HQ 952997: Surgical instruments; GRI 1; EN 90.18

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                            HQ 952997

                        December 14, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 952997 KCC

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  9018.90.80

Mr. B.J. Kalman
Fine Surgical Instrument Corp.
741 Peninsula Boulevard
Hempstead, New York  11550

RE:  Surgical instruments; GRI 1; EN 90.18

Dear Mr. Kalman:

     This is in response to your letter dated October 6, 1992, to
Customs in New York, regarding the proper marking and tariff
classification of surgical instruments under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).  Your letter and
samples were forwarded to this office for a response.  Your
question regarding the proper marking of the surgical instruments
will be addressed by the Marking and Value Branch under separate
cover.

FACTS:

     The articles under consideration are two surgical
instruments, a 9 1/2 inch sponge forceps and a 7 1/4 inch
Rochester Ochsner.  The surgical instruments are manufactured
from German forgings which are processed in Pakistan into
completed surgical instruments and then shipped to the U.S.

ISSUE:

     What is the proper tariff classification of the surgical
instruments under the HTSUS?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     The classification of merchandise under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States is governed by the General
Rules of Interpretation (GRI's).  GRI 1, HTSUS, states in part
that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined
according to the terms of the heading and any relative section or
chapter notes...."




     Heading 9018, HTSUS, provides for instruments and appliances
used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences. 
Explanatory Note (EN) 90.18 of the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (HCDCS) states that "[t]his heading
covers a very wide range of instruments and appliances which, in
the vast majority of cases, are used only in professional
practice (e.g., by doctors, surgeons, dentists, veterinary
surgeons, midwives), either to make a diagnosis, to prevent or
treat an illness or to operate, etc."  EN 90.18 continues:

          It should also be noted that a number of the
     instruments used in medicine or surgery (human or
     veterinary) are, in effect, tools (e.g., hammers, mallets,
     saws, chisels, gouges, forceps, pliers, spatulae, etc.), or
     articles of cutlery (scissors, knives, shears, etc.).  Such
     articles are classified in this heading only when they are
     clearly identifiable as being for medical or surgical use by
     reason of their special shape, the ease with which they are
     dismantled for sterilisation, their better quality
     manufacture, the nature of the constituent metal or by their
     get-up (frequently packed in cases or boxes containing a set
     of instruments for a particular treatment: childbirth,
     autopsies, gynaecology, eye or ear surgery, veterinary cases
     for parturition, etc.).

HCDCS, Vol. 4, p. 1487-1488.  The Explanatory Notes, although not
dispositive, are to be examined when interpreting the HTSUS.  54
Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989). 

     In this case, the subject instruments satisfy the
description in EN 90.18.  The information and samples provided
indicate that the instruments are for medical and surgical use. 
In addition, the special design and shape of the instruments and
their manufacture from stainless steel indicate their use in
surgical procedures.  More specifically, the surgical instruments
under consideration are properly classified under subheading
9018.90.80, HTSUS, which provides for "Instruments and appliances
used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences,
including scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-medical
apparatus and sight-testing instruments; parts and accessories
thereof...Other instruments and appliances and parts and
accessories thereof...Other...Other."

HOLDING:

     The surgical instruments are properly classified under
subheading 9018.90.80, HTSUS, which provides for "Instruments and
appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary
sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-
medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments; parts and
accessories thereof...Other instruments and appliances and parts
and accessories thereof...Other...Other", with duty at the Column
1, General, rate of 7.9 percent ad valorem.


                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division