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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N330533: The tariff classification of a safety bed rail from China
| HTS: 9403.20.0050, 9817.00.96, free, “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other metal furniture: Household: Other: Other.” |
| Item: An adult bed rail designed to protect a user from falling out of bed and to provide secure support when climbing into and out of bed. The bed rail is composed of two U-shaped black tubular steel frames connected at a right-angle: one rail slides horizontally under the mattress for stability and the other rail protrudes vertically above the mattress. A tethered anchor extends under the mattress for additional stability. Two height-adjustable feet reach from the center of the side rail to the floor to provide added strength and stability. A small plastic tray that can hold small items is seated slightly below the top of the mattress. The U-shaped side rail is covered in a lightly padded cloth for comfort and aesthetics. |
| Reason: The subject bed rail is not the light-duty type used to keep a young child from falling out of bed, nor is it the heavy-duty type used in hospitals or nursing homes. However, a medium-duty bed rail such as this one, with robust construction, floor-standing stabilizer feet, a tethered mattress anchor and capable of supporting up to 320 lbs. will be used by a person suffering from a permanent or chronic physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking…, etc. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 21, 2023 |
N330541: The tariff classification of a bicycle and two pedal assist electric bicycles from Canada
| HTS: (1) 8712.00.5000, 3.7%, “Bicycles and other cycles (including delivery tricycles), not motorized: Other cycles”. |
| (2), (3): 8711.60.0090, free, “Motorcycles (including mopeds) and cycles fitted with an auxiliary motor, with or without side-cars; side-cars: With electric motor for propulsion: Other.” |
| Items: (1) The Model VT1-14s 100% human powered velomobile, with a c/w 14 speed Rohloff transmission, no motor installed and a 12V-5A Li-ion battery for LED lamps and horn. (2) The Model VT1-e-8S Velomobile a human powered velomobile equipped with a c/w rear wheel motor 500-750 W and regen mode, for electric assistance and a Shimano 8 speed transmission. (3) The Model VT1-e-14s Velomobile is a 100% human powered velomobile, with a c/w 14 speed Rohloff transmission, no motor installed and a 12V-5A Li-ion battery for LED lamps and horn. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 21, 2023 |
N330700: The tariff classification of a pair of women’s trousers from China
| HTS: 6204.62.8021, 9903.88.15, 16.6% + 7.5%, “Women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear): Trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts: Of cotton: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other: Women’s trousers and breeches: Other.” |
| Item: A pair of women’s woven trousers constructed from 96% cotton, 2% polyester, and 2% spandex woven fabric. The trousers have a flat waistband with five belt loops, a zippered fly front opening with a metal button closure on the waistband, two front inset pockets, an inner coin pocket within the right front pocket, two rear patch pockets, and hemmed leg openings. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 21, 2023 |
N330771: The country of origin of Busbar Assemblies
| Origin: Mexico |
| Item: An assembly having two nickel plated aluminum busbars fabricated onto a nylon-plastic base with multiple polyethylene terephthalate film insulating sheets. On the end of each busbar are flexible electrical connectors. The Spine Busbar is said to be used in electric vehicles to make electrical connections to the battery pack and is rated at 400 VDC. |
| Reason: As the Spine and Integration Busbars are classified under HTS subheading 8537.10, the applicable tariff shift requirement in Part 102.20 for the busbar assemblies at issue is a change to heading 8537 from any other heading. The identified foreign components used in the production of the Spine and Integration Busbars, namely the flexible electrical connectors and the bulk of the insulating materials, are all classified outside of heading 8537. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 21, 2023 |
N330825: The tariff classification of an artificial pumpkin from China
| HTS: 6702.90.6500, 9903.88.15, 17% + 7.5%, “Artificial flowers, foliage and fruit and parts thereof; articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit: [o]f other materials: Other: Other.” |
| Item: A “Woven Pumpkin” with a polyfoam core that is covered with a natural-colored woven cattail grass and features a realistic looking plastic stem. The woven grass outer surface is glued to the core, and per your correspondence, the plastic stem is also glued to the top of the pumpkin. It is intended to be displayed as a home decoration. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 21, 2023 |
N330878: The tariff classification of a walker cover from China or Taiwan
| HTS: 9021.10.0090, 9817.00.96, free, “Orthopedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts; splints and other fracture appliances …[o]rthopedic and fracture appliances, and parts and accessories thereof: [o]ther.” |
| Item: A one-piece, decorative fabric cover. When laid flat. It includes four, unlined, open pockets, two sewn on the inside of the cover and another two on the outside. It also has seven hook and loop straps for mounting the entirety of the walker. The cover is specifically designed to fit only two walker models. It provides individuality to the user’s walker and portability of small personal effects while the walker is in use. The cover is imported and packaged in a matching fabric bag. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 21, 2023 |
N330502: The tariff classification of “Carrot Juice Concentrate” from the Netherlands
| HTS: 2009.89.8039, 0.2¢/liter, "Fruit or nut juices (including grape must and coconut water) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter: Juice of any other single fruit, nut or vegetable: Other: Vegetable Juice: Other." |
| Item: “Carrot Juice Concentrate" consisting of 95.5% carrot juice concentrate and 4.5% citric acid with a Brix value of 65-70. The carrots are washed, sorted, chopped, crushed, heated with citric acid water, pressed, treated with enzyme, filtrated, pasteurized, evaporated, and packaged. The finished product will be shipped to the United States in 1,100-1,300 kg polyethylene film bags inside reusable plastic outer containers. The concentrate will be sold to food coloring manufacturing facilities for making color additives. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 17, 2023 |
N330554: The tariff classification of an adjustable tray table from China
| HTS: 9403.70.4031, 9903.88.04, free + 25%, “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of plastics: Of reinforced or laminated plastics: Other.” |
| Item: An adjustable table that can be used as a meal or computer table and can be folded away when not in use. The tabletop is made of laminated plastic and has a raised lip along one edge to prevent items from inadvertently sliding off when the tabletop is tilted. The tabletop is supported by a height-adjustable vertical column. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 17, 2023 |
N331007: The tariff classification of a party decoration from China
| HTS: 9505.90.4000, free, “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Confetti, paper spirals or streamers, party favors and noisemakers; parts and accessories thereof.” |
| Item: A lightweight one-piece, cardboard cutout of the number 2024, which is covered by thin plastic sequins stitched onto lightweight felt fabric, glued to the front face of the decoration. The flimsy decoration features three tabs with hanging holes across the top for easy display. |
| Reason: The fragile decoration is designed for one-time use as a disposable party decoration. |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 17, 2023 |
N330506: The tariff classification of women’s unisex blouses from Portugal
| HTS: 6106.10.0010, 19.7%, "Women’s or girls’ blouses and shirts, knitted or crocheted: Of cotton: Women’s. Of man-made fibers: Women’s.” |
| Items: Unisex blouses constructed from 100% cotton, jersey knit fabric, weighs 240 gm2 and measures at least 10 or more stitches per linear centimeter measured in both directions. The loose-fitting pullover style garments extend from the shoulders to below the waist, feature rib knit crew necklines, long self-start sleeves, large screen print designs on the front panel, and a straight self-start bottom. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: Feb. 16, 2023 |