitchen setting and represents an all-in-one cooking device. There are 12 food preparation preset functions: slow cook, steam, sauté, grill, air fry (dehydrate), bake, roast, rice, simmer, sous vide, fry, and keep warm. The appliance includes the main housing unit, detachable air frying lid, detachable glass lid, air inlet vent, air outlet vent, lid handle, control panel, control knobs, power cord, inner pot with ceramic coating, grill plate, and ladle. The product does not have a thermometer probe, however, it features an LED timer with automatic shutoff, has a six quart capacity, provides 1550 watts of power, and has a temperature range of 100 degrees to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

From CBPs perspective, it has two primary configurations, one with the air fryer lid that provides oven-like functionality, and the other with the glass lid allowing cooking with liquids. CBP stated that each of these configurations would be classified in separate subheadings within heading 8516. As such, CBP stated that it will be classified using GRI 3(c), classifying the item in the heading that appears last in numerical order among the headings that equally merit consideration, as it lacks a single principal function.

CBP determined that the applicable subheading for the appliance is 8516.79.0000, HTSUS, which provides for “[e]lectric instantaneous or storage water heaters and immersion heaters; electric space heating apparatus and soil heating apparatus; electrothermic hairdressing apparatus (for example, hair dryers, hair curlers, curling tong heaters) and hand dryers; electric flatirons; other electrothermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes; electric heating resistors, other than those of heading 8545; parts thereof: [o]ther electrothermic appliances: [o]ther.” The general rate of duty is 2.7 percent.