NCS/ARS/CL/10170

You have applied for the tariff classification of Becton Dickson (BD) Vacutainer tubes with color-coded conventional stoppers or BD Hemogard Closures. 

According to the supporting documents you provided, the BD Vacutainer® Tubes is part of an Evacuated Blood Collection System made specifically for In Vitro Diagnostic use. It is used together with Needles and Holders made by the same company (Becton Dickson).

Apacmed.org describes In Vitro Diagnostics as tests or examinations conducted on samples retrieved from the human body such as blood or tissue samples. “In vitro”, meaning “in glass”, indicates that these tests are generally done using equipment like test tubes or petri dishes. (What Is In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD): Types, Benefits & Regulations).

Additional information provided indicates that the BD Vacutainer® Tubes are evacuated tubes made of plastics with color‑coded conventional stoppers or BD Hemogard™ Closures. Most tube types contain additives in varying concentrations dependent upon the amount of vacuum and the required additive to blood ratio for the tube. Additive choice depends on the analytic test method. It is specified by the manufacturer of the test reagents and/or instrument on which the test is performed. Tube interiors are sterile. Tube stoppers are lubricated with silicone or glycerin to facilitate stopper insertion

This product is effectively classified under tariff heading 9018 - Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other electro-medical apparatus and sight-testing instruments in the Harmonized System Nomenclature.

 The tariff classification of BD Vacutainer® Tubes is 9018 39 00 00 - Syringes, needles, catheters, cannulae and the like; other with 5% Rate of Duty and zero VAT in the ECOWAS CET 2022 -2027.

This tariff classification is in line with the decision of the World Customs Organization Harmonized System Committee, 901839/1 (Adopted in 2007) which has similar description, properties and use as the BD Vacutainers presented for classification.

Legal Framework

GIR 1 - Terms of the Heading

GIR 6 - Terms of the Subheading