CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 959092 LTO
Port Director
U.S. Customs Service
c/o Chief, Residual Liquidation and Protest Branch
6 World Trade Center
Room 761
New York, New York 10048-0945
RE: Protest 1001-96-100074; Aneroid Gauge; chapter 90, note 2; HQs 952091, 952672, 954174, 954377, 956881; heading 9018; sphygmomanometers
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding Protest 1001-96-100074, which concerns the classification of an aneroid gauge
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). The subject merchandise was entered on April 26, 1995,
and the entry was liquidated on October 6, 1995. The protest was
timely filed on January 4, 1996.
FACTS:
Aneroid gauges are components of sphygmomanometers.
Sphygmomanometers are medical instruments used for measuring
blood pressure. They consist of the following components: a
cuff within which is an inflatable bladder; bulb and valve
assembly; and gauge (aneroid or mercurial manometer). The
bladder applies uniform pressure to the limb, while the cuff
secures the bladder around the limb. The bulb and valve assembly
first inflates the bladder, then controls the release of air from
the system. The aneroid gauge measures the air pressure within
the cuff as it inflates against the patient's arm.
- 2 -
The aneroid gauges were entered under subheading 9018.90.50,
HTSUS, which provides for sphygmomanometers and parts and
accessories thereof. They were classified upon liquidation under
subheading 9026.20.80, HTSUS, which provides for non-electrical
instruments for measuring or checking pressure.
ISSUE:
Whether the aneroid gauges are classifiable as non-electrical instruments for measuring or checking pressure under
subheading 9026.20.80, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUS
govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1
states in pertinent part that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes . . . ."
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of
the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, and therefore
not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of
each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally
indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See
T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The headings under consideration are as follows:
9018 Instruments and appliances used in medical,
surgical, dental or veterinary sciences,
including scintigraphic apparatus, other
electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing
instruments; parts and accessories thereof
9026 Instruments and apparatus for measuring or
checking the flow, level, pressure or other
variables of liquids or gases (for example,
flow meters, level gauges, manometers, heat
meters), excluding instruments and apparatus
of heading 9014, 9015, 9028 or 9032; parts
and accessories thereof
The protestant contends that the aneroid gauges are
classifiable, as parts, under heading 9018, HTSUS, because the
gauges are used solely for the production of sphygmomanometers
(which are specifically provided for under subheading 9018.90.50, - 3 -
HTSUS). However, note 2 to chapter 90, HTSUS, which governs the
classification of parts within chapter 90, requires a different
result. Note 2(a) provides as follows:
Parts and accessories which are goods included in any
of the headings of this chapter or of chapter 84, 85 or
91 (other than heading 8485, 8548 or 9033) are in all
cases to be classified in their respective headings.
Thus, if the aneroid gauges are classifiable as non-electrical instruments for measuring or checking pressure
under heading 9026, HTSUS, then they cannot be classified as
sphygmomanometer parts under heading 9018, HTSUS. For other
rulings concerning the application of note 2 to chapter 90,
HTSUS, and heading 9018, HTSUS, see, e.g., HQ 956881, dated April
10, 1995; HQ 954174, dated November 23, 1993; HQ 954377, dated
October 6, 1993; HQ 952672, dated May 6, 1993; and HQ 952091,
dated December 7, 1992.
EN 90.26, pg. 1511, states that heading 9026, HTSUS, "covers
instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking the flow,
level, pressure, kinetic energy or other process variables of
liquids or gases." The note, pg. 1512, further states that the
heading covers "[p]ressure gauges (e.g., manometers) . . .
[which] indicate the pressure of a liquid or gas in a closed
space (emphasis in original)."
Aneroid gauges are used with sphygmomanometers which are
designed to measure blood pressure. The sphygmomanometer's
rubber cuff is placed around the patient's upper arm. The doctor
(nurse, etc.) then pumps enough air into the cuff to cut off the
arm's circulation and gradually permits the air to escape. The
doctor then determines the least amount of pressure needed to
prevent the blood from entering the arm, generally by listening
through a stethoscope placed on the arm and noting the pressure
indicated on the gauge at the first sound of blood rushing into
the arm ("systolic pressure," or the pressure exerted on the
blood when the heart contracts). The doctor then notes the
pressure on the gauge at the instant that the sound of blood
rushing through the arteries can no longer be heard, or at the
time the sound suddenly dimishes ("diastolic pressure," or the
pressure exerted when the heart relaxes). See Encyclopedia
Americana, Volume 4, pg. 98 (1980).
Aneroid gauges are "pressure gauges" designed to measure the
pressure of air within the cuff as it inflates against the
patient's arm. The gauges are therefore classifiable, according - 4 -
to GRI 1, under subheading 9026.20.80, HTSUS, which provides for
non-electrical instruments for measuring or checking pressure.
HOLDING:
The aneroid gauges are classifiable under subheading
9026.20.80, HTSUS.
Accordingly, the protest should be GRANTED to the extent
reclassification of the merchandise as indicated above results in
a net duty reduction or partial allowance. In accordance with
section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August
4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision,
together with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your
office to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of
this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with
the decision must be accomplished prior to the mailing of the
decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of
Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the decision
available to Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in
ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom
of Information Act and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals Division