United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule
faqs.org  Rulings By Number  Rulings By Category  Tariff Numbers
faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 1990 HQ Rulings > HQ 0083171 - HQ 0083264 > HQ 0083261

Previous Ruling Next Ruling


HQ 083261


September 14, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083261 jlj 833907

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4202.32.20; 4202.39.00

Mr. Louis S. Shoichet
Siegel, Mandell and Davidson, P. C.
One Whitehall Street
New York, New York 10004

RE: Classification of an All-In-One Organizer

Dear Mr. Shoichet:

On behalf of your client, Avon Products, Inc., you requested a tariff classification for an All-In-One Organizer to be imported from China. You submitted a sample along with your request.

FACTS:

The All-In-One Organizer is imported and sold as a set. It consists of a memorandum pad, a calendar and address book and a pen, all contained within a wallet-like vinyl container with a snap closure. The wallet-like container is made of cellular rubber or plastic reinforced with textile. It is designed to hold the other three items. The wallet-like container measures approximately 4-3/4 inches by 3-3/4 inches in its closed position. It is designed to be carried in a handbag or a pocket. You state that the sample is packed in a retail carton box when it is sold at retail.

ISSUE:

What is the classification of the All-In-One Organizer under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3(b), HTSUSA, states that goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. The Explanatory Notes for GRI 3(b), HTSUSA, define the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" to mean goods which:

(1) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings,

(2) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity, and

(3) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on boards).

The instant organizer includes a memorandum pad of paper which, if imported separately, would be classified under the provision for memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles, in subheading 4820.10.20, HTSUSA. It also contains a ballpoint pen which, if imported separately, would be classified under the eo nomine provision for ballpoint pens in subheading 9608.10.00, HTSUSA. The first factor is met in that there are at least two articles which are classified in different headings.

The next element of retail sets is also present in that the four articles are all intended to help the owner to organize his activities -- i.e., a calendar and address book, a memorandum pad, a pen with which to record addresses and notes, and a convenient wallet-like container with a snap closure to package the set.

The third and final element of retail sets is also present in that the All-In-One Organizer will be packed in a retail carton box when it is sold at retail.

The next question to be determined is the essential character of the set. The Explanatory Notes state that a set's essential character may be determined by the nature of the component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. The wallet-like container is more substantial and probably more valuable than any of the other elements of the set. The wallet-like container also packages the set in a convenient form and pulls all the components together. Clearly the wallet-like container constitutes the essential character of the set.

The outer surface of the wallet-like container is of cellular rubber or plastic reinforced with textile material. Schedule 7, Part 12, Subpart A, Headnote 2, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), defined the term "reinforced or laminated plastics" as follows:

2. For the purposes of the tariff schedules, the term "reinforced or laminated plastics" means --

(i) rigid, infusible, insoluble plastics formed by the application of heat and high pressure on two or more superimposed layers of fibrous sheet material which has been impregnated or coated with plastics, or

(ii) rigid plastics comprised of imbedded fibrous reinforcing material (such as paper, fabric, asbestos, and fibrous glass) impregnated, coated or combined with plastics usually by the application of heat or heat and low pressure.

Although a definition of "reinforced or laminated plastics" does not appear in the HTSUSA, it is a well settled principle of Customs law that tariff terms are to be construed in accordance with their common and commercial meanings, which are presumed to be the same. Information before this office is that the definition for "reinforced or laminated plastics" under the TSUS, supra, still represents the common and commercial understanding of those terms. Inasmuch as the instant wallet-like container does not have a rigid plastic outer surface, it cannot be classified as having a reinforced or laminated plastic exterior surface.

If the outer surface of the wallet-like container is of plastic, it is classifiable under the provision for wallets...
and similar containers...: articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag: with outer surface of plastic sheeting: other, in subheading 4202.32.20, HTSUSA, dutiable at the rate of 20 percent ad valorem. If the outer surface of the wallet-like container is of reinforced rubber, it is classified under the provision for other articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag, in subheading 4202.39.00, HTSUSA, dutiable at the rate of 20 percent ad valorem.

HOLDING:

The All-In-One Organizer is a set put up for retail sale. Its essential character lies in the wallet-like container. It is classified in subheading 4202.32.20, HTSUSA, or in subheading 4202.39.00, HTSUSA, depending upon the nature of the outer surface of the wallet-like container.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: