The following proposed modifications of U.S. Customs and Border Protection classification rulings are included in the May 10, 2023, Customs Bulletin and Decisions. Comments on these proposed changes are due by June 9.
For more information on how to seek or utilize classification and other rulings, please contact attorney Deb Stern at (305) 894-1007 or via email.
Beverage Dispensers
CBP is proposing to reclassify certain beverage dispenser machines as solenoid valves under HTSUS 8481.80.9005 (2 percent duty) rather than as other valves under HTSUS 8481.80.9050 (2 percent duty). Ruling NY N047175 would be modified to reflect this change.
The items at issue are free-standing dispensers made of stainless steel that are designed to chill and dispense soda and non-carbonated beverages. They incorporate valves that allow the components of a beverage to be mixed and ultimately dispensed on demand. They can be found in restaurants, supermarkets, and cafeterias.
CBP explains that these dispensers are composite machines, that their principal function is to mix and dispense ice and beverages, and that the solenoid valves are the components that perform this function because they control the water and syrup lines and their actuation by a customer directly causes the machine to release the beverages.
Cancer Treatments
CBP is proposing modify ruling NY N319324 to hold that a transducer array is not eligible to be classified as an article for the permanently or chronically physically or mentally handicapped under HTSUS 9817.00.96 (duty-free). CBP’s primary classification of this product as an electric transducer under HTSUS 8543.70.45 (2.6 percent duty) would remain unchanged.
The item at issue is composed of multiple interconnected electrical transducers designed to be adhered directly to the head or other area where an individual has been diagnosed with cancer. While connected to the electrical field generator within the system, the transducer array creates an alternating field that attracts and repels charged proteins during cancer cell division. The transducers do not electrically stimulate nerves or muscles, and they do not heat tissue.
CBP states that while cancer can cause chronic pain and substantial limitations to an individual’s life activities, it does not constitute a permanent or chronic physical or mental impairment. Instead, disabilities resulting from cancer fit within the definition of “acute or transient disabilities” and are thus specifically excluded from HTSUS 9817.00.96.
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