CLA-2-90:OT:RR:NC:4:405
Mr. James Trubits
Mohawk Global Logistics
4700 Genesee Street, Suite 108
Cheektowaga, NY 14225
RE: The tariff classification of the Venipuncture Course and Training Kit from Taiwan
Dear Mr. Trubits:
In your letter dated June 28, 2013, on behalf of your client Apprentice Corporation you requested a tariff classification ruling. A sample together with its retail packaging was provided.
The retail box for the sample states that it is part of the Apprentice Doctor for Future Medical Professionals series and that it is a Venipuncture Course and Training Kit. The Kit includes 28 types of items, several with multiple individual items, e.g., the 10 Gauze Squares, plus a DVD instructional video, normally intended to supplement the explanations provided by an instructor on how to perform venipuncture and intravenous (IV) procedures safely. You state in your letter that the kit includes a 178 page course book, but there is no reference to it on the packaging or in the 2 page listing of the elements in the Venipuncture Kit which you submitted. Some of the physical items are specifically made for training purposes, such as the Venipuncture Trainer, while others are presumably the ordinary items, such as the IV Fluid Bag or the Lumen Stoppers. While some of the “ordinary items” might be usable in the actual treatment of a patient, the combination of small quantities of various items in the import are not suitable for that use in any commercially feasible way. All of the items make more understandable and vivid the discussion of each specific procedure that is being explained and demonstrated by an instructor and/or the DVD.
A typical use of the Kit would be at a Medical Camp which provides young people with training and information regarding simple medical procedures to enable them to learn more about and better evaluate their interest in the procedures that are common in a potential medical career. As part of the instruction, a student might use some of the kit either on a fellow student or a medical dummy, like the one whose arm is in the photo on the packaging. Medical dummies are classifiable in 9023.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as in New York Ruling Letter C82361, dated December 11, 1997.
We agree with your implication that the import is a set under General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3. However, we find that the various physical items in the kit are, at minimum, classifiable in the last heading, i.e., 9023, HTSUS, which equally merits consideration in providing the kit its essential character under GRI 3-c.
The applicable subheading for the Venipuncture Course and Training Kit will be 9023.00.0000, HTSUS, which provides for instruments, apparatus and models, designed for demonstrational purposes (for example, in education or exhibitions), unsuitable for other uses, and parts and accessories thereof. 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 J. Sheridan at (646) 733-3012.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division