CLA-2-90:RR:NC:N1: 105
Mr. Joseph R. Hoffacker
Barthco Trade Consultants
The Navy Yard
5101 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19112-1404
RE: The tariff classification and marking of an Osstem Implant System from South Korea
Dear Mr. Hoffacker:
In your letter dated December 8, 2006, for Osstem, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling. No samples were submitted.
You stated: “Product: Dental Implants (Implant Fixtures, Screws, Mounts, and Abutments)
Country of Origin of Titanium Bars: United States
Processing Country: South Korea
Further Processing & Finishing: United States …
We respectfully request the country of origin and classification of these dental
Implants. Attached is a production process flowchart and process map for the processing that is performed in South Korea and the United States. Also attached is a catalog with color pictures of the dental implants.
In regard to the country of origin, titanium bars that are made in the United States are sent to South Korea where they will be cut to size and threaded. The cleaning and finishing of the implants will be performed in the United States.
Please provide the country of origin of the dental implants as imported from South Korea and if they will need to be marked with the country of origin. We believe the classification of the products will be in heading 9021 as this heading provides for dental fittings.”
Regarding the color catalog, it is about 40 pages long. For the purposes of this reply, we will assume that, on page 19, the Cover and Closing Screw, the Healing Abutment, the Simple and Hanaro Mount, and the SS I, II, and III (we presume the SS items are directly screwed into the bone) are representative of your request.
It is difficult to see how the two mounts could be made from the process you describe since each is shown as having two distinct areas of different colors, but we see no reason why it could not apply to the others. The pictured item in the Process Map, hand labeled, “Product as it returns from South Korea,” is a cylinder with threads along its entire length.
From the pictures in the Process Map, it is clear that the titanium bars are much longer than the finished imports and many of them are made from the material of one bar.
Headquarters Ruling Letter 087461, 1-18-91, determined that implants and abutments were not “dental fittings,” but “parts of artificial teeth”.
The applicable subheading for the Cover and Closing Screw, the Healing Abutment, the Simple and Hanaro Mount, and the SS I, II, and III will be 9021.21.8000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Artificial teeth and parts and accessories thereof. The rate of duty will be free.
Items processed as shown in Process Map are products of South Korea and therefore must be marked accordingly. However, following HRL 731002, 10-31-89, the “ulitimate purchaser” is not the patient, but the dentist. We note that, in the case of these items, the patient would normally neither participate in the decision of choosing the specific article nor ever be in a position to see any marking on it or its container. It is sufficient that the packaging be appropriately marked provided it will remain with the imports until received by the dentist.
Further, in this case, the items are repackaged after the processing in the US.
The question is thus whether it is acceptable to mark the container in which imported implants are repackaged in the U.S. with the country of origin in lieu of marking the article itself when no other markings appear on the article itself. A marked sample container was not submitted with your letter for review.
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.
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d), defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. If an imported article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser. In this case, the ultimate purchaser of the implants is the dentist who purchases the product at retail.
An article is excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304 (a)(3)(D) and section 134.32(d), Customs regulations (19 CFR 134.32(d)), if the marking of a container of such article will reasonably indicate the origin of such article. However, since the implants are not imported in their marked retail container, whether the subject articles are excepted from individual marking under 19 CFR 134.32(d) is for the port director to decide. In this regard section 134.34, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.34), provides that an exception may be authorized at the discretion of the port director under 19 CFR 134.32(d) for imported articles which are to be repacked after release from Customs custody under the following conditions: (1) The containers in which the articles are repacked will indicate the origin of the articles to an ultimate purchaser in the U.S.; (2) The importer arranges for supervision of the marking of the containers by Customs officers at the importer's expense or secures such verification, as may be necessary, by certification and the submission of a sample or otherwise, of the marking prior to the liquidation of the entry.
In this case, assuming that the port director is satisfied that the imported implants will be repacked in the manner described above, and that the other conditions set forth in 19 CFR 134.34 are met, the port director may authorize an exception under 19 CFR 134.32(d), in which case marking of the imported implants will not be required.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177).
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