WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
90.20 - Other breathing appliances and gas masks, excluding protective masks having neither mechanical parts nor replaceable filters. (I) BRlEATHING APPLIANCES The heading includes breathing appliances of a kind used b for example, airmen, divers, mountaineers or f~emen.These may be self-contained (where breathing circuit is fed fkom a cylinder of oxygen or compressed air) or may be connected by a hose to compressors, compressed air supply pipes, storage cylinders or (in the case of certain short distance apparatus) the outside atmosphere. 2; This heading also includes divers' helmets which require to be fitted to divers' suits before they are air-tight, and anti-radiation or anti-contamination protective suits, incorporating breathing apparatus. (11) GAS MASKS These enable the wearer to breathe in atmospherespolluted by dust, poisonous vapours, smoke, etc., and are therefore used in certain industries, or ~nwarfare (against poison gases). In these appliances air for breathing comes directly from the outside and is passed throu a filtering device which absorbs poison gases or retains dust. They therefore consist essential y of a mask, with an arrangement enabling the wearer to see, a metal frame with outlet and Inlet valves, and a socket to which is fitted either a filter or a flexible tube connected to a filter system carried on the back or chest. A more simple e protects only the mouth and the nose; it consists of a sheath held in place by one or more e astic ribbons, and contains a filtering or absorbent material (asbestos wool, sponge rubber, cotton wadding, etc., which may be impregnated or not) easily replaced after use. ?' The following articles are not regarded as breathing appliances or gas masks of this heading : (a) Masks for rotection against dust, odours, etc., not equipped with a replaceable filter, but consisting of several of bonded fibre fabric, whether or not treated with activated carbon or having a central layer of synthetic fibres, and masks of textile materials, used by surgeons, nurses, etc., operating upon or attending to a patient (heading 63.07). (b) Masks for protection against dust or articles of materials, consisting of a simple wire mesh sheath with no filtering device other than a sfeet of gauze (Section XV). (c) Masks for administering anaesthetics (heading 90.18). (d) Divers' respirato masks of a kind used without oxygen or compressed air bottles, and simple underwater brea%ng tubes (generally known as ' snorkels ") for swimmers or divers (heading 95.06). PARTS AND ACCESSORIES Subject to the provisions of Notes 1 and 2 to this Cha ter (see the General Ex lanatory Note), parts and accessories of apparatus or appliances of this eading remain classifie here. R i' .21- Orthopaedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts and trusses; splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; hearing aids and other ap liances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a de ect or disability. F - Orthopaedic or fiacture appliances - Artificial teeth and dental fittings : 9021.21 - - Artificial teeth 902 1.29 - - Other 902 1.10 - Other artificial parts of the body : - - Artificial joints 9021.39 - - Other 902 1.40 - Hearing aids, excluding parts and accessories 902 1.50 - Pacemakers for stimulating heart muscles, excluding parts and accessories 9021.90 - Other 902 1.3 1 (I) ORTHOPAEDIC APPLIANCES Orthopaedic appliances are defined in Note 6 to this Chapter. These are appliances for : - Preventing or correcting bodily deformities; or Supporting or holding parts of the body following an illness, operation or injury. They include : (1) Appliances for hip diseases (coxalgia, etc.). (2) Humerus splints (to enable use of an arm after resection), (extension splints). (3) Appliances for the jaw. (4) Traction, etc., appliances for the fingers. ( 5 ) Appliances for treating Pott's disease (straightening head and spine). (6) Ortho aedic footwear and special insoles designed to correct orthopaedic conditions, povided that they are either (1) made to measure or 2) mass-produced, presented singly and not in pairs and designed to fit either foot equa Iy. \ (7) Dental appliances for correcting deformities of the teeth (braces, rings, etc.). (8) Orthopaedic foot appliances (talipes appliances, leg braces, with or without spring support for the foot, surgical boots, etc.). (9) Trusses (inguinal, crural, umbilical, etc., trusses) and rupture appliances. (10) Appliances for correcting scoliosis and curvature of the s ine as well as all medical or surgical corsets and belts (including certain supporting be ts) characterised by : P (a) Special pads, springs, etc., adjustable to fit the patient. @) The materials of which they are made (leather, metal, plastics, etc.); or (c) The presence of reinforced parts, rigid pieces of fabric or bands of various widths. The s ecial design of these articles for a particular ortho aedic purpose distinguishes them om ordinary corsets and belts, whether or not the atter also serve to support or hold. P k (1 1) Orthopaedic suspenders (other than simple suspenders of knitted, netted or crocheted materials, etc.). This group also includes crutches and crutch-sticks. (It should, however, be noted that ordinary walking-sticks, even if specially made for disabled persons, are excluded (heading 66.02).) This group further includes walking aids known as "walker-rollators", which provide sup ort for the users as the push them. They generally consist of a tubular metal frame on three or our wheels (some or a of which may swivel), handles and hand-brakes. "Walker-rollators" can be adjustable in height and can be e uipped with a seat between the handles and with a wire basket for carrying personal items. T e seat allows the user to take short rest breaks whenever necessary. P i7 The heading does not include : (a) Stockings for varicose veins (heading 61.15). (b) Simple protectors or devices designed to reduce pressure on certain arts of the foot, (heading 39.26, if made of plastics, or heading 40.14, if of cellular rubber lxed on gauze with adhesive plaster). P (c) Supporting belts or other support articles of the kind referred to in Note 1 (b) to this Chapter, e.g., pre-natal or maternity belts (generally heading 62.12 or 63.07). (d) Mass-produced footwear the inner soles of which have been simply arched to alleviate flat-footedness (Chapter 64). This group also covers orthopaedie appliances for animals, for example, hernia trusses or straps; leg or foot fixation a paratus; special straps and tubes to prevent animals from crib-biting, etc.; prolapsus ban s (to retain an or an, rectum, uterus, etc.); horn sup orts, etc. But it excludes rotective devices having the cI? aracter of articles of ordinary sa dlery and harness for anirna s (e.g., shin pads for horses) (heading 42.01). Y i B (11) SPLINTS AND OTHER FRACTURE APPLIANCES Fracture a pliances are used either to irnrnobilise injured parts of the body (for extension or protectionf: or for setting fractures. They are also used in the treatment of dislocations and other joint injuries. Some of these articles are designed for fitting onto the patient (e.g., wire, zinc or wooden cradles for holding limbs, plaster bandage splints, fracture appliances for ribs, etc.); others are designed to be fixed to a bed, a table or another support (protective bed cradles, extension fiacture a paratus made of tubing, to be used in the place of splints or cradles, etc.). However, when the atter a pliances form an inseparable part of the bed, table or another support, they are excluded from &s heading. P Subject to the provisions of Note 1 (f) to this Chapter, the headin also includes plates, nails, etc., which are Inserted inside the human body by surgeons to hol together the two parts of a broken bone or for similar treatment of fractures. % (111) ARTIFICIAL LIMBS, EYES, TEETH AND OTHER ARTIFICIAL PARTS OF THE BODY These wholly or partially replace defective parts of the body and usually resemble them in appearance. They include : (A) Artificial ocular fittings : (1) Artificial eyes. These are usually made of plastics or lass to which small quantities of metallic oxides have been added in order to imitate e features and colourin of the various parts of the human eye (sclera, iris, pupil). They may be of single or o double shell types. & f (2) Intra-ocular lenses. Artificial eyes for tailors' dummies, for k s , etc., are excluded (generally classified in heading 39.26 or 70.18); artificial eyes identifiable as parts of dolls or of toy animals fall in heading 95.03 or in heading 70.18, if they are of glass. (El) Artificial teeth and dental fittings, for example : or lastics (ac lic polymers in having a sma 1 number o holes into which molars), or may be fitted with two metallic or with a oove for sliding on to a incisors an canines). f' f (2) Hollow artificial teeth, also made of porcelain or plastics and with the external shape of teeth (incisors, canines or molars). According to the method of fixing, they are called " pivot teeth:'(klaced on a small metallic pin or pivot fitted into the prepared root), or " crowns tted by means of artificial resin on to a previously shaped stump). (3) Dentures, whole or part, comprising a plate of vulcanised rubber, plastics or metal to which the false teeth are fitted. (4) Other articles such as, prefabricated metal crowns (gold, stainless steel, etc.) used for the protection of real teeth; cast tin bars (" heavy bars ") for weighting and increasin the stability of dentures; stainless steel bars for reinforcin vulcanised rubber denta d f plates; vmous other dentists' accessories, clearly identi able as such, for making metal crowns or dentures (sockets, rings, pivots, hooks, eyelets, etc.). It should be noted that dental cements and other dental fillings fall in heading 30.06; the pre arations known as " dental wax " or as " dental impression compounds ",put up in sets, in pac%ngs for retail sale or in plates, horseshoe shapes, sticks or similar o m , and other reparations for use in dentistry, with a basis of plaster (of calcined gypsum or calcium sulphate), fall in beading 34.07. (C) Other artificial parts of the body, e.g., arms, forearms, hands, legs, feet, noses, artificial (e.g., for hps, knees), and tubes of synthetic fabric for replacing blood vessels and hoints eart-valves. The heading excludes pieces of bone or skin for grafting, in sterile containers (heading 30.01) and bone reconstruction cements (heading 30.06). (IV) HEARING AIDS These are generally electrical appliances with a circuit containing one or more microphones (with or without amplifier), a receiver and a battery. The receiver may be worn internally or behind the ear, or it may be designed to be held in the hand against the ear. This group is restricted to appliances for overcoming deafness; it therefore excludes articles such as headphones, amplifiers and the like used in conference rooms or by telephonists to improve the audibility of speech. (V) OTHER APPLIANCES WHICH ARE WORN OR CARRIED, OR IMPLANTED IN THE BODY, TO COMPENSATE FOR A DEFECT OR DISABILITY This group includes : or a (1) Speech-aids for persons having lost the use of their vocal cords as a result of an inj surgical operation. These consist essentially of an electronic im ulse generator%en pressed against the neck, for example, they generate vibrations in t e cavlties of the throat which are modulated by the user to produce audible speech. E (2) Pacemakers for stimulating defective heart muscles. These are roughly the size and weight of a pocket watch and are implanted beneath the skin of the patient's chest. They incorporate an electric battery and are connected by electrodes to the heart, which they provide with the impulses necessary for its functioning. Other es of acemakers are used to stimulate other organs (for example, the lungs, the rectum or e bla der). % d' (3) Electronic aids for the blind. These consist essentially of an ultrasonic transmitter-receiver powered by an electric batte The frequency variat~onsresulting kom the time taken for the ultrasonic beam to t r a v L u t to an obstacle and be reflected back enable the user, through an appropriate device (e.g., an internal ear-piece), to detect the obstacle and judge its distance. gVg., (4) Appliances im lanted in the body, used to support or replace the chemical function of secretion of insulin). certain organs PARTS AND ACCESSORIES Subject to the provisions of Notes 1 and 2 to this Cha ter (see the Genera1 Ex lanatory Note), parts and accessories of apparatus or appliances of this eading remain classifie here. i? i'
1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Articles of a kind used in machines, appliances or for other technical uses, of vulcanised rubber other than hard rubber (heading 40.16), of leather or of composition leather (heading 42.05) or of textile material (heading 59.11); (b) Supporting belts or other support articles of textile material, whose intended effect on the organ to be supported or held derives solely from their elasticity (for example, maternity belts, thoracic support bandages, abdominal support bandages, supports for joints or muscles) (Section XI); (c) Refractory goods of heading 69.03; ceramic wares for laboratory, chemical or other technical uses, of heading 69.09; (d) Glass mirrors, not optically worked, of heading 70.09, or mirrors of base metal or of precious metal, not being optical elements (heading 83.06 or Chapter 71); (e) Goods of heading 70.07, 70.08, 70.11, 70.14, 70.15 or 70.17; (f) Parts of general use, as defined in Note 2 to Section XV, of base metal (Section XV) or similar goods of plastics (Chapter 39); however, articles specially designed for use exclusively in implants in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences are to be classified in heading 90.21; (g) Pumps incorporating measuring devices, of heading 84.13; weight-operated counting or checking machinery, or separately presented weights for balances (heading 84.23); lifting or handling machinery (headings 84.25 to 84.28); paper or paperboard cutting machines of all kinds (heading 84.41); fittings for adjusting work or tools on machine-tools or water-jet cutting machines, of heading 84.66, including fittings with optical devices for reading the scale (for example, “optical” dividing heads) but not those which are in themselves essentially optical instruments (for example, alignment telescopes); calculating machines (heading 84.70); valves or other appliances of heading 84.81; machines and apparatus (including apparatus for the projection or drawing of circuit patterns on sensitised semiconductor materials) of heading 84.86; (h) Searchlights or spotlights of a kind used for cycles or motor vehicles (heading 85.12); portable electric lamps of heading 85.13; cinematographic sound recording, reproducing or re-recording apparatus (heading 85.19); sound-heads (heading 85.22); television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders (heading 85.25); radar apparatus, radio navigational aid apparatus or radio remote control apparatus (heading 85.26); connectors for optical fibres, optical fibre bundles or cables (heading 85.36); numerical control apparatus of heading 85.37; sealed beam lamp units of heading 85.39; optical fibre cables of heading 85.44; (ij) Searchlights or spotlights of heading 94.05; (k) Articles of Chapter 95; (l) Monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles, of heading 96.20; (m) Capacity measures, which are to be classified according to their constituent material; or (n) Spools, reels or similar supports (which are to be classified according to their constituent material, for example, in heading 39.23 or Section XV).