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HQ 084876


July 17, 1989

CLA-2:CO:R:C:G 084876 SR

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6307.90.9030

Mr. Michael K. Tomenga
McKenna, Conner, & Cuneo
1575 Eye Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005

RE: Classification of the main panel of a military field pack

Dear Mr. Tomenga:

This is in reference to your letter dated February 15, 1989, requesting the tariff classification of a military field pack under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). A sample produced in Korea was provided.

FACTS:

The merchandise at issue is the main panel of a military field pack. The panel is manufactured of man-made textile materials which are said to be of United States origin. The panel consists of a camouflage piece of fabric with three pockets that will make up the front panel of the backpack. The pack is designed for use with a frame and has a pad that slips over the top of a frame that serves to hold the pack to the frame, support the weight of the pack, and cushion the user from the hard metal of the frame. The backpack also has shoulder straps which allow it to be used without the frame.

After importation the panel will be used in the manufacture of an incomplete medium military field pack. All components are cut and sewn in Korea, thus the component is considered to be a
foreign product. To be permitted entry as Emergency War Materials, certification by the Department of Defense (DOD) is required. The DOD certification has not been submitted as required by subheading 9808.00.30, HTSUSA, which provides for duty free entry for articles for military departments, materials certified to the Commissioner of Customs by the authorized procuring agencies to be emergency war material purchased abroad. In absence of the DOD certification subheading 9808, HTSUSA, cannot be applied.

ISSUE:

Whether the main panel of the military field pack is classified as a backpack or as a made up article.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The importer claims that the manufacture of the main panel of the backpack is only a small portion of the time, costs, and operations necessary to transform the panel into a completed backpack. However, the back panel that is necessary to complete the backpack is also a product of Korea and the two parts are merely assembled in the United States. The statistics of the costs produced by the importer are inaccurate because they do not include the cost of the labor.

Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), taken in order. GRI 2(a) provides that any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. The main panel at issue does not provide the essential character of the completed backpack. It does not provide the bulk of the completed product nor does it provide the main role of the good. As imported it is not sufficiently completed to provide the shape of a backpack.

HOLDING:

The merchandise at issue is classifiable under subheading 6307.90.9030, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles,
other, other, other. The rate of duty is 7 percent ad valorem unless qualifying for free entry under subheading 9808.00.0030, HTSUSA, upon submission of the proper certification.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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