OT:RR:CTF:EMAIN HQ H301946 NVF
Mr. Luc Belda
Lansinoh Laboratories
333 North Fairfax St.
Suite 400
Alexandria, VA 22314
RE: Tariff classification of Lansinoh Primo-Lacto from China
Dear Mr. Belda:
This is in response to your request for a binding classification ruling, dated September 21, 2018, for a colostrum collection set marketed as the Lansinoh Primo-Lacto (“Primo-Lacto”). In reaching our decision, we have considered information presented in your September 21, 2018 request, supplemental information provided on February 12, 2019, publicly available information, and the sample provided.
In your request for a classification ruling, you ask whether the Primo Lacto should be classified under heading 8413 as a breast pump accessory, or under heading 3924 as a baby feeding product.
FACTS:
The Primo-Lacto consists of five articles of polypropylene plastic that are used while pumping breast milk in the first 1-3 days after giving birth. Two of the items are adapters intended for use with the Medela Symphony breast pump and one is a funnel used for hand pumping. In addition to the adapters and funnel, two small collection cups are included which are designed to attach to the adapters. All five items are packaged together in sealed sterile packaging and are used by new mothers to collect colostrum when direct nursing is not possible or not desired.
ISSUE:
Whether the Primo-Lacto is classifiable under heading 3924, HTSUS as household articles of plastic or heading 8413, HTSUS, as a part of pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule 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 at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS 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 HTSUS subheadings under consideration are as follows:
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3924 Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles, of plastics.
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8413 Pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring devices; liquid elevators; part[s] thereof.
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Note 2(s) to Chapter 39 states that Chapter 39 does not cover articles of Section XVI. Because heading 8413 falls within Section XVI, we first examine whether the Primo Lacto is classified under heading 8413.
EN 39.24 states, in relevant part, that heading 39.24 covers the following articles of plastics:
(C) Other household articles such as ash trays, hot water bottles, matchbox holders, dustbins, buckets, watering cans, food storage containers, curtains, drapes, table covers and fitted furniture dust covers (slipovers).
Heading 8413, HTSUS, covers pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device; liquid elevators; parts thereof. The term “part” is not defined in the HTSUS. In the absence of a statutory definition, the courts have fashioned two distinct but reconcilable tests for determining whether a particular item qualifies as a part for tariff classification purposes. See Bauerhin Technologies Limited Partnership, & John V. Carr & Son, Inc. v. United States, 110 F.3d 774 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Under the first test, articulated in United States v. Willoughby Camera Stores, 21 C.C.P.A. 322 (1933), an imported item qualifies as a part only if can be described as an “integral, constituent, or component part, without which the article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such article.” Bauerhin, 110 F.3d at 779. Pursuant to the second test, set forth in United States v. Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9 (1955), a good is a “part” if it is “dedicated solely for use” with a particular article and, “when applied to that use…meets the Willoughby test.” Bauerhin, 110 F.3d at 779 (citing Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. at 14); Ludvig Svensson, Inc. v. United States, 63 F. Supp. 2d 1171, 1178 (Ct. Int'l Trade 1999) (holding that a purported part must satisfy both the Willoughby and Pompeo tests). An item is not a part if it is “a separate and distinct commercial entity.” Bauerhin, 110 F.3d at.779.
In this case, the Primo Lacto is neither a pump for a liquid, nor part of a pump. The Primo Lacto adapters connect to a pump, but they are not an integral, constituent, or component part of any breast milk pump. The adapters are not necessary for a breast milk pump to operate nor do they have any mechanical features that contribute to the operation of a pump. The funnel and collecting cup components of the Primo Lacto do not connect to nor contribute to the functioning of a pump and therefore are not classifiable as parts. Therefore, the Primo Lacto is not classifiable as a part of a breast milk pump.
In your request for a classification ruling, you ask whether the Primo Lacto is classifiable under subheading 8413.91.90 at a breast pump accessory. As discussed above, heading 8413, HTSUS covers pumps for liquids and parts thereof. Therefore, the Primo Lacto cannot be classified as a breast milk (or liquid) pump accessory.
As an alternative to heading 8413, HTSUS, you suggest that the Primo Lacto is classifiable under heading 3924, HTSUS. Heading 3924, HTSUS provides for, inter alia, other household articles of plastic. This heading covers tableware, kitchenware, and other household articles “such as ash trays, hot water bottles, matchbox holders, dustbins, buckets, watering cans, food storage containers, curtains, drapes, table covers and fitted furniture dust covers (slipcovers).” EN 39.24(C). All of these exemplars are plastic, used in the household, and reusable. Furthermore, the household articles listed in EN 39.24(C) are utilitarian and decorative in character or function as a receptacle, and are closely associated with household functions and activities, e.g., dustbins and buckets for cleaning, watering cans for watering plants or a garden, and food storage containers which store food products for, and in, a household.
Like the examples provided by EN 39.24(C), the adapters and funnel components of the Primo Lacto are similarly utilitarian, made of plastic and used in a household. They are closely associated with the household activities of childrearing, pumping breast milk, and feeding a baby. The Primo Lacto storage cups function as a food storage container for collecting and storing breast milk before feeding an infant. Additionally, CBP has previously classified plastic articles related to breast milk pumping in heading 3924, HTSUS. NY F84229 (Apr. 5, 2000) (breast pump conversion kit); NY K83582 (Mar. 15, 2004) (Avent baby feeding products, including an adapter and breast milk storage kit); NY N264127 (May 11, 2015) (breast milk storage bags). In light of the above, we conclude that the Primo Lacto is classifiable as other household articles of plastic under heading 3924, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the Primo Lacto is classified under heading 3924, HTSUS, and specifically provided for under subheading 3924.90.56, HTSUS, which provides for Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles, of plastics: Other: Other. The column one, general rate of duty is 3.4% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Gregory Connor, Chief
Electronics, Machinery, Automotive, and
International Nomenclature Branch