HQ 0084354 - Classification of Scarecrows - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 084354

August 15, 1985

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084354 SS; 839711 NY

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9502.10.2000

Mr. Bernard D. Liberati
General Manager
Morris Friedman & Co.
320 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3883

RE: Classification of Scarecrows

Dear Mr. Liberati:

This letter is in response to your request of April 9, 1989, addressed to our New York office on behalf of Attick's Inc., concerning a tariff classification of a stuffed scarecrow from China, Thailand or Taiwan, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

FACTS:

The scarecrow under consideration is approximately 29 inches tall including the wooden base on which it is mounted. It has a hard cloth head with fabric eyes, nose, mouth and cheeks. The head is covered with a hat and straw hair. The scarecrow has a stuffed torso from the neck to the groin, and unstuffed legs with straw feet and straw arms. It is dressed in a coverall and shirt. It is stated that the stuffing material consists of vegetable fibre. Accompanying the scarecrow is a 24-inch stick which is to be held in its hand.

ISSUE:

What is the proper tariff classification for a scarecrow?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined first in accordance with the terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter notes.

Heading 9502, HTSUS, provides for dolls representing only human beings. The Explanatory Notes to 9502, which represent the official interpretation of the HTSUS at the international level, state in pertinent part:

The heading includes not only dolls designed for the amusement of children, but also dolls intended for decorative purposes (e.g., boudoir dolls, mascot dolls), or for use in Punch and Judy or marionette shows, or those of a caricature type.

The merchandise in the instant case is a scarecrow. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1973), defines a scarecrow as follows:

1. an object, usually a figure of a man in old clothes set up to frighten crows or other birds away from crops. 2. a person in ragged clothes. 3. anything terrifying but not really dangerous. 4. an extremely thin person.

Accordingly, since the scarecrow is a human representation, and is specifically described in heading 9502, which provides for dolls representing only human beings, the subject merchandise is properly classifiable under this heading.

HOLDING:

The scarecrow under consideration is properly classifiable as a doll, whether or not clothed: stuffed, under subheading 9502.10.2000, HTSUS, dutiable at a rate of 12 percent ad valorem, which has been temporarily suspended under subheading 9902.95.01, HTSUS.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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