CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Kay Georgi, Partner
Argent Fox LLP / Attorneys at Law
1717 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-5344
RE: The tariff classification of Polycrystalline Diamond Compact Cutters.
Dear Ms. Georgi:
In your letter dated September 30, 2014, on behalf of US Synthetic Corporation, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise concerned is Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) cutters that insert into drill bits used in down-hole drilling for the oil and gas industry. PDC cutters are composed of a diamond table bonded to a substrate of tungsten carbide and metallic binders. A Polycrystalline-diamond is a synthetic diamonds, and tungsten carbide is a man-made, inorganic compound, not a base metal.
In Headquarters rulings: HQ 958293 dated April 23, 1996, HQ958704 dated April 23, 1996 and HQ 967225 dated November 16, 2004, it is well established that PCD cutters, also referenced as diamond drill blanks, are classified in heading 7116 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). All three rulings found that the PCD cutters lacked a base metal body, and therefore were precluded from being classified in heading 8207 of the HTSUS – see the Explanatory Notes (ENs) to heading 8207 of the HTSUS. Consequently, as the PCD cutters are not goods classifiable in heading 8207 of the HTSUS, Legal Note 3 (k) to Chapter 71, with its exclusion for articles of Chapter 82 with a working part of precious or semiprecious stone, is inapplicable. Accordingly the PDC cutters are classifiable within Chapter 71 of the HTSUS, with its heading of 7116, “Articles of natural or cultured pearls, precious or semiprecious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed.”
The applicable subheading for the PDC cutters will be 7116.20.5000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Articles of natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed): Of precious or semiprecious stone (natural, synthetic or reconstructed): Other: Other. 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 Neil H. Levy at E-mail address: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division