CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:120 R03334
Mr. Kelley Dunn
Marisol International LLC
4150 North Mulberry Drive
Suite 130
Kansas City, MO 64116
RE: The tariff classification of housing for a water softener from China
Dear Mr. Dunn:
In your letter dated February 10, 2006 you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client Culligan International Company.
The imported items are the front and back housings for Culligan’s medallist series water softener. The softener purifies water. The housing is made from ABS plastic, Samsung Starex NH-0953U. They are beige in color with an ultra violet inhibiter. The front housing style number is 01017531 and the back housing style number is 01017530. They house the control valve parts of the water softener.
Filtering water involves separating mineral particles, like manganese, iron, hydrogen sulfide or other organic matter, from pure H2O. By passing water through a "filter bed," or "media bed," these granular particles are trapped - and clean, purified water passes through the bed.
Softening water involves something called "ion exchange" to remove dissolved minerals - like calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese - that can't be trapped in a filter bed. Softeners use fresh resin beads with sodium attached to the resin. As water enters the tank, dissolved calcium and magnesium are attracted to the resin. The resin passes up the sodium in exchange for the dissolved chemicals and the water is then rid of these impurities.
Thus, the Culligan’s series medallist water softener is purifying the water of dissolved chemicals.
The applicable subheading for the housing parts of Culligan’s series medallist water softener will be 8421.99.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Centrifuges, including centrifugal dryers; filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus, for liquids or gases; parts thereof: Parts: Other: Parts of machinery and apparatus for filtering or purifying water. The rate of duty will be free.
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 Denise Faingar at 646-733-3010.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division