HQ 0083503 - Tariff classification of two women's garments and belts - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 083503

March 3, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083503 SM

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6204.62.4010; 6204.52.2070

Jayne A. Czik, Esq.
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz & Silverman 12 East 49th Street
New York, NY 10017

RE: Tariff classification of two women's garments and belts

Dear Ms. Czik:

Your letter of November 22, 1988, sent to our New York office, on behalf of Mast Industries, requesting tariff clas- sification rulings for two styles of women's garments with belts, has been referred to this office for reply. You state that both requests pertain to prospective importations.

FACTS:

Two sample garments were submitted. Style 733561 is a pair of women's cotton denim jeans made in Hong Kong. It has a four-button front fly, two patch pockets on the back, and two pockets in front. Six self-fabric loops carry a leather belt with a metal buckle, tagged Style LFB-30.

Style 711147 is a cotton twill skirt gathered into a waistband. It has a full-front opening with nine buttons and two slash pockets on the front below the waist. Seven self- fabric loops carry a self-fabric belt with a PVC backing. This garment is also made in Hong Kong.

ISSUE:

How are the jeans, skirt and belts classified?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined first in accordance with the terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative section and chapter notes. After that, if the headings or notes do not require otherwise, classification is in accordance with the remaining GRI's.

Chapter 62, HTSUSA, generally covers garments and accessories of textile materials, not knitted or crocheted. Heading 6204, HTSUSA, provides for both skirts and women's trousers.

Heading 6217, HTSUSA, provides for other made up cloth- ing accessories. The term accessories is not defined. How- ever, the Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, indicate that this heading is intended to include textile belts of all kinds, not knitted or crocheted. The common meaning of the term acces- sory also indicates that belts are properly considered accessories:
accessory

1(b)(3) any of various articles of apparel (as a scarf, belt, or piece of jewelry) that accent or otherwise complete one's cos- tume.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary

Customs has in fact ruled previously that a textile belt imported separately would be classified as an accessory. File 081619 of October 6, 1988.

Heading 4203, HTSUSA, provides for articles of apparel and clothing accessories of leather or composition leather. The Explanatory Notes for this heading specify that it is intended to include leather belts.

Thus no single heading provides for either the skirt and textile belt or the jeans and leather belt. Classification cannot be determined under GRI 1.

GRI 2(a), concerning incomplete or unassembled articles, does not apply in this case.

GRI 2(b) provides that goods consisting of more than one material or substance and appearing to be classifiable under more than one heading, such as the garments and belts in ques- tion here, must be classified according to GRI 3.

GRI 3(a) provides that the more specific heading is to be preferred. However, when "two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as
equally specific in relation to those goods . . . ." In this case different headings each refer to part only of the goods to be classified. Thus classification cannot be determined according to which heading is more specific.

GRI 3(b) provides that "[m]ixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classi- fied as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character . . . ."

The Explanatory Notes for GRI 3(b) provide interpreta- tion of the terms essential character, composite goods, and goods put up in sets for retail sale. We will consider these terms first in relation to the skirt and belt, Style 711147.

The Explanatory Notes state:

For the purposes of [GRI 3(b)], composite goods made up of different components shall be taken to mean not only those in which the components are attached to each other to form a practically inseparable whole but also those with separable components, provided these components are adapted one to the other and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole which would not normally be offered for sale in separate parts . . . . As a general rule, the components of these composite goods are put up in a common packing.

Style 711147 falls within this description. The skirt and belt, separable components, are adapted to one another in that the loops on the skirt are sized to accommodate the width of the belt. Not only are the two components mutually complemen- tary; the garment and the visible portion of the belt are of the same fabric. Finally, the skirt with the loops and the matching belt are packed together and would not normally be offered for sale separately.

Style 733561, the jeans and leather belt, does not fall within this description. Leather belts are separate articles of commerce and normally are offered for sale apart from jeans. Rather, this style falls within the description of "sets." The Explanatory Notes state that "goods put up in sets for retail sale" are those which:

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

(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a spe- cific activity; and

(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking . . . .

Style 733561 consists of a textile garment and a leather belt prima facie classifiable in different headings. These arti- cles are put up together to provide a coordinated outfit of trousers and belt in the same style. They are stated to be imported together; we assume that they are ready for direct sale without repacking.

The Explanatory Notes state further that the factor determining essential character will vary with different kinds of goods. It may be "the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or . . . the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods." With regard to both styles under consideration here, as in virtually every instance involving belt and garment combina- tions, it is the garment which provides the essential charac- ter. The belt is merely an accessory to the garment and, barring exceptional circumstances, is not the main reason for the existence of the combination or the primary motivating factor governing the purchase of the two articles.

HOLDING:

The jeans and belt are classified under subheading 6204.62.4010, HTSUSA, textile category 348, a provision for women's blue denim cotton trousers. The skirt and belt are classified under subheading 6204.52.2070, HTSUSA, textile category 342, a provision for other women's cotton skirts.

We have ruled previously that self-fabric belts accom- panying garments are simply classifiable with the garments as though they were parts thereof, under GRI 1. File 081828 of March 10, 1988; file 081510 of February 16, 1988. To the extent that the rationale in those rulings was not in accord with the rationale for the classification of Style 711147, they are hereby modified.

Because of the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of the tariff number) and the textile restraint categories, you should contact your local Customs office before importation of this merchandise to determine the current status of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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