CLA-2-94:OT:RR:E:NC:SP:233
Mr. Peter Munoz
DLP Limited
Unit L
Snugborough, Braddan
Isle of Man, United Kingdom IM4 4LH
RE: The tariff classification of kitchen furniture from England.
Dear Mr. Munoz:
In your letter dated November 25, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
You design and manufacture various products for people with special needs. Your products are marketed under AKW Medicare, a trademark and trading name of DLP Limited. Your Independence kitchen includes permanent installed cabinets, pull out pantry units and mobile carts. They are designed and manufactured to aid independent living of those with reduced mobility.
The applicable subheading for the kitchen cabinets will be 9403.40.9040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Wooden furniture of a kind used in the kitchen: Other: Other: Cabinets designed for permanent installation”. The rate of duty will be free.
The applicable subheading for the pantry units and mobile carts will be 9403.40.9080, HTSUS, which provides for “Wooden furniture of a kind used in the kitchen: Other: Other”. The rate of duty will be free.
Regarding your claim of a secondary classification in HTSUS 9817.00.96, your cabinets and pantry units have similar uses as the furniture in New York Ruling K82370. In your case, the baskets/shelves inside the cabinets have “gas struts” so that they can be pulled out and down for access by those in wheel chairs. From the submitted information, it is clear that the mobile carts were specially designed or adapted to physically and aesthetically match the other units.
You state, “All products have been designed with space saving in mind to allow the greatest usable area for easy maneuvering of wheeled chairs”.
Therefore a secondary classification is applicable in HTS 9817.00.96 as specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of the permanently or chronically physically or mentally handicapped if all applicable entry requirements are met, including the filing with the Customs port of entry of the U.S. Department of Commerce Form ITA-362P. This merchandise is already duty free, but if you elect to claim this secondary classification and meet the entry requirements, no merchandise processing fee will apply. Note this classification will have no effect on quota, visa or restricted merchandise requirements.
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 Lawrence Mushinske at (646) 733-3036. If the questions are regarding 9817.00.96, please contact National Import Specialist J. Sheridan at 646-733-3012.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division