HQ 959092

May 16, 1996

CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 959092 LTO

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 9026.20.80

Port Director

U.S. Customs Service

c/o Chief, Residual Liquidation and Protest Branch

6 World Trade Center

Room 761

New York, New York 10048-0945

RE: Protest 1001-96-100074; Aneroid Gauge; chapter 90, note 2; HQs
952091, 952672, 954174, 954377, 956881; heading 9018; sphygmomanometers

Dear Port Director:

The following is our decision regarding Protest 1001-96-100074, which
concerns the classification of an aneroid gauge

under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

(HTSUS). The subject merchandise was entered on April 26, 1995,

and the entry was liquidated on October 6, 1995. The protest was

timely filed on January 4, 1996.

FACTS:

Aneroid gauges are components of sphygmomanometers.

Sphygmomanometers are medical instruments used for measuring

blood pressure. They consist of the following components: a

cuff within which is an inflatable bladder; bulb and valve

assembly; and gauge (aneroid or mercurial manometer). The

bladder applies uniform pressure to the limb, while the cuff

secures the bladder around the limb. The bulb and valve assembly

first inflates the bladder, then controls the release of air from

the system. The aneroid gauge measures the air pressure within

the cuff as it inflates against the patient\'s arm.

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The aneroid gauges were entered under subheading 9018.90.50,

HTSUS, which provides for sphygmomanometers and parts and

accessories thereof. They were classified upon liquidation under

subheading 9026.20.80, HTSUS, which provides for non-electrical

instruments for measuring or checking pressure.

ISSUE:

Whether the aneroid gauges are classifiable as non-electrical
instruments for measuring or checking pressure under

subheading 9026.20.80, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI\'s) to the HTSUS

govern the classification of goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1

states in pertinent part that \"for legal purposes, classification

shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and

any relative section or chapter notes . . . .\"

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System

Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of

the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, and therefore

not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of

each heading of the Harmonized System, and are generally

indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See

T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

The headings under consideration are as follows:

9018 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

9026 Instruments and apparatus for measuring or

checking the flow, level, pressure or other

variables of liquids or gases (for example,

flow meters, level gauges, manometers, heat

meters), excluding instruments and apparatus

of heading 9014, 9015, 9028 or 9032; parts

and accessories thereof

The protestant contends that the aneroid gauges are

classifiable, as parts, under heading 9018, HTSUS, because the

gauges are used solely for the production of sphygmomanometers

(which are specifically provided for under subheading 9018.90.50,

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HTSUS). However, note 2 to chapter 90, HTSUS, which governs the

classification of parts within chapter 90, requires a different

result. Note 2(a) provides as follows:

Parts and accessories which are goods included in any

of the headings of this chapter or of chapter 84, 85 or

91 (other than heading 8485, 8548 or 9033) are in all

cases to be classified in their respective headings.

Thus, if the aneroid gauges are classifiable as non-electrical
instruments for measuring or checking pressure

under heading 9026, HTSUS, then they cannot be classified as

sphygmomanometer parts under heading 9018, HTSUS. For other

rulings concerning the application of note 2 to chapter 90,

HTSUS, and heading 9018, HTSUS, see, e.g., HQ 956881, dated April

10, 1995; HQ 954174, dated November 23, 1993; HQ 954377, dated

October 6, 1993; HQ 952672, dated May 6, 1993; and HQ 952091,

dated December 7, 1992.

EN 90.26, pg. 1511, states that heading 9026, HTSUS, \"covers

instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking the flow,

level, pressure, kinetic energy or other process variables of

liquids or gases.\" The note, pg. 1512, further states that the

heading covers \"\[p\]ressure gauges (e.g., manometers) . . .

\[which\] indicate the pressure of a liquid or gas in a closed

space (emphasis in original).\"

Aneroid gauges are used with sphygmomanometers which are

designed to measure blood pressure. The sphygmomanometer\'s

rubber cuff is placed around the patient\'s upper arm. The doctor

(nurse, etc.) then pumps enough air into the cuff to cut off the

arm\'s circulation and gradually permits the air to escape. The

doctor then determines the least amount of pressure needed to

prevent the blood from entering the arm, generally by listening

through a stethoscope placed on the arm and noting the pressure

indicated on the gauge at the first sound of blood rushing into

the arm (\"systolic pressure,\" or the pressure exerted on the

blood when the heart contracts). The doctor then notes the

pressure on the gauge at the instant that the sound of blood

rushing through the arteries can no longer be heard, or at the

time the sound suddenly dimishes (\"diastolic pressure,\" or the

pressure exerted when the heart relaxes). See Encyclopedia

Americana, Volume 4, pg. 98 (1980).

Aneroid gauges are \"pressure gauges\" designed to measure the

pressure of air within the cuff as it inflates against the

patient\'s arm. The gauges are therefore classifiable, according

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to GRI 1, under subheading 9026.20.80, HTSUS, which provides for

non-electrical instruments for measuring or checking pressure.

HOLDING:

The aneroid gauges are classifiable under subheading

9026.20.80, HTSUS.

Accordingly, the protest should be GRANTED to the extent

reclassification of the merchandise as indicated above results in

a net duty reduction or partial allowance. In accordance with

section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August

4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision,

together with the Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your

office to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of

this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with

the decision must be accomplished prior to the mailing of the

decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of

Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the decision

available to Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in

ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom

of Information Act and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Tariff Classification Appeals Division