CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089874 DWS
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
Suite 625
7911 Forsythe Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63105
RE: Blood Lancets; Protest No. 4503-91-100005
Dear Sir:
This is our decision on Application for further Review of
Protest No. 4503-91-100005, dated March 26, 1991. It concerns
your action involving the classification of blood lancets
imported from Japan, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
FACTS:
The blood lancets were entered under subheading 9018.39.00,
HTSUSA, which provides for: "[s]yringes, needles, catheters,
cannulae and the like; parts and accessories thereof: [o]ther."
However, the lancets were liquidated under subheading 9018.90.80,
HTSUSA, which provides for: "[o]ther instruments and appliances
and parts and accessories thereof: [o]ther: [o]ther."
The subject articles are sold under the tradename SURELITE
Lancets and SURELITE XL Lancets. The disposable lancet itself is
embedded in a plastic handle and a flat cap is provided for safe
disposal. While the shape of the lancet may look very similar to
a common needle, it is also very different. While the shaft of
the lancet is round, the point is not. Three facets have been
cut on the point, thus creating secondary edges in addition to
the two standard side edges. The lancet is designed to make an
incision that is small in area and shallow in depth but at the
same time to cut as many blood vessels as possible to draw a
sufficient amount of blood for testing.
The lancets are almost exclusively used by diabetic patients
for puncturing the skin to draw blood for blood-sugar analysis.
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification of blood lancets under the
HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification is determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section
or chapter notes.
Counsel for the importer argues that the lancets are
classifiable under subheading 9018.39.00, HTSUSA, which provides
for ". . . needles . . . and the like" (emphasis supplied). It
is claimed that the lancets are needles that "are not only
specifically provided for . . . but they are also provided for
under the extension to the enumerated articles, as 'like'
articles." Counsel cites "Webster's Third New International
Dictionary", Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Mass., 1986,
which defines needles as:
2(c)(1). A pointed slender instrument used for sewing or
puncturing tissues: SURGICAL NEEDLE.
Counsel is correct in arguing that a surgical needle and a blood
lancet are similar. However, by design, they are very different.
The lancet is a specialized piece of equipment used for a
specialized purpose. The point of a lancet, as described in the
facts, is shaped differently than that of a needle.
Webster's also defines a lancet as:
2. A sharp-pointed and commonly (emphasis supplied) two-
edged surgical instrument of various forms used to make
small incisions (as in a vein or a boil).
Counsel claims that, due to this definition, the subject articles
cannot be lancets because they are not two-edged. However, the
term "commonly" denotes the fact that the definition is not
limited to two-edge construction. The definition is stating that
lancets are normally designed with two-edged points. This does
not mean that other lancets with different constructions, such as
the subject state of the art lancets, are precluded from this
definition.
Even though counsel is incorrect in stating that lancets are
needles, he is correct in stating that lancets are sufficiently
"like" needles for tariff classification purposes. In a
telephone conversation with Dr. Joyce L. Hayman, of the Diabetes
Treatment Center at Georgetown University Hospital, she stated
that it is accepted in the medical profession that lancets are
regarded as "like" needles. According to Dr. Hayman, needles and
lancets do have their differences, but they are also very
similar, in that they are both pointed, they cut through the
skin, and they are both measured in gauges. She added that both
terms (needles, lancets) are used interchangeably in the medical
profession.
Based on the information, we are satisfied that, although
lancets are tools unto themselves and separate from needles, they
are very similar to needles and are "like" needles for
classification purposes.
HOLDING:
The blood lancets are classifiable under subheading
9018.39.00, HTSUSA, which provides for: "[s]yringes, needles,
catheters, cannulae and the like; parts and accessories thereof:
[o]ther." The protest should be granted. A copy of this
decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and mailed to
counsel for the protestant as part of the notice on the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division