Analysis
HTS 9613.80.10 covers other lighters: table lighters under heading 9613 (cigarette lighters and other lighters, whether or not mechanical or electrical, and parts…). US Customs collects import statistics for it under 2 ten-digit suffixes, reported in number of items.
Rates on the nearby lines range from 3.6% to 9%. The costliest confusion would be with 9613.80.80 (valued over $5 per dozen pieces) at 9%, a difference of 4.2 points on the customs value.
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 4.8%. 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.
The column 2 rate, for countries without normal trade relations, is 60%, 12.5 times the general rate.
For statistics it divides in two: 9613.80.10.40 for butane and 9613.80.10.80 for other. Both pay the same duty; the suffix records which kind was imported.
The general duty rate is 4.8% of the customs value, which is in the middle of the rates in chapter 96 (56th percentile of 104 lines with an ad valorem rate). On a shipment valued at $10,000 that is $480 in duty before any Chapter 99 additions or preference claims.
Statistical suffixes
Neighbouring lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 9613.80.20 | Other: electrical | 3.9% |
| 9613.80.40 | Of precious metal (except silver), of precious or semiprecious stones or of such metal and such stones | 3.6% |
| 9613.80.60 | Valued not over $5 per dozen pieces | 8% |
| 9613.80.80 | Valued over $5 per dozen pieces | 9% |