CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:422
Ms. Sheila Botelho
Harbor Freight Tools
26541 Agoura Road
Calabasas, CA 91302
RE: The tariff classification of plastic heat shrink tubing from China
Dear Ms. Botelho:
In your letter dated December 9, 2014, on behalf of Central Purchasing, LLC, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The five submitted samples are all lengths of heat shrink tubes that are made of polyolefin plastic material. They are designed to be used for purposes such as protecting wiring against mechanical damage, abrasion and corrosion. They are also designed to be used for organizing cluttered cables, as well as identifying wires and cables by color coding. Under high temperatures the tubes shrink to conform to the underlying material. The samples, which will be returned as you requested, are further identified as follows:
Item# 67598 is an assortment of 42 pieces of heat shrink tubes in various colors and diameters that each measure 3½” in length.
Item# 67530 is an assortment of 120 pieces of heat shrink tubes in varying diameters, each measuring 1¾ inches in length.
Item# 66767 is a roll of black heat shrink tubing that measures 5/16” in diameter and 8 feet in length.
Item# 66766 is a roll of green heat shrink tubing that measures 3/16” in diameter and 8 feet in length.
Item# 96024 is an assortment of heat shrink tubes in various colors and diameters that each measure 12” in length.
You have suggested that these items are correctly classified in either subheading 3917.32, which provides for tubes, pipes and hoses and fittings therefor, of plastics, or in subheading 3926.90, which provides for other articles of plastics, other. Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
Note 8 to Chapter 39 states, “For the purposes of heading 3917, the expression ‘tubes, pipes and hoses’ means hollow products, whether semimanufactures or finished products, of a kind generally used for conveying, conducting or distributing gases or liquids (for example, ribbed garden hose, perforated tubes). The expression also includes sausage casings and other lay-flat tubing.” Thus, aside from sausage casings and other lay-flat tubing, heading 3917 is limited to tubes, pipes and hoses that are of a kind generally used for conveying, conducting, or distributing gases or liquids.
Customs Headquarters specifically addressed the classification of heat shrinkable tubing in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 082700, dated February 15, 1990, and HRL 082619, dated February 26, 1990. Headquarters ruled that heat shrinkable tubing that is not lay-flat does not meet the legal note description of the merchandise in heading 3917 of the HTSUS. Since the sample heat shrink tubes are used for electrical insulation and protection, they are precluded from classification in heading 3917 unless they are lay-flat. Although some of the samples that you provided have been slightly flattened so that their diameters are not fully circular, none of the tubes truly lays flat.
The applicable subheading for Item# 67598, Item# 67530, Item# 66767, Item# 66766 and Item# 96024, will be 3926.90.9980, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastics…: other: other…other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 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 Gary Kalus at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division