CLA-2-83:OT:RR:NC:N1:121
Mr. Dennis L. Sanner
SinoRegent Group, Ltd.
New Product Development
595 Holliday Lane
Indianapolis, IN 46260-3516
RE: The tariff classification of a safe from China
Dear Mr. Sanner:
In your letter dated August 18, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration is a safe weighing 540 pounds (300 pounds is comprised of steel) that is imported unassembled in four cartons. It measures approximately 60 inches tall by 30 inches wide by 26.4 inches deep when fully assembled. Each of its six exterior panels measures 3 mm thick. The door measures 5 mm thick and has five 1-inch diameter locking bolts that extend and retract by turning an exterior 3-spoke handle. The door frame is faced with a special tape that swells when exposed to high heat to prevent flames entering any gaps around the door. The interior walls and ceiling are made of fabric-covered, 12 mm thick gypsum board faced with paper on two sides. The interior side walls are also faced with 3 mm wood panels that are cemented to the gypsum board. The tightly fit gypsum board and fire resistant tape around the door provide a fire rating of 1263°F (685°C) for 30 minutes. An anti-drill plate is welded to the interior of the door to armor the lock against entry via drilling. A spring-loaded relocker bolt is built into the door locking mechanism to prevent entry if an attempt is made to force the lock mount off the door. Forcing the lock by leveraging the rotating 3-spoke handle is prevented by an axle designed to shear if over-burdened. The safe is accessed via a U.S. made electronic numeric keypad, which activates a U.S. made electronic lock.
According to your letter, the electronic keypads and locks are made in the U.S. The importer will ship them to China where the factory will bolt them, unaltered, into the steel safes. The Chinese factory will mount the keypad and lock to the door; then the keypad connector will be inserted into the bottom of the lock and tested for performance. No physical or functional change will occur to the keypad or lock in China.
The applicable subheading for the safe will be 8303.00.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for armored or reinforced safes, strong-boxes and doors and safe deposit lockers for strong-rooms, cash or deed boxes and the like, and parts thereof, of base metal. The rate of duty will be 3.8 percent ad valorem.
You ask whether the safe will be eligible for a partial duty exemption for the U.S. made keypads and locks. Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides for a partial duty exemption for articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated components, the product of the U.S., which (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication, (b) have not lost their physical identity in such articles by change in form, shape or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled and except by operations incidental to the assembly process such as cleaning, lubricating and painting. All three requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, must be satisfied before a component is eligible to receive a duty allowance. An article entered under this tariff provision is subject to duty upon the full cost or value of the imported assembled article, less the cost or value of the U.S. components assembled therein, upon compliance with the documentary requirements of section 10.24, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.24). The assembly you described meets the three criteria listed above. From the information you provided, the U.S. keypad and lock were exported in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication, they have not lost their physical identity and were not advanced in value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled into the safe. Therefore, the safe is eligible for a partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.8068, HTSUS, for the cost or value of the U.S. components identified above upon compliance with 19 CFR 10.24.
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 Barbara Kaiser at (646) 733-3024.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division