CLA-2-90:OT:RR:NC:N4:405
Eleanore Kelly-Kobayashi
Rode & Qualey
55 West 39th Street
New York, NY 10018
RE: The tariff classification of a BD Vacutainer® One Use Holder from Japan and the United Kingdom
Dear Ms. Kelly-Kobayashi:
In your letter dated May 18, 2011, on behalf of Becton, Dickson and Company, you requested a tariff classification ruling. A sample was provided.
The article at issue is a one-use needle holder designed for use with Vacutainer® blood collection syringes. The holder is a plastic tube measuring approximately two inches in length, and bears the Vacutainer® logo embossed on its side. One end of the tube is open, while the other end features a cap-like mechanism that opens to allow a blood collection needle to pass through, and snaps closed to hold the needle firmly in place. When in use, a Vacutainer® collection tube and needle are screwed into the holder and blood is drawn. After the blood is drawn, the collection tube is removed from the holder. The needle is then covered with a safety shield and inserted into the holder, and both are disposed of in a sharps container.
In your submission you state that the one use holder was designed to be solely and principally used with Vacutainer® blood collection systems. The fastening mechanism at the end makes the article more complex than a simple plastic cover, and the one use needle holder is similar in form and function to the safety blood needle holders described in New York Ruling Letter 867880, dated November 12, 1991. In that ruling, it was determined that the safety blood needle holders were classified in Heading 9018.39, which provides for "other" Syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae and the like and parts and accessories thereof. It should also be noted that Vacutainer® blood collection tubes, made from both plastic and glass, have been classified in Subheading 9018.39, as seen in Headquarters Ruling Letters H006419, dated May 2, 2007, and H053758, dated December 18, 2009.
The applicable subheading for the BD Vacutainer® one use needle holder will be 9018.39.0050, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for "other" Syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae and the like 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,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division