CLA-2-90:OT:RR:NC:N1:105
Mr. Larry Ordet
Sandler, Travis, and Rosenberg, P.A.
5200 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, FL 33126
RE: The tariff classification of a liquid meter from China.
Dear Mr. Ordet:
In your letter dated March 2, 2009, for Camelbak Products, LLC, you requested a tariff classification ruling. No sample was provided.
You state that your import is a “digital electronic device” and that this “after-market meter is designed to be placed on the tubing of a previously purchased hydration system.”
The hydration system is essentially a plastic container and plastic tubing to carry liquids for bicyclists, etc to drink while traveling/exercising and is classifiable in HTSUS Chapter 39. Note 2-u to Chapter 39 excludes the articles of Chapter 90.
You state:
“In operation, the meter calculates the flow of liquid which passes through the tube connected to the reservoir. As liquid flows through the tube, the magnetic impeller spins, and an electronic sensor in the impeller housing measures the rate and number of spins. From this information, the meter calculates the volumetric flow of liquid that has passed from the tube. The display then indicates the amount of fluid remaining within the user’s reservoir (e.g. like a car’s fuel gauge), the amount of fluid consumed by the user since the unit was started or reset, the amount of fluid consumed relative to the user’s “Personal Hydration Goal”, and the estimated time remaining until the user’s fluid supply is depleted.”
You propose classification in HTSUS 9026.10.2040, which provides for flow meters for liquids, which are “electrical” (as defined by HTSUS Chapter 90, Additional U.S. Note 2.) However, your item does not measure the flow through it per unit time. Instead, it measures the total flow of the liquid since “the unit was started or reset.” It is thus a liquid supply meter, which is in the heading to HTSUS 9028. Its method is similar to the Impeller or fan wheel motors in Harmonized System Explanatory Note I-B-1 to 9028. From the examples in EN II to 9028 regarding Electricity Supply Meters, that heading clearly includes items with additional features based upon its measurement of the total volume of the substance that has been supplied.
The items of 9028 are excluded from HTSUS 9026 by its heading.
You cite New York Ruling Letter E85136 -105, dated August 27, 1999. However, that decision did not hold that “marine fuel gauges were classified in as flow meters in heading 9026,” as you state. Those items were classified in 9026.10.60 as instruments or apparatus for measuring or checking the level of liquids. They directly measured the level of the liquid using a cork float, similar to the items in HS EN II-1 to 9026. They did not measure the volume of liquid that had passed through them.
The applicable subheading for your liquid meter will be 9028.20.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Liquid meters. The rate of duty will be 16 cents each plus 2.5% 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 J. Sheridan at 646-733-3012.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division