CLA-2-76:OT:RR:NC:N1:113
Ms. Deborah Smith
Marisol International
871 Ridgeway Loop, Suite 203
Memphis, TN 38120
RE: The tariff classification of a dog wheel chair from China
Dear Ms. Smith:
In your letter dated July 6, 2009, on behalf of General Trading Organization, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Photographs of the unassembled and assembled Dog Wheel Chair were submitted for our review.
The merchandise is identified as a Dog Wheel Chair, a device designed to provide mobility to dogs with injured or amputated hind legs. It is composed of an aluminum rod frame with two wheels on the back end, a textile harness and straps to secure the dog. The Dog Wheel Chair comes with three sizes of wheels and four sizes of harnesses.
In your ruling request, you propose classification of the Dog Wheel Chair in 8716.80.5090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “…, other vehicles, not mechanically propelled”. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). The National Import Specialist that handles subheading 8716.80, HTSUS, has indicated that Explanatory Note 87.16 states, “This heading covers a group of non-mechanically propelled vehicles…equipped with one or more wheels and constructed for the transportation of goods or persons [emphasis added]….” The item in question is not constructed for the transport of goods or persons and would therefore be excluded from classification in this heading.
The applicable subheading for the Dog Wheel Chair will be 7615.19.9000, HTSUS, which provides for table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of aluminum, other, other. The rate of duty will be 3.1 percent 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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Ann Taub at 646-733-3018.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division