CLA-2 R:C:M 957534 LTO
Regional Commissioner of Customs
c/o Protest and Control Section
6 World Trade Center
Room 761
New York, New York 10048-0945
RE: Protest 1001-94-106187; Medicut Shears; scissors; Section
XVIII, note 1(h); Additional Rule of Interpretation 1(a); HQ
088876, NY 810138; heading 8213;
EN 90.18
Dear Regional Commissioner:
The following is our decision regarding Protest 1001-94-106187, which concerns the classification of "Medicut Shears"
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). The subject merchandise was entered on December 20,
1993, and the entry was liquidated on August 12, 1994. The
protest was timely filed on September 6, 1994.
FACTS:
The articles in question are referred to as "Medicut
Shears," which are medical utility scissors. The Medicut Shears
are 7 « inch scissors with offset stainless steel blades and
plastic handles. One blade edge is serrated, the other
sharpened. They feature a safety bandage tip on the longer
blade, which the protestant states is designed to facilitate safe
blade access between a bandage and the patient's skin. The
plastic handle has one large ring to accommodate the third,
fourth and fifth finger, and a smaller thumb ring.
The protestant states that the Medicut Shears are used by
health care - 2 -
professionals in a variety of non-surgical applications, such as,
cutting gauze and other bandage material, including casts. They
can be used to cut wire or metal in instances
where those materials are used, such as, in rigid splints. They
are designed to withstand repeated autoclaving at temperatures of
up to 290 degrees Fahrenheit for use in sterile environments.
The protestant states that the Medicut Shears are made from 420
surgical grade stainless steel (high chromium content). They
have a blade rivet that is machine-affixed and is designed to
withstand a pull force of 88kg. They have a Rockwell hardness of
C58 and a sandblasted finish, which sets them apart from shears
sold to consumer markets. The protestant further states that 99
percent of their products, including the Medicut Shears, are
marketed to the health care industry.
The Medicut Shears were entered under subheading 9018.90.80,
HTSUS, which provides for other instruments and appliances used
in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences. They were
classified upon liquidation under subheading 8213.00.90, HTSUS,
which provides for other scissors, tailors' shears and similar
shears, valued over $1.75/dozen.
ISSUE:
Whether the Medicut Shears are classifiable as scissors,
tailors' shears and similar shears, under heading 8213, HTSUS, or
as instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental
or veterinary sciences, under heading 9018, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS
govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1
states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes . . . ."
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of
the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, and therefore
not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of
each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally
indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See
T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The headings under consideration are as follows:
8213 Scissors, tailors' shears and similar shears . . .
9018 Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical,
dental
or veterinary sciences . . . - 3 -
Note 1(h) to section XV, HTSUS, states that the section,
which includes chapter 82, does not cover the "[i]nstruments or
apparatus of section XVIII." Thus, if the Medicut Shears are
classifiable under heading 9018, HTSUS, a section XVIII heading,
they cannot be classified as scissors under heading 8213, HTSUS.
EN 90.18, pg. 1487, states that heading 9018, HTSUS, "covers
a very wide range of instruments and appliances which, in the
vast majority of cases, are used only in professional practice
(e.g., by doctors, surgeons, dentists, veterinary surgeons,
midwives), either to make a diagnosis, to prevent or treat an
illness or to operate, etc."
The note, pg. 1488, further points out that "a number of the
instruments used in medicine or surgery (human or veterinary)
are, in effect, tools (e.g., hammers, mallets, saws, chisels,
gouges, forceps, pliers, spatulae, etc.), or articles of cutlery
(scissors, knives, shears, etc.)." According to EN 90.18,
articles like the Medicut Shears can only be classified under
heading 9018, HTSUS, if "they are clearly identifiable as being
for medical or surgical use by reason of their special shape, the
ease with which they are dismantled for sterilisation, their
better quality manufacture, the nature of the constituent metals
or by their get-up . . . ."
The Medicut Shears are used by health care professionals in
a variety of non-surgical applications, including cutting gauze
and other bandage material, as well as, casts. While they are
similar in shape to many consumer scissors, the Medicut Shears
are in fact quite different. They have a safety bandage tip on
the longer blade, which is designed to facilitate safe blade
access between a bandage and the patient's skin (consumer
scissors sometimes have safety tips). They are made from 420
surgical grade stainless steel (high chromium content), which has
a higher heat-treated hardness, strength and wear resistance
(consumer scissors are generally made from 410 stainless steel--much lower chromium content). They have a Rockwell hardness of
C58 and a sandblasted finish, common to high-grade surgical
instruments (consumer scissors are generally hardened to C45 and
are not sandblasted). They are designed to withstand repeated
autoclaving at temperatures of up to 290 degrees Fahrenheit so
that they can be used in sterile environments (consumer scissors
are generally not autoclavable). Further, they have a blade rivet
that is machine-affixed and designed to withstand a pull force of
88kg (consumer scissors generally have a rivet strength of
50kg). All of these factors make the Medicut Shears
approximately twice the price of the similarly-shaped consumer
scissors. Moreover, the protestant states that 99 percent of
their products, including the Medicut Shears, are marketed to the
health care industry.
In HQ 088876, dated February 3, 1992, Customs classified
iris dissecting scissors and "Spencer" stitch scissors under
subheading 9018.90.80, HTSUS. The scissors were specially shaped
and made of 420 surgical grade stainless steel, and were
marketed for medical or surgical use. Citing Additional U.S.
Rule of Interpretation - 4 -
1(a), HTSUS, we held that the scissors were "goods which belong
to the class of medical or surgical instruments."
It is our opinion that, based on the above-listed factors,
the Medicut Shears belong to the broad "class of medical
instruments" designed to "treat an illness . . ., etc." See EN
90.18; NY 810138, dated May 15, 1995 (wherein other bandage
cutting scissors--"Lister Bandage Scissors"--were held to be
classifiable under subheading 9018.90.80, HTSUS). They are
therefore classifiable under heading 9018, HTSUS, specifically
under subheading 9018.90.80, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The Medicut Shears are classifiable under subheading
9018.90.80, HTSUS.
The protest should be GRANTED. In accordance with section
3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4,
1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together
with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your office to the
protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter.
Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision
must be accomplished prior to the mailing of the decision. Sixty
days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and
Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs
personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public
via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act
and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant,
Director
Commercial Rulings Division