CLA-2-85:RR:E:NC:1:110
Ms. Jackie Kojian
PerkinElmer Optoelectronics
44370 Christy Street
Fremont, CA 94538-3180
RE: The tariff classification of arc lamps from China or Indonesia.
Dear Ms. Kojian:
In your letter dated January 4, 2007, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration consists of three different types of flash lamps. The three categories are Flashlamps for Warning Beacons, Flashlamps for Stroboscopic Applications and Flashlamps for Professional Photography. The PerkinElmer Optoelectronics Flashlamps are flashtubes, which are light sources with high power density for pulse operation. These flashtubes cover a wide spectral output range from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR). These lamps are used to produce flashes of light of short duration and high intensity for warning beacons, photography and stroboscopic photography. Stroboscopic or "strobe" photography generally refers to pictures of both single and multiple exposures taken by flashes of light from electrical discharge devices.
The PerkinElmer Optoelectronics Flashlamps are manufactured in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. They all consist of a tube made of hard glass or quartz glass with sealed-in electrodes (anode/cathode) at each end. A spark gap is required to convert energy into light by means of an electric arc. Typically an open spark in air is used where a small volume source of very short duration is required. However, the PerkinElmer Optoelectronics Flashlamps are filled with xenon or krypton gas, which provides a more efficient lamp since its efficiency is about five times greater than that of an open spark. Flashtubes containing xenon or krypton gas produce an intense peak of radiant energy giving a light intensity approaching that of a carbon arc.
The applicable subheading for the PerkinElmer Optoelectronics Flashlamps will be 8539.41.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Electrical filament or discharge lamps…arc lamps; parts thereof: Ultraviolet or infrared lamps; arc lamps.” The general rate of duty will be 2.6 percent ad valorem.
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 Thomas Campanelli at 646-733-3016.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division