9608.10.00.00 - Ball point pens 🖩

This HTS category, 9608.10.00.00, specifically encompasses ballpoint pens. These writing instruments are characterized by a rotating ball at their tip that deposits ink from an internal reservoir as it moves across a surface. The classification is limited to the complete pen assembly, including its housing, ink mechanism, and the ballpoint itself.

It is crucial to distinguish this subheading from its siblings. For instance, while 9608.20.00.00 covers felt-tipped and porous-tipped pens and markers, these utilize a porous material to deliver ink, not a rolling ball. Similarly, fountain pens and stylograph pens, classified under 9608.30.00, employ different ink delivery systems and tip designs. Propelling or sliding pencils, found in 9608.40, also fall under a separate category as they utilize graphite leads rather than ink.

As a leaf node, 9608.10.00.00 does not have further subdivisions. Therefore, the focus remains on correctly identifying articles that fit the definition of a ballpoint pen. This includes a wide variety of styles and materials, from basic disposable pens to more elaborate reusable versions, provided their primary writing mechanism is the ballpoint system. Refills for ballpoint pens, which include the ballpoint and ink reservoir, are classified separately under subheading 9608.60.00.00.