CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N1:109
Mr. Paul S. Anderson
The Anderson Law Firm, LLC
125 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1825
Chicago, IL 60606
RE: The tariff classification of LED Packages from Japan and China
Dear Anderson:
In your letter dated August 15, 2012 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise subject to this ruling is LED Packages. The specific model in question is the CL-L233 Series. The LED Packages are compact and high efficiency chips, which are further manufactured into modules for luminance uniformity and will have applications in street lights, exterior lights, and down lighting.
Each LED Package contains multiple LED dice or diodes. The base of each LED Package is a substrate, typically made of aluminum or ceramic. Anode and cathode electrodes are located on the substrate on opposite ends of the package. The LED dice or diodes are connected to electrodes on the substrate, by means of wire bonding. The dice or diodes are then covered with a silicon resin that allows vapor to penetrate inside. The resin also encloses and spatially disperses the phosphors and imparts color to the light ultimately emanating from the LED. In there condition as imported, the LED Packages do not contain any other components such as drivers, housings, switches, bulbs, power service or modules. The purpose of the multiple LED dice or diodes is to achieve more light output once they are further manufactured into modules, which will then contain all of the other components, which are absent from the LED Packages upon importation.
The LED Packages are not LED modules of heading 9405 because they require further manufacturing to produce light, such as a driver, mounting onto a printed circuit board, fittings, and a housing.
The applicable subheading for the LED Packages (CL-L233 Series) will be 8541.40.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Diodes, transistors, and other semiconductor devices;…: Photosensitive semiconductor devices,…: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs). “ The rate of duty will be free.
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 Linda M. Hackett at (646) 733-3015.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division