HQ 0084070 - Hobble boot - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 084070

June 23, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G: 084070

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4016.99.25

Mr. A.T. Docal
Docal Associates, Inc.
Woodbridge Professional Center South
264 Amity Road, Suite 208
Woodbridge, Connecticut 06525

RE: Hobble boot

Dear Mr. Docal:

By letter dated February 23, 1989, you requested a tariff classification ruling for a set of articles called a "HobbleBoot" and "Textube" bandage under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). Your request has been forwarded to this office for a reply.

FACTS:

The elasticized tubular bandage is designed to fit over a dressing. The HobbleBoot is an item designed to be worn over the injured and treated or bandaged hoofs of cattle to keep them clean and dry, preventing infection or contamination during healing. The HobbleBoot, manufactured in England, is designed to aid in the treatment of two types of injuries:

1. Rotten hoof: after prolonged standing/walking on wet ground, a hoof may rot. The boot and bandage keep the hoof dry and clean to facilitate healing.

2. Cuts: the boot may be worn to facilitate healing of cuts and bruises by keeping the hoof dry.

The HobbleBoot is manufactured by dipping a 50 percent cotton, 50 percent rayon knitted sock into latex rubber, which is then vulcanized. Two straps with fasteners are then attached to the boot. The boot is packaged with two elasticized tubular bandages which are open on each end.

ISSUE:

Is a set of goods consisting of two cloth bandages and protective outerwear for cattle, which is designed to aid in the healing of the hoofs of cattle, classifiable under (1) heading 3005, HTSUSA, covering wadding, gauze, bandages and similar articles put up in forms or packings for retail sale for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary purposes, (2) heading 4201, HTSUSA, covering saddlery and harness for any animal or (3) under heading 9021, HTSUSA, covering orthopedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts and trusses, splints and other fracture appliances, or (4) under any other heading.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

For purposes of the discussion of headings 4201 and 9021, we assume that the packaged article is classifiable as a set and that the boot gives the set its essential character.

Heading 4201, HTSUSA, covering saddlery and harness for any animal is not an appropriate classification for these items. The the terms "saddlery" and "harness" cover items comprising a seat, equipment used to attach a pack, or articles made of straps to fasten, control or direct an animal. Definition of the word "saddle," Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary (1984) at p. 1030; Definition of the term "harness," Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary (1984) at p. 565-6. Although the Explanatory Notes broaden the application of the heading to include, among other things, boots for horses, nothing in the Explanatory Notes indicates that heading 4201 was intended to include items designed for healing purposes. The items enumerated by the Explanatory Notes are for general use and are utilized under normal circumstances, not for medical purposes.

The boot and bandage set is not classifiable under heading 9021, HTSUSA, covering orthopedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts and trusses, splints and other fracture appliances, since it does not correct for a "defect" or "disability"--terms which do not refer to temporary injuries--and since it is not designed for the healing of fractures.

The HobbleBoot is not classifiable under heading 3005, HTSUSA, covering wadding, gauze, bandages and similar articles put up in forms or packings for retail sale for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary purposes. The boot itself may, arguably, be nothing more than a bandage, or, at the least, an
article "similar to" a bandage. Its construction is necessarily sturdy because of the animal, and the part of the animal, on which it is to be used. Nothing in the HTSUSA or the Explanatory Notes, which constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, require that bandages and similar articles be of non-sturdy construction. However, the boot functions to keep a bandage and dressing dry and clean. It is protective outerwear and is not, in and of itself, similar to the types of articles known as bandages which are used to dress or bind up wounds.

Absent a more specific provision, the boot, together with the elasticized tube bandages, are classified under the provision for other articles of vulcanized rubber in heading 4016, subheading 4016.99.25, HTSUSA, if of natural rubber. The boot and bandage are put up in a manner suitable for retail sale, are put together to meet the particular need in protecting a bandaged hoof, and are prima facie classifiable in two different provisions (e.g., headings 4016 and 3005), and are classifiable as a set put up for retail sale with the essential character taken from the boot.

HOLDING:

The HobbleBoot and elasticized bandages, packaged together for retail sale, are classified in subheading 4016.99.25, HTSUSA, if of natural rubber, and dutiable at 4.2 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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