CLA-2-40:RR:NC:SP:221 R00190
Mr. Gary Stuart Aspmo
Cascade Corporation
P.O. Box 20187
Portland, OR 97294
RE: The tariff classification of hose installation kits.
Dear Mr. Aspmo:
In your letter dated March 23, 2004, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
Parts 685474, 675158 and 212904 are installation kits used to connect a paper roll clamp to the forklift truck on which it is mounted. Each kit described in your request consists of four synthetic rubber hydraulic hoses with attached metal fittings imported in kit form with additional fittings for attachment to the forklift truck and paper clamp. Each kit includes installation instructions and is packaged in a cardboard box. The hose is reinforced with two braids of high tensile steel wire. The additional fittings are made of steel.
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) provides that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods that: (a) consist of at least two 2 different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Goods classifiable under GRI 3(b) are classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, which may be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the article. This office considers each installation kit to be a set for tariff classification purposes, with the essential character imparted by the hydraulic hoses.
You did not state the country of origin. The rate of duty provided below is the rate applicable when this merchandise is made in a country with which the United States has Normal Trade Relations. You also did not indicate the name of the rubber. The classification provided below is the subheading applicable when the material comprising the hose meets the definition of synthetic rubber in Chapter 40 note 4.
The applicable subheading for the installation kits will be 4009.22.0050, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for tubes, pipes and hoses, of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber, with or without their fittings (for example, joints, elbows, flanges): reinforced or otherwise combined only with metal: with fittings, other. The rate of duty will be 2.5 percent ad valorem.
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 Joan Mazzola at 646-733-3023.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division