United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule
faqs.org  Rulings By Number  Rulings By Category  Tariff Numbers
faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 2000 NY Rulings > NY F83858 - NY F83918 > NY F83917

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
NY F83917




March 30, 2000

CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:110 F83917

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8471.60.6400

Mr. David R. Grace
Covington & Burling
1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
P.O. Box 7566
Washington, D.C. 20044-7566

RE: The Tariff Classification of Canon S700 Series Color Bubble Jet Printers from Mexico.

Dear Mr. Grace:

In your letter dated March 1, 2000, on behalf of Canon Business Machines, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The merchandise under consideration involves the Canon S700 Series Color Bubble Jet (BJ) Printers when they are imported in the same carton as the Color BJ ink cartridges which serve as their printing mechanism. The specifications of the printer is given at 2400 by 1200 dpi printing resolution with a printing speed of 14 ppm for black and white, 7 ppm for color, having both an IEEE 1284 and USB interface.

The printer is capable of printing in black and white and color. The cartridge incorporates a Bubble Jet print head and two ink tanks (the BCI-7 black ink cartridge and the BCI-7 tri-color ink cartridge). The print head contains a total of 304 nozzles for black ink and 240 nozzles for color (80 nozzles per color — cyan, yellow and magenta).

Each nozzle on the print head units contains a heater. When the heater is turned on, ink is vaporized forming an air bubble. As the bubble expands, ink is expelled out of the open end of the chamber. Upon striking the print media, the expelled ink forms a contrasting dot. The selective printing of dots results is the final image. Without a print head unit, no printing can be performed.

Noting Legal Note 5(B) to Chapter 84 of the HTS, the Canon S700 Series Color Bubble Jet Printers would meet the definition of a “unit” of an ADP system. Although the printer and the ink cartridges (which contain the print head units), will be imported in the same shipping cartons as the S700 Series printers, they will be detached from the printer assembly and enclosed in a sealed plastic container. The BJ ink cartridges will thus not be installed in the printers at the time of importation. Rather, they will only be installed in the printers when they have been purchased by retail customers in the Unites States. Bubble Jet Printers shipped in the same carton as detached printing mechanisms, and therefore not fully assembled units, were the subject of NY Ruling Letters C84386 and C80114.

The applicable subheading for the Canon S700 Series Color Bubble Jet Printer when the print head cartridges are not installed in the printer but rather are separately packed in the same shipping carton as detached printing mechanisms will be 8471.60.6400, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other ink jet printers. The rate of duty will be free.

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

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Eileen Kaplan at 212-637-7048.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: