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HQ 967627




May 19, 2005

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 967672 AM

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9018.31.39

Ms. Eleanore Kelly-Kobayashi
Rode & Qualey
55 West 39th St.
New York, NY 10018

RE: Binding Classification Ruling on Ophthalmic Cannulae

Dear Ms. Kelly-Kobayashi:

This is in reference to your latter, dated February 9, 2005, to the National Commodity Specialist Division, regarding the classification of ophthalmic Cannulae, pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). Your request has been forwarded to this office for reply.

FACTS:

The samples, product nos. 581276, 581592, 581616, 585282, and 585283, are all sterile packaged devices consisting of a hollow metal tube, resembling a needle, attached to a plastic hub. The instant products are each inserted into the eye during ophthalmic surgery or procedures to drain fluid or insert fluid and medication. All but the “Nucleus Hydrodissector” is described as “cannula” on the packaging. The Webster’s II New College Dictionary, 1986, defines cannula as “a tube inserted into a bodily cavity to drain fluid or insert medication.” Dorland’s Medical Dictionary, 1994, describes “hydrodissection” as: “Injection of a small amount of fluid, usually an isotonic salt solution, into the capsule of the lens in order to dissect its anterior part from the cortex of the lens and allow maneuverability of the nucleus of the lens during extracapsular or phacoemulsification surgery.”

ISSUE:

Whether cannulae used in ophthalmic surgery are more specifically described as cannulae or as ophthalmic instruments.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise imported into the U.S. is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context that requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law.

GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs.

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are:

9018 Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintographic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments; parts and accessories thereof:

Syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae and the like; parts and accessories thereof:

9018.39.00 Other

9018.50.00 Other ophthalmic instruments and appliances and parts and accessories thereof

There is no dispute that under GRI 1, the instant merchandise is an instrument used in surgical sciences of heading 9018, HTSUS.

Using GRI 6, the competing subheadings are “. . . cannulae and the like . . .” versus “other ophthalmic instruments . . . .” If the goods are described eo nomine by the term “cannulae,” then they cannot be classified as “other ophthalmic instruments” under GRI 1. All of the samples, including the hydrodissector, appear to be used in the manner of a “cannula” in accordance with the dictionary definition cited above. Except for the hydrodissector, each of the samples is called “cannula” on its packaging. Your ruling request refers to each sample as a “cannula.” Therefore, the subheading for “cannula” specifically names the instant goods.

HOLDING:

By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the ophthalmic cannulae and hydrodissector are classified in 9018.39.0050, HTSUSA (annotated), the provision for “Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintographic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments; parts and accessories thereof: Syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae and the like; parts and accessories thereof: Other; Other.” The rate of duty is free.

Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the internet at www.usitc.gov.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director

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