The tariff classification of a building access kit from Canada

N255008 July 29, 2014 CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:1:104 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8479.89.9899 Mr. Randi Keenan Med-Eng LLC The Safariland Group 13386 International Parkway Jacksonville, FL 32218 RE: The tariff classification of a building access kit from Canada Dear Mr. Keenan: In your letter dated July 3, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The HAL Hook and Line Building Kit is designed to provide semi-remote access, handling and removal capabilities for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Improvised Explosive Device Disposal and related search tasks and scenarios. The building access system is comprised of a remote door opener containing a gas (nitrogen) strut, a doorway anchor, a HAL multi-purpose clamp, two door hinge anchors, ten self-adhesive anchor pads and two self-opening snatch block/pulleys. The kit is imported packaged in a manner suitable for retail sale. The case is specially designed to fit the components of the kit. The components are not used independently of each other but rather function together as a system to mechanically manipulate mechanisms to allow building access. Use of this system allows the IED removal team to remotely open a door to a building while keeping the team members at a safe distance. The gas (nitrogen) strut is said to provide “a mechanical advantage by transferring an applied force from one end of the arm to the other using an incompressible fluid”. The force is used to assist in (1) opening the door and (2) keeping the door open until the opener is removed or reset. The “incompressible fluid” is said to be nitrogen that is completely encapsulated within the cylinder. No spare gas or rope is supplied with the kit. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Goods that are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, are classifiable in accordance with GRI 3, HTSUS. GRI 3(a) states in part that when two or more headings each refer to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific, even if one heading gives a more precise description of the good.The instant kit consists of at least two different articles that are, prima facie, classifiable in different subheadings. It consists of articles put up together to carry out a specific activity (i.e., the mechanical manipulation of door mechanisms to allow building access.). Finally, the articles are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Therefore, the good in question is within the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale." GRI 3(b) states, in part, that goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), are to be classified as if they consisted of the component which gives them their essential character. It is the opinion of this office that the essential character of this kit is imparted by the remote door opener containing a gas (nitrogen) strut. By application of GRI 3(b), the applicable subheading for the HAL Hook and Line Building Kit, as described above. will be 8479.89.9899, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter, parts thereof: Other machines and mechanical appliances: Other: Other: Other. The general rate of duty will be 2.5% ad valorem. At time of importation, the gas (nitrogen) strut is filled with nitrogen. This merchandise may be subject to the requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which are administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Information on the TSCA can be obtained by contacting the EPA at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Mail Code 70480, Washington, D.C., by telephone at (202) 554-1404, or by visiting their website at www.epa.gov. 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 Patricia O’Donnell at patricia.k.odonnell@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Director National Commodity Specialist Division