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HQ 085017


July 31, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G: 085017 jlj 842248

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6217.10.0010

Mr. G.M. Columbe
A. N. Deringer, Inc.
30 West Service Road
Champlain, New York 12919-9703

RE: Classification of an adult bib

Dear Mr. Columbe:

You requested tariff classifications under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) for an adult bib and an adult apron manufactured in Canada by your client Med-I-Pant, Inc. of Quebec, Canada. You submitted a letter from the manufacturer and a sample of the bib. No sample of the apron was received in this office. Unfortunately, we are unable to classify the apron without a sample. You suggest classification of the instant merchandise as articles specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of physically or mentally handicapped persons other than the blind, in subheading 9817.00.96 HTSUSA.

FACTS:

The adult bib, style 108, has snaps at the neck and is large enough to cover an adult torso. It is made of 50 percent cotton, 30 percent vinyl and 20 percent polyester.

ISSUE:

Is the adult bib eligible for classification as an article specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of physically or mentally handicapped persons other than the blind in subheading 9817.00.96, HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Presidential Proclamation 5978 of May 12, 1989, provided for certain duty-free provisions in the HTSUSA which gave effect to the Nairobi Protocol (S. Treaty Doc. 97-2). Subheading 9817.00.96, HTSUSA, is one of these provisions. It provides for other articles specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of physically or mentally handicapped persons other than the blind.

Your client's controller argues that the adult bibs are used to protect hospital and nursing home residents' clothing and to prevent scalding from the spilling of hot fluids. She argues that they facilitate a patient's life and help those who are suffering from a physical or mental impairment and can no longer take care of themselves.

While some mentally or physically handicapped people may need such bibs because they are unable to feed themselves, other people who are only temporarily incapacitated (such as patients with broken arms) may also need such bibs. We find no evidence that the adult bib is specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of physically or mentally handicapped persons; therefore, classification in subheading 9817.00.96, HTSUSA, must be denied.

The adult bib is classifiable under the provision for other made up clothing accessories: accessories: of cotton, in subheading 6217.10.0010, HTSUSA, dutiable at the rate of 15.5 percent ad valorem. Textile category 359 applies to merchandise classified in this subheading. Articles originating in Canada and classified in this subheading are eligible for a duty rate of 13.9 percent ad valorem under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement if all applicable regulations are met.

HOLDING:

The adult bib is classified in subheading 6217.10.0010, HTSUSA.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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