CLA-2-90:OT:RR:NC:N1:105
Ms. Irma Ruiz
Logfret, Inc.
101 Park Avenue
Hoboken, NJ 07030
RE: The tariff classification of items related to in vivo exploration from France.
Dear Ms. Ruiz:
In your letter dated February 6, 2009, for Mauna Kea Technologies, you requested a tariff classification ruling. No sample was provided.
Your letter only forwarded the January 30, 2009 letter (plus several multipage brochures and users’ guides) from Mauna Kea Technologies to your firm, together with your statement that you believe that HTSUS 9018.19.4000 applies to all the items described in Mauna Kea’s letter.
Per Mauna Kea’s letter to you, their classification request is:
1. For the Cellvizio medical devices used during gastro-intestinal endoscopy examination procedures.
2. For the Cellvizio in vivo Cellular Imaging System used for small animal imaging / (Leica FCM1000 In Situ Small Animal Imaging (Leica presently distributes our products on the U.S. market)).
3. For a calibration and cleaning kit used with the Cellvizio in vivo Cellular Imaging System.
The two Cellvizio/Leica systems produce real time, highly detailed images of the surfaces of internal structures in either humans or small animals using Confocal Endomicroscopy and/or Fluorescence Optical Imaging. They have a similar function, for example, to the item described in Headquarters Ruling Letter 953652 LTO, dated April 13, 1994, which was classified in HTSUS 9018.19.4000.
Regarding your proposed classification in 9018.19.4000 of the Calibration and Cleaning kit, it is neither used during the operation of the system nor does it add an additional facility or function to the system.
The Quantikit 488 Calibration and Cleaning kit contains separate colored vials of a calibrating agent, a cleaning agent, and a rinsing agent. The vials are packaged together in a box in 10 sets of five vials. The cleaning agent is a solution of 6% hydrogen peroxide. The rinsing agent is demineralized water. The calibration agent is Alexa Fluor® 488 Hydrazide, one of a series of fluorescent dyes typically used as cell and tissue labels in fluorescence microscopy and cell biology. In this kit, the dye appears to be used as a reference standard to calibrate the CellviZio® in vivo Cellular Imaging System, a fiber-optic confocal microscopy system used in microscopic imaging of small animal hollow organs via endoscopy. Before using the CellviZio® system, one set of the five vials is placed in the Microprobe holder (the Microprobe is plugged into the Laser Scanning Unit), and a sequence of calibration and cleaning operations is followed. The Microprobe is placed sequentially into each vial as the testing operation is being performed, each vial providing the proper calibration, cleaning and rinsing agent at each step. According to the literature provided, calibration must be performed at the beginning of each microscopy session, when different Microprobes are connected, or after a period of inactivity.
Taking the entire composition of the Calibration and Cleaning Kit into consideration, it is the opinion of this office that the essential character is imparted by the calibration agent, the Alexa Fluor® 488 Hydrazide dye. This dye provides the imaging system with a material of a known fluorescent excitation spectrum for the materials to be imaged. The Explanatory Note to Heading 3822, HTSUS, states that “The certified reference materials of this heading are reference materials prepared for the calibration of an apparatus, the assessment of a measurement method or the assignment of values to a material. We consider this to be a certified reference material for tariff purposes.
The applicable subheading for the Quantikit 488 will be 3822.00.6000, HTSUS, which provides for "Diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents whether or not on a backing, other than those of heading 30.02 or 30.06; certified reference materials: Certified reference materials." The rate of duty will be Free.
The applicable subheading for both in vivo systems will be 9018.19.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Apparatus for functional exploratory examination and parts and accessories thereof. The rate of duty will be Free.
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 specifically regarding the classification of the Quantikit 488, contact National Import Specialist H. Kuperstein at 646-733-3033. If you have any other questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist J. Sheridan at 646-733-3012.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division