CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N1:109
Mr. Norman W. Harris III
Customs Service Manager
Panalpina, Inc.
19900 South Vermont Avenue
Torrence, CA 90502
RE: The tariff classification of a BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station from China
Dear Mr. Harris:
In your letter dated October 4, 2012, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Swissvoice Inc., c/o KVB Partners, Inc.
The merchandise subject to this ruling is the BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station. It consists of a wireless handset, speakers, handset charging base, retractable iPhone charger, and standard USB jack. The Bluetooth handset contains 2 x 2 watts loudspeakers and a microchip that enables the user to access Bluetooth enabled cellular telephones for wireless two-way voice communication. When a wireless device, such as an iPhone, is placed in the charging base, the batteries within the device will be recharged. The Bluetooth Class II enables it to receive and transmit with an up to a 20 meter reception range in line of sight environment. When paired other Bluetooth devices, the BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station communicates with those Bluetooth devices that it is paired to. Additional features are voice activated dialing, answering, rejecting and ending calls, and auto reconnect.
The BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station is a composite machine because it consists of several machines fitted together to form a whole (transceiver, speakers, and a charging device), which perform complimentary functions described in different headings of Section XVI of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). In accordance with Note 3 to Section XVI, composite machines are classified as if consisting only of the component which performs the principal function. It is the opinion of this office that the principal function of the BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station is to receive and transmit radio signals to and from cell phones and Bluetooth enabled devices to which they are paired. The said function is performed by the chip, a transceiver, enabling hands-free telephony and communication with Bluetooth devices. Transceivers are classified in subheading 8517.62, which provides in part for transmission and reception apparatus…including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network. While the speakers are classified in heading 8518 and the charging portion is classified in heading 8504, neither heading fully describes the merchandise at issue because neither heading accounts for transceivers. Since the transceiver enables the handset to perform functions that distinguish it from the loudspeakers in heading 8518 and chargers classified in heading 8504, those functions being voice activated dialing, answering, rejecting and ending calls, and auto reconnect, the BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station is classifiable within subheading 8517.62, as a transceiver.
The applicable subheading for the BH01i ePure Mobile Bluetooth Station will be 8517.62.0050 , Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus: Other.” 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