The tariff classification of a lamp-holder and ballast from China.

N158756 April 26, 2011 CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:1:110 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8504.10.0000; 8536.61.0000; 9902.23.29 Mr. Greg Montgomery OEC Logistics Inc. 11960 Westline Industrial Drive St. Louis, MO 63146 RE: The tariff classification of a lamp-holder and ballast from China. Dear Mr. Montgomery: In your letter dated March 28, 2011, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Meico Lamp Parts Co., Incorporated. The merchandise under consideration is a Lamp-holder (Item # 1369R) and a Self-Ballasted Lamp Adapter (Item # 1118). Samples of each item were submitted with your ruling request and will be returned to you. Item # 1369R is a medium base lamp-holder suitable for installation onto two single conductors of insulated #14 AWG (American wire gauge) stranded wire. It is an assembly consisting of a plastic housing. It has an internally threaded center with metal contact tabs for accepting a medium base screw-type lamp at one end and two terminal pins under a quick-connect pivot cap at the opposite end. This lamp-holder is designed for a quick “tap” installation onto a pair of conductors at any point along the length of the wires creating a string of lights. Item # 1118 is a self-ballasted lamp-holder adapter, which can only be used with a fluorescent lamp. The ballast provides the initial striking voltage required to start an arc discharge flowing through a fluorescent lamp to activate the fluorescent powder coating inside the tube to illuminate the lamp and stabilize the current flow through the lamp.  It consists of a cylindrical plastic housing measuring approximately 1½ inches in diameter and is 2 inches tall. It incorporates a ballast with a lamp socket at one end and two pin terminals on the opposite end.  The Self-Ballasted Lamp Adapter is rated for 18 watts (W), 120 volts (V) at .23 amps (A). The applicable subheading for the Self-Ballasted Lamp Adapter (Item # 1118) will be 8504.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Electrical transformers, static converters (for example, rectifiers) and inductors; parts thereof: Ballasts for discharge lamps or tubes.” The general rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem. The applicable subheading for the lamp-holder is 8536.61.0000, HTSUS, which provides for lamp-holders. Inasmuch as the lamp-holder assembly is a plastic housing containing a lamp socket, it is eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9902.23.29, HTSUS. Therefore, the applicable subheading for the Lamp-holder (Item # 1369) will be 9902.23.29, HTSUS, which provides for “Lamp-holder housings of plastics, containing sockets (provided for in 8536.61.0000).” The general rate of duty will be 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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. 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 Thomas Campanelli at (646) 733-3016. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division