Newly Released CBP HQ Ruling Feb. 6
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 6 with the following headquarters ruling (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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H335120: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 300123104920; Classification of a certain “puffer cabinet”
| Ruling: The Puffer Cabinet is classified under subheading 8424.90.90 as “Mechanical appliances (whether or not hand operated) for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids or powders; fire extinguishers, whether or not charged; spray guns and similar appliances; steam or sand blasting machines and similar jet projecting machines; parts thereof: Parts: Other.” Merchandise described by subheading 8424.90.9080 is excluded from Section 301 duties under U.S. Note 20(ttt)(iii)(14) and the corresponding subheading 9903.88.67. The protest is granted. |
| Issue: Whether the Puffer Cabinet is properly classified under subheading 8424.82.00 or subheading 8424.90.90. |
| Item: The G3 Puffer Cabinet is an automatic aerosol dispenser composed of a plastic housing, which is designed to hold an aerosol can of insect pheromones. The Puffer Cabinet also contains a battery-operated motor and hammer mechanism that depresses the aerosol cans’ sprayer at timed intervals to release the insect pheromones. The Puffer Cabinet is not imported with the aerosol spray can, which is assembled with an adapter and inserted into the Puffer Cabinet after importation. Once assembled, the final product, named the “Puffer,” is an aerosol pheromone release mechanism that is suspended from trees in agricultural settings to disperse insect pheromones, intending to disrupt the insect’s mating cycles to control pest populations and protect crops. |
| Reason: If the merchandise is itself an “appliance” of heading 8424 then it would be properly classified under subheading 8424.82.00, which covers certain “other appliances” of heading 8424. However, while the instant Puffer Cabinet serves as a housing for an aerosol spray can (installed after importation) and the motor and “hammer mechanism” actuate the aerosol spray can, the Puffer Cabinet itself does not disperse or spray liquids. As such, it does not fall under the scope of subheading 8424.82.00, per Note 2(a) to Section XVI. Rather, it is an integral part of an appliance of heading 8424, and properly classified under subheading 8424.90.90. |
| Ruling Date: Dec. 8, 2023 |