CLA-2-90:OT:RR:NC:N1:135
Ms. Shannon M. Lalonde
eSight Corporation
515 Legget Drive Suite 200
Ottawa, ON K2K 3G4
Canada
RE: The tariff classification of Electronic Eyewear Kits from Canada
Dear Ms. Lalonde:
In your letter received on May 21, 2018, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The products in question are an eSight Electronic Eyewear Kit and eSight Electronic Eyewear Clinician Kit. The eSight Electronic Eyewear Kit contains product documentation, a black case in a white box, and two accessory boxes. All items are packaged in a brown cardboard box and delivered directly the purchaser (client) to be used as a personal vision aid. The black case contains eSight 3 (a headset and a controller connected by a cable), a USB cable, wrist and neck lanyards, a belt clip assembly, a microfiber bag, a charger, a headband, and a lens-less frame assembly. Based on the information available, the headset appears to consist of a camera, a display system, range sensors, a light, and a plastic housing. The controller is a rectangular-shaped control unit having a 4-point keypad on the top panel, three knobs and two buttons on the sides, and connections for HDMI and USB, and an SD card slot. One accessory box contains a HDMI cable and a spare headband. The other accessory box contains an extended battery holder assembly kit composed of a battery Mophie with a mini cable, a quick start guide, a strap, a battery holster, a USB cable, and extended battery holder documents.
Based on the eSight website, eSight is worn like a normal pair of glasses, restores sight for someone who is visually impaired, and enables those living with vision loss to see, be mobile, and engage in many daily activities, though the user is cautioned against using the eSight for activities that require significant personal movement, such jogging, driving, and power tool use. The eSight works in three steps. The high speed, high-resolution camera in the center of the device captures what a user is looking at in real time. This video feed is sent into a computer in the housing of the glasses. The feed is then projected in color on the two near-to-eye OLED screens with clarity and virtually no latency or delay. The eSight also allows individuals to take pictures, and stream video and games by plugging into a laptop, TV or tablet with an HDMI cable, or connecting with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It is said that the eSight works for the overwhelming majority of individuals with vision loss and enables individuals with legal blindness to actually see as in the same way as those with full vision. The price of the current version of the eSight, eSight 3, is shown as “$9,995 USD” on your webiste.
The second product, the eSight Electronic Eyewear Clinician Kit, is virtually the same as the eSight Electronic Eyewear Kit. The clinician kit contains extra items such as a pair of glasses in the black case, and a visor, a top cover of the controller, a screwdriver and trial frame in the accessory boxes. It does not include a spare headband and the quick start guide and documents of the extended battery holder. The eSight Electronic Eyewear Clinician Kit is not for sale and is used for demonstration and evaluation purposes only. It is configured for the potential user in a trial environment to evaluate the potential improvements to their low vision. The eSight Electronic Eyewear Clinician kit is delivered free of cost to a US contractor to determine if the low vision consumer is a candidate who can be assisted by the eSight.
You previously suggested classification in subheading 9021.90.4080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for parts and accessories for pacemakers for stimulating heart muscles. We disagree. Based on the products’ function and use, they will be classified as other appliances which are worn or carried to compensate for a defect or disability.
The applicable subheading for the eSight Electronic Eyewear Kit and eSight Electronic Eyewear Clinician Kit will be 9021.90.8100, HTSUS, which provides for “Orthopedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts and trusses; splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; hearing aids and other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability … Other: Other.” The general 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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 Fei Chen at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division