July 6 CBP Bulletin Proposes to Revoke Ruling on Paint Mixing Sticks, Batteries
In the July 6 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 56, No. 26), CBP published a proposal to revoke a ruling on wooden paint mixing sticks and composite portable storage batteries.
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Comments on Proposals Due Aug. 5
CBP said consideration will be given to any written comments received by Aug. 5 before taking these actions. In addition, any party that has received a ruling or decision on the merchandise that is subject to the proposed revocations or modifications, or any party involved with a substantially identical transaction, should advise CBP by the date that written comments on the proposed ruling are due. (An importer's failure to advise CBP of such rulings, decisions or substantially identical transactions may raise issues of reasonable care on the part of the importer or its agents for importations after the effective date of the final decision in this notice.)
Proposals
CBP is proposing to revoke or modify the rulings below, and any rulings on these products that may exist but have not been specifically identified. CBP is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
Wooden Paint Mixing Sticks
| Items: Wooden paint mixing sticks with and without measurement markings, and a wooden yardstick |
| Current: 4417.00.8090, 5.1%, “Tools, tool bodies, tool handles, broom or brush bodies and handles, of wood; boot or shoe lasts and trees, of wood: Other: Other.” |
| Proposed: 9017.80.00, 5.3%, “Drawing, marking-out or mathematical calculating instruments (for example, drafting machines, pantographs, protractors, drawing sets, slide rules, disc calculators); instruments for measuring length, for use in the hand (for example, measuring rods and tapes, micrometers, calipers), not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts and accessories thereof: Other instruments.” |
| Reason: The items at issue are imprinted with markings that enable a user of the items to perform the act of measuring as required by heading 9017; They are rulers that measure, and are therefore prima facie classifiable under heading 9017. |
| Proposed for revocation: N266261, dated July 21, 2015, and NY N266749, dated July 22, 2015 |
| Proposed new ruling: HQ H309089 |
Composite Portable Storage Batteries
| Items: Portable power supplies for use in automobiles, boats and other moving vehicles to provide battery power to dead batteries, cell phones and charges along with lighting. |
| Current: 8504.40.95, free, “Electrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors; parts thereof: Other.” |
| Proposed: 8507.20.80, 3.5%, “Electric storage batteries, including separators therefor, whether or not rectangular (including square); parts thereof: Other lead-acid storage batteries: Other.” |
| Reason: None of the functions of the various devices (the provision of power for external devices, lighting, or jumpstarting motor vehicles or inflating tires) would be possible without the devices’ ability to store power or serve as a battery. The merchandise under consideration differs from products that merely serve to charge other devices but lack a battery. |
| Proposed for revocation: NY H82059, dated June 28, 2001; NY R04727, dated Sept. 14, 2006; NY N005077, dated Jan. 23, 2007; NY N034766, dated Aug. 12, 2008; and NY N081177, dated Nov. 4, 2009 |
| Proposed new ruling: HQ H206455 |