CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:1:110
Ms. Pam Reeder
Evans and Wood & Co., Inc.
900 Town and Country, Ste. 150
Houston, TX 77024
RE: The tariff classification of lamp parts from China.
Dear Ms. Reeder:
In your letter dated August 17, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Jasco Products Company.
The items under consideration are two lamp kits, item number 50960, 3-Way Lamp Kit and item number 50961, Bottle Lamp Kit. Samples of both kits were submitted with your ruling request and will be returned to you.
Item number 50960, 3-Way Lamp Kit, consists of a lamp-holder with a 3-way switched lamp socket, 10 inch lamp harp, cord set, finial, several lamp fittings, hardware and complete installation instructions. This kit is designed for repair or replacement of table and floor lamps.
Item number 50961, Bottle Lamp Kit, consists of a lamp-holder with a push-through switched lamp socket, several bottle adapters, cord set, lamp fittings, hardware and complete installation instructions. The bottle adapters are rubber-like collars in various size diameters used to fit snugly into the openings of empty bottles and provides an opening for a standard ? inch outside diameter threaded lamp nipple, which supports the lamp-holder. This allows the cord set to pass through the bottle opening and into the lamp-holder. The Bottle Lamp Kit is designed for creating unique home table lamps by utilizing various empty bottles.
The two lamp kits are packaged ready for retail sale in blister packs. The General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) of the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) governs the classification of goods put up in sets for retail sale. GRI 3(b) provides, in relevant part, that goods put up for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the HTS provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. According to the ENs for GRI 3(b), “goods put up in sets for retail sale” refers to goods which: consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repackaging.
Under GRI 3(b), the two lamp kits meet the definition of sets in that they are comprised of articles classifiable in different headings (i.e. lamp-holders, parts and wire) which have been put up together to meet a particular need, namely to provide in one set a grouping of articles for use in creating or repairing table and floor lamps by the consumer. With that in mind, we believe that the lamp parts provide the essential character of these kits.
In your letter you suggest classification of the lamp kits under 8544.42.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as insulated wire. However, items 50960 and 50961 are packaged together with several lamp parts to create or repair lamps, and therefore are properly classified under heading 9405, HTSUS, as lamp parts.
The applicable subheading for the two lamp kits, item number 50960, 3-Way Lamp Kit and item number 50961, Bottle Lamp Kit, will be 9405.99.4000, HTSUS, which provides for “Lamps and lighting fittings…and parts thereof…: Parts: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty will be 6 percent 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/.
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 Thomas Campanelli at (646) 733-3016.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division