CLA-2-90:OT:RR:NC:N4:405
Melissa Hoffman Ericsson, Inc. 6300 Legacy Drive
M/S EVW 1-B-5
Plano, TX 75024
RE: The tariff classification and marking of mobile patient monitoring system from Croatia.
Dear Ms. Hoffman:
In your letter dated January 5, 2010, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise at issue is described as a component of the Ericcson Mobile Health system (EMH). The EMH is a system created for the healthcare industry that is designed to measure vital patient values and forward those measurements to medical professionals using wireless and wireline technologies. The system is designed to be mobile, and can measure a patient’s vital signs even when they are outside of a medical facility. The EMH consists of three main components, a patient unit, a backend system, and a web interface. The patient unit is the only component you are requesting a ruling on at this time. The patient unit of the EMH consists of a medical sensor or a combination of medical sensors, along with a wireless communication device. The sensors that may be contained in a patient unit include an electro-cardiogram (ECG) device, a blood pressure meter, a peak flow meter (for lung capacity), a pulse oximetry sensor (for blood oxygen saturation), a digital weight scale, and others. You indicate that the EMH system provides for 16 different types of patient units in five categories, thus different units may incorporate a different array of sensors. Every patient unit will come with a communication device. The set of sensors is tailored to a particular monitored disease or condition, and they collect the relevant patient data and transmit it wirelessly to the communication node via Bluetooth. The communication device can then transmit the information to a doctor or a healthcare center, where the vital statistics can be reviewed. If the medical professional reviewing the data notices anything out of the ordinary, or identifies any potential risks, they can direct the patient to seek immediate treatment. Though the exact composition of each patient unit may vary depending on the condition it is designed to monitor, you indicate that each unit will consist of at least one medical sensor along with the communication device. As a result, the patient unit would meet the definition of a patient monitoring device of Heading 9018 in that it is used in professional practice, allowing a medical professional to diagnose and monitor a patient from afar. Your product is similar to the Stethekin Personal Health Platform described in New York Ruling Letter N004877, dated January 26, 2007.
We agree that the applicable subheading for the EMH Patient Unit will be 9018.19.5500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Patient Monitoring Systems. The rate of duty will be free. In your submission you also inquire as to the acceptable country of origin marking for the patient unit. While you don’t provide the country of origin of the various component sensors and communication device, you state that all of the articles are sent to Croatia where they are assembled into the various patient unit kits. You assume that the items will be from different countries. You specifically ask if the country of origin for the kits can be considered Croatia.
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.
As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.
Based on the information you provide, the only processing that takes place in Croatia is the incorporation and packaging of the various components into their respective kits. In Headquarters Ruling Letter 559912, dated March 25, 1997, it was found that the packaging together of various microscope components did not result in a substantial transformation of those articles, as the individual components retained their own identity. The same holds true for the components of the patient unit, which maintain their own identity even after being packaged together into a kit. As a result, the patient units cannot be labeled a product of Croatia, and as such the components must be marked with their respective countries of origin.
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 J. Sheridan at (646) 733-3012.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division