CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:104 J82209
Mr. David Carr
Fisher Power Wave Ltd.
The Glass Cube, Houstoun Road
Livingston, EH54 5BZ
United Kingdom
RE: The tariff classification of a marine fouling remover (Speedblade™) from the United Kingdom
Dear Mr. Carr:
In your undated letter received by this office on March 14, 2003 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The Speedblade™ is a hand-held, 12 volt, electrically powered marine fouling remover. Your website describes it as “the world’s first hand-held power blade, effortlessly removing barnacles and other fouling from hulls and marine structures”. The tool has an internal electric motor that drives a mechanical coupling. The mechanical coupling provides a reciprocating tool action. There is no rotation of the tool’s working face. The motor and the mechanism are contained within an external plastic housing. The tool weighs approximately three pounds and measures approximately twelve inches long (without its working attachment). The Speedblade™ will be supplied with two working attachments (approximately seven inches long), a dedicated electric cable of approximately 45 feet and an operating manual.
In your letter, you indicated that this merchandise was the subject of a previous New York binding ruling, i.e., NYRL #H84761 dated August 10, 2001. At that time, the applicable subheading for the Speedblade™ was 8508.80.0090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provided for electromechanical tools for working in the hand with self-contained electric motor: other tools. The rate of duty was free.
Presidential Proclamation 7515 dated December 18, 2001 and published in the Federal Register on December 26, 2001 (66 FR 66549) modified the HTS to reflect changes resulting from nomenclature modification to the HS. The modifications and technical rectifications to the HTS made by Annex I (which included the changes to headings 8467 and 8508) were effective to goods entered on or after January 10, 2002. One of these changes was to delete heading 8508 and to create new provisions in heading 8467 to cover the goods of the deleted heading 8508. Subheading 8508.80.0090, HTS, was superseded by subheading 8467.29.0090, HTS.
The applicable subheading for the Speedblade™ will be 8467.29.0090, HTS, which provides for Tools for working in the hand, pneumatic, hydraulic or with self-contained electric or nonelectric motor, and parts thereof: With self-contained electric motor: Other…Other. The rate of duty will be free.
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 Robert Losche at 646-733-3011.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division