Nov 2 CBP Bulletin Proposed Revocations on LED Backlight & Lamps
In the November 2, 2011 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 45, No. 45), CBP published two notices that propose to revoke five rulings and similar treatment regarding the tariff classification of a light-emitting diode (LED) backlight and certain LED lamps.
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Comments on Proposed Revocations Due December 2
CBP states that any party who has received a ruling or decision on the merchandise that is subject to the proposed revocations, or any party involved with a substantially identical transaction, should advise CBP by December 2, 2011, the date that written comments on the proposed rulings are due. Furthermore, CBP states that an importer's failure to advise CBP of such rulings, decisions, or substantially identical transactions may raise issues of reasonable care on the part of the importer or its agents for importations subsequent to the effective date of the final decision in this notice.
Proposed Revocations
CBP is proposing to revoke the rulings below, and any rulings on these products that may exist but have not been specifically identified. CBP is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
LED Backlight
| Item: A LED backlight. It is covered in a white plastic housing and has a diffuser panel. There are four LEDs under the diffuser panel, two on each side of the housing, and two electrical leads extending from behind the housing. The backlight is designed to give uniform diffusion of light. Its slim design allows it to be placed between a base plate and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) in order to illuminate an LCD screen. |
| Current: 8541.40.20, 2% (light-emitting diodes) |
| Proposed: 8543.70.70, 2% (electric luminescent lamps) |
| Reason: CBP has previously determined that the provision for LEDs in HTS heading 8541 only covers individual LEDs (i.e., the semiconductor diodes without other components). Thus, the subject backlight is not classifiable in heading 8541. CBP turns to heading 8543, which is a basket provision for electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions. CBP finds that the backlight is an electrical "apparatus" as it is a set of materials to be used for a particular purpose (to generate light). The backlight also has an "individual function" as it is capable of creating light without being attached to the device it is designed to connect to. Additionally, according to heading 8543 Explanatory Notes, the backlight is an "electroluminescent device" because passing electric current through it will generate light that cannot be attributed merely to its temperature and because it is based on an electroluminescent substance (the LEDs). |
| Proposed for revocation: HQ 952718 (1993) |
| Proposed new ruling: HQ H065855 |
Four LED Lamps
| Item: Four different LED lamps. (1) The first is a downlight module constructed of pressure-cast aluminum designed to replace a standard R40 size lamp (light bulb). (2) The second is a non-filament type LED lamp (light bulb) of machined metal for use in a lighting fixture. (3) The third is an LED light bulb with a standard screw-in base, designed to be used both as a bulb and in standard household lighting fixtures. (4) The fourth is an LED lamp that consists of LEDs that protrude from a plastic housing that encloses other electrical components. |
| Current: (1) 8539.39.00, 2.4% (other electrical filament or discharge lamps, other than ultraviolet lamps); (2, 3) 8539.49.00, 2.4% (other electrical filament or discharge lamps, including ultraviolet lamps); (4) 8541.40.20, free (light-emitting diodes) |
| Proposed: (1, 2) 9405.40.60, 6% (other electrical lamps of base metal); (3, 4) 9405.40.80, 3.9% (other electrical lamps) |
| Reason: CBP notes that heading 8539 only covers filament and discharge lamps and does not include LED lamps, which function differently from such lamps. CBP states that the subject LED lamps comprise the light source of a completed lighting fixture or lamp. When installed into housings adequate for their intended purpose and connected to a power source, they emit light. Thus the LED lamps meet the definition of lamp enunciated in earlier CBP rulings, in that it is a device which provides an isolated source of light. Because the LED lamps are lamps not specified elsewhere in the HTS, they are classified by application of GRI 11 under heading 9405 as other electrical lamps. |
| Proposed for revocation: NY N020620 (2007), NY M83236 (2006), NY L84113 (2005), and NY E89000 (1999) |
| Proposed new rulings: HQ H135615, HQ H024762, HQ H072515, HQ H024869 |
1Classification by application of General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1 is made according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes.