CLA-2-40:OT:RR:NC:N4:422
Ms. Celeste Bonham
Uro Concepts Inc.
P.O. Box 6635
Malibu, CA 90264
RE: The tariff classification of a rubber urine leg bag with an underwear holder from India
Dear Ms. Bonham:
In your letter dated July 27, 2010, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The submitted sample is identified as a Uro Bag System. This item consists of a reusable rubber 700ml (24 oz.) leg bag with an entry valve at one end and a T-valve release port at the other end. The bag measures approximately 5¾” wide by 11½” long, not including the two valves. Including the two valves, the length of the bag measures approximately 14 ½”. Included in the item is a machine washable cotton knit fabric unisex undergarment with an elastic waistband. The undergarment has two inside pockets, one on the inner side of each leg, either of which is designed to act as a holder for the bag. There is an aperture at the bottom of each pocket to allow for emptying of the bag. The item also includes a rubber tubing extension with connectors that measures approximately 19½” in length.
This item is designed for persons experiencing urinary incontinence. There are two pockets in the undergarment to accommodate a person who has undergone a bi-lateral nephrostomy, based on a diagnosis that both kidneys no longer function properly and therefore must wear two leg bags. However, only one bag is imported and sold with this item. The undergarment holder eliminates the need of leg straps that can constrict the circulation of the leg and break down the skin, causing painful skin ulcers.
You have suggested that the Uro Bag System is correctly classified in subheading 9018.90.8000, which provides for “other” instruments and apparatus used in medical, surgical, dental, or veterinary sciences. You have cited New York Ruling Letter E83373 dated June 28, 1999, to support your suggestion. However, the bag described in that ruling was somewhat different than your product. That urine bag was transparent, with measurement markings in milliliters printed on the bag. Your bag is opaque, and has no measurement markings. Furthermore, in September 2005 the Harmonized System Committee of the World Customs Organization issued a classification decision determining that a sterile urinary drainage bag “fitted with a tubing, catheter adapter, valve/port for taking urine samples and a hook for attachment to a bed or mobile holder” was not classified in Heading 9018. Taking this into account, the Uro Bag System would not be classifiable in 9018.90.8000.
You have also suggested that this item could be correctly classified in subheading 3926.90.9810 or 3926.90.9810. However, these classifications provide for certain enumerated items that are made of plastics and the subject urine bag is made of rubber.
This item is considered to be a composite good within the meaning of General Rule of Interpretion (GRI) 3. Although the cotton holder serves the function of an undergarment, the two inside pockets that each has an aperture at the bottom make it apparent that this article is designed to be used with one or two urine bags inserted therein. Therefore, the urine bag and the undergarment are adapted one to the other and are mutually complimentary. The undergarment would not be purchased to be used as underwear without a urine bag. With that being said, the urine bag most directly serves the role of a solution to the problem of urinary incontinence. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the rubber urine bag provides the essential character within the meaning of GRI 3(b).
The applicable subheading for the Uro Bag System will be 4014.90.5000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for hygienic or pharmaceutical articles (including nursing nipples), of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber, with or without fittings of hard rubber: other: other. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent ad valorem.
Articles classifiable under subheading 4014.90.5000, HTSUS, which are products of India may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term "GSP".
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 Gary Kalus at (646) 733-3055.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division