CLA-2-90:RR:NC:MM:105 C87658
Mr. Paul Heiss
IBCC Industries Inc.
3200 S. 3rd Street
Milwaukee, WI 53207
RE: The tariff classification of a steel seal housing from China
Dear Mr. Heiss:
In your letter, dated April 3, 1998, you requested a tariff
classification ruling.
Your seal housing, which is basically a cylinder 4 inches
long designed to enclose, except for 3 openings, a shaft that is
1.25 inches in diameter and which has bases with 4 holes in them
at each end, will firmly hold a seal against a rotating shaft to
prevent wood pulp slurry from leaking along the shaft. A disk is
attached to the end of the shaft.
As indicated by your literature, the disk is rotated by the
shaft it is attached to through a wood pulp slurry. The changing
torque needed to rotate it at a given speed is reflected in
rotational movement in the motor housing so as to give a measure
of the consistency, which is related to viscosity, of the wood
pulp slurry. This movement is sensed by air gauging nozzles in
pneumatic models and by a load cell in electronic models.
You have presented a catalog page which shows this part to
be used in your consistency transmitters. From your information
and the sample, it is not likely that your sample or other
identical copies of it would be used in other machines. The four
holes in each base plate are presumably placed to match the holes
in another piece.
It is not relevant to the classification of this item
whether it is "identifiable" as a part of an apparatus for
measuring viscosity nor whether the "class or kind" to which it
belongs is principally used in the USA as parts of apparatus for
measuring viscosity.
We disagree with your recommended classification in HTS
8439.99.1000.
The applicable subheading for the disk will be 9027.90.8400,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which
provides for the parts of the non-optical, non-electrical
(noting the pneumatic version) instruments and apparatus for,
inter alia, measuring or checking viscosity, porosity, expansion,
surface tension or the like in 9027.80. The rate of duty will be
1.9 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 James
Sheridan at 212-466-5669.
Sincerely,
Robert B.
Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division
Saved in S:\nis105\c87658