CLA-2-96:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Ms. Gerry Gallegos
Clearfreight, Inc.
880 Apollo Street (Ste. # 101)
El Segundo, CA 90245
RE: The tariff classification of a cigarette lighter from China.
Dear Ms. Gallegos:
In your letter dated November 3, 2013, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of John Gibson Enterprises (San Luis Obispo, CA).
A sample was submitted and is being returned to you as requested. It is a pocket cigarette lighter having a plastic body measuring approximately 3¼” long by 1” wide by ½” thick. The item incorporates a flush, plate-like switch that can be slid down to reveal a round, 3/8”-diameter recess containing a glowing (red-hot) coil. A cigarette can be lit by briefly inserting it into the recess. A self-contained rechargeable battery in the unit provides electric current to the coil when the switch is in the down position. (When the switch is released by the user, a spring returns it to the up position, thereby shutting off the current and covering the recessed coil.) To enable its battery to be recharged, the lighter also incorporates a plug that may be inserted into a computer’s USB socket or a cell phone’s wall-charger.
The applicable subheading for the above-described rechargeable lighter will be 9613.80.2090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for cigarette lighters and other lighters, whether or not mechanical or electrical…: other lighters: other: electrical: other. The rate of duty will be 3.9% ad valorem.
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/.
With regard to country of origin, Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article (e.g., “Made in China”).
Please be advised that the Consumer Product Safety Commission administers requirements applicable to some lighters. For further information, you may contact that agency at the following location:
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4330 East West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814
Telephone: (301) 504-7923 or (301) 504-7912
Website: www.cpsc.gov
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 Nathan Rosenstein at (646) 733-3030.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division