Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
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N337487: The tariff classification of self-sealing water balloons from China
| HTS: 9503.00.0013, free, “Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys…dolls, other toys…puzzles of all kinds; parts and accessories thereof… ‘Children’s products’ as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 2052: Inflatable toy balls, balloons …: Labeled or determined by importer as intended for use by persons: 3 to 12 years of age.” |
| Item: The “Bunch-O-Balloons” item is one bunch, or stem, consisting of 30 latex balloons which are attached to individual plastic tubes. The plastic tubes are secured on to a self-sealing water hose adapter nozzle that is attachable to a water source such as a spigot or faucet. Using this device, the consumer can fill a bunch of balloons with water in a matter of 60 seconds. Each water balloon also contains a self-sealing mechanism that activates as soon as the balloons are pulled off the tubes. The balloons are designed to be filled with water and used by young children aged 3 years and older with adult supervision. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 19, 2024 |
N337368: The tariff classification of a textile costume from China and Vietnam
| HTS: 9505.90.6000, free, “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other.” |
| Item: A child-sized Hooded Vampire Dress costume, which consists of a long-sleeved pullover dress, choker, and waist sash with buckle. The waist has narrow exposed elastic stitched on with a single line of loose straight stitching. The dress is entirely constructed with large, loose straight stitching. |
| Reason: The flimsy man-made knitted textile dress imparts the essential character of the set and features large, visible, loose overlock stitching at the front neck and hood opening, the bottom hem and sleeves are raw and unfinished. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 22, 2024 |
N337575: The tariff classification of the “Canasta Traveler” card game and “Doubledecker” card decks from China
| HTS: 9504.40.0000, free, "Video game consoles and machines, articles for arcade, table or parlor games…parts and accessories thereof: Playing Cards." |
| Item: A travel game set, specially designed for playing the card game, Canasta, outdoors under possible windy conditions. The game includes the following items: 2 decks of standard playing cards (called “doubledecker”), packed in a magnetic closure cardboard box with a window cutout (called “deckstand”), 1 spinner set composed of a pick and discard tray, a tray base (called “spindeck”), and a weighted arm (called “doodad”) packed in a paper tuck box, 1 zip bag containing 20 plastic coated magnets (called “clicks”), 1 zip bag containing 4 silicone and steel flat boards ( called “clickboards”), 1 zippered traveler game zip bag, and 1 bag tag/label (with country of origin as well as other game information). Bags are made of laminated woven polypropylene and are sized for their contents. |
| Reason: The playing card decks that impart the essential character to the game. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 8, 2024 |
N337981: The tariff classification of a hand warmer and a toe warmer from Taiwan. Correction to Ruling Number N323659
| HTS: 3824.99.3900, free, "Prepared binders for foundry molds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other: Mixtures of two or more inorganic compounds: Other." |
| Item: The items are a hand warmer and a toe warmer. Both items contain a solution of water, activated carbon, vermiculite, sodium chloride, iron, and carbon resin. When exposed to air, these ingredients oxidize to produce and regulate warmth for several hours. For the hand warmer, the exterior consists of a fabric pouch consisting of two alternating layers of polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate. For the toe warmer, the exterior consists of a fabric pouch consisting of four alternating layers of polyethylene and polypropylene. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |
N337945: The tariff classification of an electronically powered dumper from Spain
| HTS: 8704.60.0000, 25%, “Motor vehicles for the transport of goods: Other, with only electric motor for propulsion.” |
| Item: A rider-controlled electronically powered dumper, Model D151AEG. The D151AEG is a 17.6kw electric dumper with a 1.5 metric ton capacity, and a maximum speed of 14 kilometers per hour (8.69 mph). |
| Reason: Note 1(l) to Section XVI, which includes heading 8427, states that Section XVI does not cover articles of Section XVII. Since the dumper is classifiable in a heading of Section XVII, it is precluded from classification in heading 8427. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |
N337880: The tariff classification of a textile costume from China
| HTS: 9505.90.6000, free, “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other.” |
| Items: A sample of a child-sized costume identified as Wish Asha Advntr Outfit, which has a long-sleeved pullover dress with attached plastic belt. The flimsy man-made textile dress features large, visible, loose overlock stitching around the neck, deep back opening, and long sleeves. The deep back opening is closed with a single small tab of hook and loop fastener. The half elastic waist consists of a strip of narrow exposed elastic stitched directly to the back of the dress with one row of long, loose straight stitching, The hem bottom is finished with large, visible, loose overlock stitching. Although there is some styling on the garment, the dress is not well-made. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |
N337799: The tariff classification of a drawstring bag from China
| HTS: 6307.90.9891, 9903.88.15, 7% + 7.5%, "Other made up articles, including dress patterns: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Item: A drawstring bag, is a textile bag intended to be used to carry candy. The rectangular bag measures 6 ¾ inches in length by 9 ½ inches in width and is sewn on three sides. The open end is hemmed and features a drawstring closure composed of 100 percent polyester woven fabric tied at either end. The front of the bag is available in two different pumpkin face designs, featuring two triangular shaped black eyes and nose and a smiling mouth with four white teeth: or two circular shaped white eyes with black pupils, a triangular shaped black nose, and mouth. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |
N337843: The tariff classification of a Coolant Distribution Unit from Mexico
| HTS: 8419.89.9585, 4.2%, “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated (excluding furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514), for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, cooking, roasting, distilling, rectifying, sterilizing, pasteurizing, steaming, drying, evaporating, vaporizing, condensing or cooling, other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes; instantaneous or storage water heaters, nonelectric; parts thereof: Other machinery, plant or equipment: Other: Other: Other: Other: For other materials.” |
| Item: A Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) is a system designed to control the temperature of components in electrical equipment. The CDU is housed within a floor-standing cabinet that is separated into two sections, a controller section and a mechanical section. The controller section consists of a controller board, power supply, pump inverter drives, and EMC filters. Directly behind and below the controller section is the mechanical section, whose main components are a reservoir tank, expansion vessel, valves, sensors, pumps, and plate heat exchangers. |
| Reason: The unit is designed to change the temperature of a fluid returning from heat-generating components of electrical equipment. While the automatic controller does provide control over the unit, it is only one piece of the overall system. The overall system combines the controller with the mechanical equipment that actually changes the temperature of the fluid. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |
N337783: The tariff classification of items used for hobby maple syrup production imported from China
| HTS: (1) 8207.50.2055, 9903.88.03, 5% + 25%, "Interchangeable tools for hand tools, whether or not power operated, or for machine-tools (for example, for pressing, stamping, punching, tapping, threading, drilling, boring, broaching, milling, turning or screwdriving), including dies for drawing or extruding metal, and rock drilling or earth boring tools; base metal parts thereof: Tools for drilling, other than for rock drilling, and parts thereof: with cutting part containing by weight over 0.2 percent of chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten or over 0.1 percent of vanadium: Twist drills: Other." (2) 3917.40.0095, 9903.88.02, 5.3% + 25%, "tubes, pipes and hoses and fittings therefor (for example, joints, elbows, flanges), of plastics: fittings: other." (3) 3917.32.0020, 9903.88.02, 3.1% + 25%, "tubes, pipes and hoses and fittings therefor (for example, joints, elbows, flanges), of plastics: other tubes, pipes and hoses: other, not reinforced or otherwise combined with other materials, without fittings: of polyethylene." (4) 4823.90.8680, 9903.88.03, free + 25%, "for other paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding and webs of cellulose fibers, cut to size or shape; other articles of paper pulp, paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding or webs of cellulose fibers: other: other: other: other: other: other." (5) 4911.99.6000, 9903.88.15, free + 7.5%, "other printed matter: other: other: other: printed on paper in whole or in part by a lithographic process." |
| Item: (1) A HSS Twist Drill Bit. The drill bit is made of full ground M2 grade steel, with a chemical composition of over 0.1% Vanadium. The bit is a twist drill bit with spiral grooves or flutes cut lengthwise into and around the cylindrical steel shaft of the bit. The principal use of the drill bit is to drill a deep hole into a maple tree, for the purpose of inserting a plastic elbow fitting (spout) into the hole that is made from the drill bit. (2) A plastic elbow fitting (spout). The elbow fitting is molded from Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene. It consists of a slightly longer smooth stem and a shorter barbed stem and incorporates a hole in the middle to allow for liquid to pass through. The use of this elbow fitting is to aid in the extraction of sap from maple trees. Once the hole is drilled into the tree, the longer smooth stem of the elbow is inserted into the tree for sap collection. (3) LDPE Tubing. The tubing is composed of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). This tubing will be attached to the elbow fitting to allow for sap to flow from a tree into a collection device. It will be imported in both rolls and pre-cut sizes. (4) A paper cone filter. The filter is designed to remove debris and other particles from sap. The paper is cut in roughly a half-circle, is folded in half, and is sewn with an overlock-type stitch along the unfolded edge. (5) A collection of recipe cards printed on cardstock. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |
N337744: The tariff classification of Dehydrated Alcohol Injection USP in dosage form, from India
| HTS: 3004.90.9221, free, “Medicaments… consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses … or in forms or packings for retail sale: Other: Other: Other: Cardiovascular medicaments: Other.” |
| Item: Dehydrated Alcohol Injection USP is an ablative agent. It is used to induce controlled cardiac septal infarction to improve exercise capacity in adults with symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy who are not candidates for surgical myectomy. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 9, 2024 |