Analysis
HTS 8539.49.00 covers ultraviolet or infrared lamps; arc lamps: other under heading 8539 (electrical filament or discharge lamps, including sealed beam lamp units and ultraviolet…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Within this group the rate runs from duty-free to 5.8%. Compared with 8539.29.10 (christmas-tree lamps), which pays 5.8%, a misclassification either way moves the duty by 3.4 percentage points.
The general duty rate is 2.4% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 85 (63rd percentile of 624 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $240 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
For statistics it divides in two: 8539.49.00.40 for ultraviolet lamps and 8539.49.00.80 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 35%, 14.6 times the general rate.
Goods that qualify under GSP, the Australia FTA, the Bahrain FTA, the Chile FTA, the Colombia TPA, and 12 others can enter duty-free instead of paying 2.4%. It is also eligible under GSP, the developing-country programme, which Congress has to renew; check whether GSP is in force on the entry date.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 8539.10.00 | Sealed beam lamp units | 2% |
| 8539.21.20 | Designed for a voltage not exceeding 100 V | Free |
| 8539.21.40 | Tungsten halogen: other | 2.6% |
| 8539.22.40 | Christmas-tree lamps | 5.8% |
| 8539.22.80 | Other, of a power not exceeding 200 W and for a voltage exceeding 100 V: other | 2.6% |
| 8539.29.10 | Christmas-tree lamps | 5.8% |
| 8539.29.20 | Lamps having glass envelopes not over 6.35 mm in maximum diameter and suitable for use in cystoscopes and other surgical instruments | 5.2% |
| 8539.29.30 | Designed for a voltage not exceeding 100 V: other | Free |
| 8539.29.40 | Designed for a voltage exceeding 100 V | 2.6% |
| 8539.31.00 | Fluorescent, hot cathode | 2.4% |
| 8539.32.00 | Mercury or sodium vapor lamps; metal halide lamps | 2.4% |
| 8539.39.10 | Cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) for backlighting of flat panel displays | Free |
| 8539.39.90 | Other: other | 2.4% |
| 8539.41.00 | Ultraviolet or infrared lamps; arc lamps: arc lamps | 2.6% |
| 8539.51.00 | Light-emitting diode (LED) modules | Free |
| 8539.52.00 | Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps | 2% |
| 8539.90.00 | Electrical filament or discharge lamps, including sealed beam lamp units and ultraviolet or infrared lamps; arc lamps; light-emitting diode (LED) light sources; parts thereof: parts | 2.6% |