CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN H307905 PF
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center
Validation and Compliance Division, Team 038-4
1100 Raymond Blvd.
Newark, NJ 07102
Attn: Amy Arnold, Supervisory Import Specialist
RE: Request for Internal Advice; Classification of Tritium Sight Inserts
Dear Ms. Arnold:
This is in reference to your request for internal advice, initiated by counsel for Trijicon Inc. (“requestor”), pertaining to the tariff classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), of tritium sight inserts. Our decision follows.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise are tritium sight inserts, which are comprised of tritium gas stored within a glass container and interior phosphor coating. The tritium within the sight inserts emits beta radiation, which in turn activates the phosphor and permits it to be visible in the dark, even in the absence of an external power source. The tritium sight inserts are typically imported as assembled components, which Trijicon uses as inserts within a range of firearm sights and riflescopes to serve as an aiming aid. These tritium sight inserts come in two primary configurations: cylindrical tritium sight inserts used with iron sights and rectangular tritium sight inserts used with riflescopes. The cylindrical tritium sight insert is inserted into a round chamber within an iron sight while the rectangular tritium sight insert is affixed with glue to a smooth surface within the interior of the riflescope assembly. Both sight inserts function in the same way and are not mounted on any type of sight upon importation.
The cylindrical tritium sight inserts feature a glowing glass tube that is further encased in a metal housing. A crystal cap abuts the end of the tube and protects the glass tube within the apparatus. It is made of crystal instead of metal to permit the glowing beta-activated phosphor within the housing to remain visible to the user of the firearm. The glowing phosphor is visible to the user of the firearm as an alignment guide, in the form of dots or other patterns (often green or blue, but also other colors, depending on the phosphor used) at night or in low-light conditions. At night, the phosphor appears integral with the sight, and takes the place of the painted dot visible during daylight.
The requestor provided a labeled image of the cylindrical tritium sight insert as follows:
Trijicon’s iron sights contain tritium sight inserts at the center of the front sight post and two points along the “U” of the rear sight, with the crystal cap visible to the person looking down the sight of the firearm. The yellow or green tritium sight insert is warranted to glow for twelve years from the date of original manufacture; without the need for further intervention; orange tritium sight inserts are warranted for five years.
The rectangular tritium sight inserts feature the same key components as the cylindrical sight inserts. The rectangular sight inserts are comprised of tritium gas, a glass ampule, and interior phosphor coating. The rectangular tritium sight inserts are further processed with an additional manufacturing step not present in the cylindrical insert, which is that white paint is added to five of six of their exterior surface. The white paint helps ensure that the sight aid is sufficiently visible in the riflescope’s reticle pattern. After importation, an optical fiber is affixed to the one unpainted side of the rectangular sight insert that permits the firearm user to see reticle patterns in the center of the riflescope.
The requestor provided an image of the rectangular tritium sight insert as follows:
The expected lifespan of the rectangular tritium sight inserts used within riflescopes is longer than that of the cylindrical insert. The rectangular insert is warranted to glow for fifteen years from the date of original manufacture, without the need for further intervention.
On the requestor’s website tritium is described as follows:
Tritium illuminates the aiming point in low-light conditions without batteries. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Beta rays from the tritium hit phosphors to create the glow. Tritium has a half-life of 12.5 years, which means that in that time, the lamp will be as bright as it was originally.
In a supplemental submission to our office, the requestor provided the following description of the subject merchandise:
The trigalight glass tubes consist of hermetically sealed elements that glow visibly for decades without external energy supply - i.e. without electricity, battery, but also without sunlight. mb-microtec provides a 24/7 lighting guarantee for ten years. trigalight works similarly to a cathode ray tube, which was formerly used in television screens. Like TV-CRT, our lights consist of a glass housing or a sealed glass container. The inner walls of these glass tubes are coated with a thin coating of phosphorescent dye. This powder (zinc sulfide) has the ability to convert electrical energy into light. Trigalight's electrical energy is generated by tritium gas, a low beta radiation emitter.
In addition, the requestor provided the following description of the “Trijicon Bright & Tough Night Sights” from their website:
Trijicon Bright & Tough Night Sights are three-dot iron sights that increase night-fire shooting accuracy by as much as five times over conventional sights. Equally impressive, they do so with the same speed as instinctive shooting - and without the need for batteries. Housed in a metal body and cushioned within silicone rubber, Bright & Tough Night Sights feature a unique shock-resistant design. Each lamp is capped with a sapphire jewel to help evenly distribute the light while protecting the lamp from solvents and puncture. Contained within aluminum cylinders for additional protection, the lamps are mounted on silicone rubber cushions to withstand shock and heavy recoil. Green lamps are warranted for 12 years from the date of manufacture.
ISSUE:
Whether the tritium inserts are classified in heading 9013, HTSUS, as telescopic sights for fitting to arms, as other devices of heading 9013, HTSUS, or in heading 9405, HTSUS, as lamps and lighting fittings.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUSA. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation (AUSRIs). The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration in this case are as follows:
9013 Liquid crystal devices not constituting articles provided for more specifically in other headings; lasers, other than laser diodes; other optical appliances and instruments, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts and accessories thereof:
9013.10 Telescopic sights for fitting to arms; periscopes; telescopes designed to form parts of machines, appliances, instruments or apparatus of this chapter or section XVI:
9013.80 Other devices, appliances and instruments:
* * *
9405 Lamps and lighting fittings including searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof,
not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included
9405.50 Non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings:
Other:
9405.50.40 Other.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 9013, provides, in relevant part:
This heading includes:
(5) Telescopic sights for weapons, refracting or reflecting, presented separately; optical devices suitable for use with arms and mounted thereon or presented with the firearms on which they are designed to be mounted, are classified with the arm, see Note 1 (d) to Chapter 93.
The EN to heading 9405 states, in pertinent part, the following:
Lamps and lighting fittings of this group can be constituted of any material (emphasis added) (excluding those materials described in Note 1 to Chapter 71) and use any source of light (emphasis added).
The subject tritium sight inserts are comprised of tritium gas, a glass container, and interior phosphor coating. Based on the radioactive properties of the tritium gas, the tritium sight inserts glow in low light situations. Our first consideration is whether the tritium sight inserts are optical appliances or instruments of heading 9013, HTSUS.
Additional U.S. Note 3 to Chapter 90 provides that:
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms "optical appliances" and" optical instruments" refer only to those appliances and instruments which incorporate one or more optical elements, but do not include any appliances or instruments in which the incorporated optical element or elements are solely for viewing a scale or for some other subsidiary purpose.
The tritium sight inserts are used with existing firearm sights. The tritium sight inserts are not mounted on any type of sight upon importation. CBP has held that firearm sights that contain a lens or other optical device are classified under heading 9013, HTSUS. See, e.g., New York Ruling (“NY) N183800, dated September 26, 2011, NY N193021, December 8, 2011, and NY 086740, dated May 16, 1990. In this case, the tritium sight inserts do not magnify or enhance the user’s vision. The sight with which the inserts are used accomplishes this. To the extent that the instant inserts contain optical elements within the meaning of Additional U.S. Note 3 to Chapter 90, HTSUS, supra, their function is subsidiary to that of creating light to allow the user to acquire the location of the sight in a darkened environment. As such, the tritium sight inserts are not covered by heading 9013, HTSUS.
The requestor has stated that the tritium sight inserts (also referred to as (trigalight glass tubes) consist of hermetically sealed elements that glow visibly for decades without external energy supply - i.e. without electricity, battery, but also without sunlight. As a result, we must consider whether the tritium sight inserts are a lamp of heading 9405, HTSUS, which provides for “[l]amps and lighting …and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included.”
The ENs to heading 9405 state, in pertinent part, the following:
Lamps and lighting fittings of this group can be constituted of any material (emphasis added) (excluding those materials described in Note 1 to Chapter 71) and use any source of light (emphasis added).
CBP has consistently defined the term “lamp” as “a device which provides an isolated source of heat or light.” See e.g., HQ H068435, dated October 16, 2009 (snowflake pathway markers); HQ H042586, dated January 29, 2009 (fiber optic lamp), HQ 966952, dated August 18, 2004 (litecube), and HQ 965248, dated July 26, 2002 (bubble lights) (citing The Random House College Dictionary (1973) at 752 and Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1979) at 639). Similarly, in Pomeroy Collection, Inc. v. United States, the Court of International Trade relied on the definitions of “lamp” and lighting fittings” in the Explanatory Notes and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (defining “lamp” as “any of various devices for producing light or sometimes heat”). Pomeroy Collection, Ltd. v. United States, 893 F. Supp. 2d 1269 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2013) (Pomeroy IV) at 1281.
As entered, the subject tritium sight inserts constitute a lamp because they are a source of light. The tritium within the tritium sight inserts serves to illuminate an aiming point in low-light conditions. In addition, on its website the requestor refers to the tritium sight inserts as lamps. As such, we conclude that the tritium sight inserts meet the definition of “lamp” as enunciated in earlier CBP Rulings, in that they are devices that provide a source of light. Therefore, as the goods are lamps that are not specified elsewhere in the Nomenclature, they are classified by application of GRI 1 under heading 9405, HTSUS, and specifically under subheading 9405.50.40, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the tritium sight inserts are classified in heading 9405, HTSUS. By application of GRI 6, they are specifically provided for in subheading 9405.50.40, HTSUS, as “Lamps and lighting fittings including searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: Non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings: Other: Other.” The column one, general rate of duty is 6% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the internet at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Sixty days from the date of this decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make this decision available for CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page at http://www.cbp.gov by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of publication.
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division