CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:1:110
Ms. Jane Jewett
Talus Corporation
470 Riverside Street
Portland, ME 04103
RE: The tariff classification of a flashlight from China.
Dear Ms. Jewett:
In your letter dated November 18, 2008 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration is the No Battery Flashlight, style number HR-EM106. A sample of the flashlight was submitted with your ruling request. It is a self-powered flashlight measuring approximately 8 inches long by 2 inches in diameter at its widest points, with a cylindrical plastic housing designed to fit comfortably in the hand. At one end of the housing is a recessed LED (light emitting diode) bulb and reflector under a clear lens. Shaking the flashlight charges its internal nickel-hydrogen battery, and a 3-position on/off/blink selector switch located on the housing activates the LED bulb as a steady beam of light or blink mode.
Headquarters Ruling 952559 defined flashlights as “small battery operated portable electric lights normally held in the hand by the housing itself, the primary function of which is to project a beam of light.” The No Battery Flashlight meets this definition by virtue of its design.
The applicable subheading for the No Battery Flashlight, style number HR-EM106 will be 8513.10.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Portable electric lamps designed to function by their own source of energy (for example, dry batteries, storage batteries, magnetos)…: Lamps: Flashlights.” The general rate of duty will be 12.5 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