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NY A87840





October 15, 1996

MAR-2-93:RR:NC:1:119 A87840

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. William York
Interport Inc.
P.O. Box 800
Delta, UT 84624

RE: The Country of Origin Marking of Spare Parts for Firearms

Dear Mr. York:

In your letter dated September 18, 1996 you requested a country of origin marking ruling on spare parts for firearms from various countries.

The articles to be imported are spare parts for the German designed HK line of weapons. The parts are imported in bulk from various countries, including Germany, Greece, Pakistan and Turkey, and sold in small quantities to customers in the United States. In certain cases parts are assembled into subassemblies such as buttstock assembly, bolt carrier assembly, and then sold to the public.

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.

Since the merchandise will be repacked after importation an exception to the marking of each article at the time of importation may be authorized at the discretion of the port director (Section 134.34 of the Customs Regulations). The certification procedure outlined in Section 134.26 C.R. should be followed to insure that the retail containers are marked with the country of origin of the parts.

In addition, Section 178.92 of Title 27, Part 178, Code of Federal Regulations requires that complete firearms and frames or receivers be marked by die stamping or engraving with the following information: 1) serial number; 2) model; 3) caliber or gauge; 4) name of manufacturer and country; 5) name of importer, city and State. Any exceptions to these requirements would have to be granted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

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.

If you have any questions pertaining to this matter, please contact National Import Specialist Jacques Preston of this office at (212) 466-5488.

Sincerely,

Roger J. Silvestri
Director

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