NY 0854558 - The tariff classification of the Go-chair wheelchair from Canada - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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NY 854558

July 25, 1990

CLA-2-87:S:N:N1:101-854558

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8713.10.0000

Ms. Tracey A. Ellman
C.J. Tower Inc.
128 Dearborn Street
Buffalo, NY 14207-3198

RE: The tariff classification of the Go-chair wheelchair from Canada

Dear Ms. Ellman:

In your letter dated July 17, 1990, on behalf of Invacare Corporation, Elyria, Ohio, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

You have submitted literature describing the Go-chair as a wheeled mobility device for the frail elderly. The Go-chair wheelchair serves both as an invalid carriage and as a device that allows the individual to walk from a seated position. It may be used in a home, a hospital, a geriatric center, etc. This wheelchair has two wheels in a metal base and four swivel casters. Other features include a steel frame, a pivoting seat (that can be locked in place to make it non-pivoting), a push bar, armrests that can be lowered and raised, hand lever brakes, a reversible front tray, and a detachable backrest. The wheelchair is made of a composite fabric; the seat, armrest and headrest are made of molded foam; and the backrest and legrest are made of slab foam. The Go-chair has a seat width of 19 inches, base width of 24 inches, base length of 32 inches, back height (from seat) of 23 inches, and a total weight of 46 pounds.

The applicable subheading for the Go-chair wheelchair will be 8713.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for invalid carriages, not mechanically propelled. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.

Goods classifiable under subheading 8713.10.0000, HTS, which originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a 4.2 percent rate of duty under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

Subheading 9817.00.96, HTS, is the provision for other articles specially designed or adapted for use or benefit of the blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons. U.S. Note 4(a), subchapter XVII, HTS, states that for the purposes of subheading 9817.00.9, the term physically or mentally handicapped person includes any person suffering from a permanent or chronic physical or mental impairment, and U.S. Note 4(b) states that subheading 9817.00.96 does not cover articles for acute or transient disability.

Wheelchairs of the type designed for general use in the home or hospital may be employed by persons with temporary or acute problems. Such wheel- chairs do not possess any special design attributes which adapt them to the needs of chronically handicapped individuals. Therefore, subheading 9817.00.96 would not be applicable for the Go-chair wheelchair.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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