CLA-2:CO:R:C:G 083716 SR
Mr. H. Darrel Darby II
Darco International, Inc.
1038 1/2 Sixth Avenue
Huntington, West Virginia 25701
RE: Classification of post-operative shoes
Dear Mr. Darby:
This is in response to your letter of January 26, 1989,
requesting the classification of a post-operative shoe under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA). A sample from Taiwan was submitted.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue is post-operative shoes. The
outsole of the shoe is a very thick, stiff piece of rubber. The
insole is made up of a thin, stiff board, with a thin layer of
rubber on top to provide some padding for the foot. The upper is
made of a nylon material with a thin layer of padding as a
lining. but are all the same in style. The upper starts from
behind the toe area and surrounds the foot. There is a very
large padded tongue that is attached to one side of the upper and
covers the top of the foot. The shoe has two VELCRO-type strap
closures that fasten over the middle of the foot. The shoe is
open toed and the tongue area opens wide to allow the foot to be
set down onto the shoe with out bending. These shoes are
intended to be worn by persons who have suffered a fracture or
have had foot surgery and are usually prescribed by a doctor.
ISSUE:
Whether the merchandise at issue is classifiable as footwear
or as an orthopedic appliance.
- 2 -
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Chapter 64, HTSUSA, is the chapter that provides for
footwear. Note 1(d) to Chapter 64 states that this chapter does
not cover orthopedic footwear or other orthopedic appliances, or
parts thereof (heading 9021). It is questionable whether these
shoes are orthopedic appliances.
The Explanatory Notes are the official interpretation of the
tariff at the international level. The Explanatory Note to
heading 9021, HTSUSA, lists orthopedic appliances as appliances
for preventing or correcting bodily deformities, or supporting or
holding organs following an illness or operation. They are
listed as including such items as appliances for the jaw,
orthopedic footwear having an enlarged leather stiffener which
may be reinforced with a metal or cork frame that is made to
measure, special insoles made to measure, and orthopedic foot
appliances (talipes appliances, leg braces, with or without
spring support for the foot, surgical boots, etc.). This
Explanatory Note also includes crutches and crutch-sticks and
excludes mass-produced footwear the inner soles of which have
been simply arched to alleviate flat-footedness, which are not
regarded as orthopedic footwear.
The footwear at issue is more than mass produced footwear
with an arch added. The post-operative shoe has a large
unbending wooden base and a very wide open toe area; it is not a
shoe that would be worn unless medically necessary. It is used
to support the foot after an operation or a fracture has
occurred. It also helps prevent or correct bodily deformities by
helping a fractured foot heal correctly. It functions in the
same manner as crutches in that it assists someone with a foot
injury in walking. In addition, these shoes are obtained by a
doctors prescription. Therefore, taking these factors into
account, the footwear at issue is classifiable as orthopedic
appliances.
HOLDING:
The merchandise at issue is classifiable under subheading
9021.90.80, HTSUSA, as orthopedic appliances, other, other. The
rate of duty is 3.9 percent ad valorem under the General duty
rate column.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division