The tariff classification of an Invar leveling staff from Germany

NY F82674 February 14, 2000 CLA-2-90:RR:NC:MM:105 F82674 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9015.80.8080 Mr. Anthony Cappelletti United States Brokerage, Inc. 343 N. Wood Dale Road Suite 201 Wood Dale, IL 60191 RE: The tariff classification of an Invar leveling staff from Germany Dear Mr. Cappelletti : In your letter, dated January 31, 2000, for Crain Enterprises, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling for an “Invar Rod”. The closest items in the NEDO catalog which you sent are two “Invar Precision Leveling Staffs”, in 2 and 3 meter lengths. They are available in .5 and 1 cm main graduations. The description states, “The graduation is directly engraved into the lacquering by an inferometrically controlled laser beam. The achievable accuracy and edge sharpness are optimal. The gravest irregular graduation errors are smaller than .005 mm”. The use of Invar, which has an unusually low coefficient of thermal expansion and which is often used in surveying tapes (per the Encyclopedia Britannica), and the extreme accuracy in a relatively long measuring device enables us to distinguish these items from the ordinary, non-surveying, measuring rods described in Explanatory Note D-5 to Harmonized System Heading 9017. The applicable subheading for this item will be 9015.80.8080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for, inter alia, “other” surveying instruments and appliances. The general rate of duty will be free. 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 212-637-7037. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division