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NY A88430





October 31, 1996

CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:103 A88430

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8479.89.9598

Mr. David Coombs
BioComp Instruments, Inc.
650 Churchill Row
Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 1P6

RE: The tariff classification of the Gradient Fractionator from Canada

Dear Mr. Coombs:

In a letter received on October 8, 1996 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

Literature submitted with your inquiry indicates the Gradient Fractionator is used in laboratories to recover high resolution fractions. After a density gradient has been centrifuged, the particles of interest are found as separate bands or zones at various levels in a gradient tube. The Gradient Fractionator is designed to recover these bands without mixing them with the zones immediately above or below. To remove a single band a handle on the front of the machine is manually turned, thus forcing a piston down through the top of the gradient tube until the tip lies just above the band. The tube is rinsed and blown dry and the band is then recovered in its entirety by lowering the piston through it, a process known as fractionation. Other bands in the same tube can be displaced in the same manner. For continuous fractionation the machine's stepper motor controller is programmed for fraction size, number, and piston speed. Repeated strokes of the run key on the unit's keypad bring the fractions up one at a time, each collected in a different sample tube. Fractions as small as 0.1 millimeter and as large as the entire gradient may be programmed, and from 1 to 99 fractions can automatically be recovered.

The applicable subheading for the Gradient Fractionator will be 8479.89.9598, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere...: other machines and mechanical appliances: other: other: other: other. The rate of duty will be 3.2 percent ad valorem.

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 Alan Horowitz at 212-466-5494.

Sincerely,

Roger J. Silvestri
Director

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