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NY L85961




September 1, 2005

CLA-2-36:RR:NC:N2:221 L85961

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 3603.00.3000

Mr. Lawrence W. Hanson
The Law Office of Lawrence W. Hanson P.C. One Riverway, Suite 1850
Houston, Texas 77056

RE: Classification of Lightning Thermo Tube explosive based shock tubing from Brazil.

Dear Mr. Hanson:

In your letter dated June 21, 2005, on behalf of Lightning Thermo Tube Ltda., you requested a tariff ruling. Your sample is being returned.

The product, identified as Lightning Thermo Tube, is a hollow plastic tube, 3 mm in diameter, containing in its inner wall a thin layer of a spark conducting mixture. It is used for the safe and remote initiation of pyrotechnic items or flame sensitive materials. A welding in the plastic hermetically closes each end of the tube during transport and storage, but the ends of the tube must be open during use. Though suitable for use in pyrotechnics, it is used primarily in the construction and mining industry as a lead-in line for remote product ignition. You anticipate use in the United States by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) licensed explosive engineers for commercial, government and military applications.

The tube wall is made of polyethylene, and has a chemical lining that contains a small amount of reactive material. The primary ingredients in that reactive material that provides heat are potassium perchlorate and finely atomized aluminum powder, both of which are explosive materials. The product is used to safely transmit a spark. The spark is internally transferred inside the tube to the opposite, receiving end of the tube

In your letter you request classification in heading 3917, HTS, which provides for tubes, pipes and hoses and fittings therefor, of plastics. Legal note 8 to Chapter 39, HTS, states, “For the purposes of heading 3917, HTSUS, the expression ‘tubes, pipes and hoses’ means hollow products, whether semimanufactures or finished products, of a kind generally used for conveying, conducting or distributing gases or liquids (for example, ribbed garden hose, perforated tubes). This expression also includes sausage casings and other lay-flat tubing.” The thermo tube does not meet the requirements of this note and thus cannot be classified in heading 3917, HTS.

In your request you reference Headquarters Ruling 041280, dated October 18, 1975, which classified plastic shock tubing in the provision for blasting, mining and similar fuses. In that ruling HQ stated, “The plastic tubing with the low concentration powder explosive coating applied to the inside of the tube is more than a simple article of plastic, or plastic tubing suitable for conducting gases or liquids in the conventional sense, or plastic seaming tubing. The article’s primary characteristic and use is as a shockwave conductor fuse for the detonation of explosive charges particularly in electrically critical areas.” The thermo tube is similar to the product that was the subject of that ruling except for the type of explosive.

The applicable subheading for the Lightning Thermo Tube explosive based shock tubing will be 3603.00.3000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for safety fuses or detonating fuses. The general rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.

Articles classifiable under subheading 3603.00.3000, HTS, which are products of Brazil may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

Additional requirements may be imposed on this product by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). You may contact the ATF at:

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Explosives Industry Branch
650 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., Room 5000
Washington, D.C. 20226
Telephone number 202-927-8394
and

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Explosives Licensing Center
2600 Century Parkway N.E., Suite 400
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
Telephone number: 404-417-2750

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 Joan Mazzola at 646-733-3023 or National Import Specialist Frank Cantone at 646-733-3038.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski,

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