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HQ 087169


November 8, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087169 WAW

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4202.92.4500

Ellen E. Rosenberg, Esq.
Paul A. Horowitz, Esq.
Siegel, Mandell & Davidson
One Whitehall Street
New York, New York 10004

RE: Hosiery Organizer; Travel Accessory for Hosiery

Dear Ms. Rosenberg and Mr. Horowitz:

This is in response to your inquiry dated May 15, 1990, on behalf of your client, E & B Giftware, Inc., requesting the tariff classification of a hosiery organizer, Model No. 615PO, imported from China, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). A sample was submitted for our examination.

FACTS:

The hosiery organizer contains an interior polyvinyl chloride (PVC) lining and 12 interior pockets made of PVC. A transparent PVC sheet comprises the outer surface of the exterior portion of the article, and a fabric composed of 65 percent polyester/35 percent cotton has been inserted beneath the PVC sheeting. PVC piping reinforces the edges of the hosiery organizer where the PVC sheeting and fabric are joined. The hosiery organizer has a zippered closure and measures approximately 8-3/4 inches by 8-3/4 inches when closed.

Counsel for the importer contends that the hosiery organizer is designed to be used in one's home to organize and store women's hosiery, and therefore, is classifiable in subheading 3924.90.50, HTSUSA, which provides for tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of plastics, other, other. In the alternative, Counsel states that the hosiery organizer is classifiable in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, which provides for trunks, suitcases...and similar containers, other, with outer surface of plastic sheeting or of textile materials: travel, sports and similar bags, other.

ISSUE:

Is the hosiery organizer classifiable as a travel, sports or similar bag in subheading 4202.92, HTSUSA, or as a household article of plastics in subheading 3924.90, HTSUSA.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the terms of the headings and any relevant section or chapter notes.

The first issue that must be addressed is whether the hosiery organizer is classifiable in Heading 4202, HTSUSA. Heading 4202, HTSUSA, includes, inter alia, the following:

. . .traveling bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, bottle cases, and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of plastic sheeting, of textile materials, of vulcanized rubber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials.

Moreover, Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 42, HTSUSA states:

For the purposes of heading 4202, the expression "travel, sports and similar bags" means goods, other than those falling in subheadings 4202.11 through 4202.39, of a kind designed for carrying clothing and other personal effects during travel . . .

To be classified under Heading 4202, HTSUSA, an item must be ejusdem generis with the items listed in the provision. It is the determination of this office that the hosiery organizer is the type of bag which is similar to those articles enumerated in the above provision since it is designed to be used for the storage and protection of personal effects, namely hosiery, during travel. Consequently, it is our determination that the organizer is classifiable under subheading 4202.92, HTSUSA, as a "travel, sports and similar bags."

Customs has held that the appropriate subheading for goods classified under Heading 4202, HTSUSA, is determined by the constituent material of the outer surface. Therefore, the next issue to be addressed is whether the outer surface of the jewelry organizer consists of "plastic sheeting or of textile materials."

In HRL 082803, dated December 27, 1988, Customs defined the term "outer surface," in the context of classifying articles of Heading 4202, HTSUSA, as "that surface which is both visible and tactile" to the naked eye. In the instant case, it is our position that the plastic cover rather than the textile material forms the outer surface of the jewelry organizer because it is both visible and tactile.

First, it is the plastic component which constitutes the tactile surface of the hosiery organizer. The plastic completely covers the fabric material and is not laminated or otherwise compressed onto the textile fabric. Upon touching the outer surface of the article, it is the plastic material which is felt rather than the textile component.

Second, the plastic surface is also more visible than the textile material. Legal Note 2 of Chapter 59 provides, in pertinent part, the following:

Heading 59.03 applies to:

(a) textile fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, . . . other than:

(1) Fabrics in which the impregnation, coating or covering cannot be seen with the naked eye (usually Chapter 50 to 55, 58 or 60); for the purpose of this provision, no account should be taken of any resulting change of colour.

The wording of Note 2(a)(1) ("cannot be seen with the naked eye") is a clear expression by the drafters of the nomenclature that a significant, if not substantial, amount of material must be added to a fabric for it to be considered "impregnated, coated, covered or laminated." Furthermore, the plastics material added to the fabric must be visibly distinguishable from the fabric without the use of magnification.

Applying the statutory test to the instant article, using normally corrected vision in a well lighted room, it is our determination that the hosiery organizer meets the visibility requirement of Note 2, Chapter 59. It is apparent, based on our examination of the article, that the plastic material is present in a significant amount since it completely covers the fabric and is substantial in weight and thickness. Additionally, the plastic is visibly distinguishable from the fabric because it is not laminated or otherwise compressed onto the fabric which it covers. It is clear that there is a separate and distinct layer of plastic material on the outer surface of the hosiery organizer.

Before the hosiery organizer can be classified as an article with an outer surface of plastic sheeting, we must determine whether the plastic cover constitutes "plastic sheeting" as that term has been defined. To aid in the definition of the terms plastic "sheet" or "sheeting," Customs has referred to various dictionary definitions of these terms. For instance, The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, (1988) has defined the terms sheet and sheeting as follows:
sheet 2. a broad, relatively thin, surface layer or covering
sheeting 1. the act of covering or forming into a sheet or sheets

Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1986) has defined the words sheet and sheeting as follows:
sheet 5. a broad thinly expanded portion of metal or other substance
sheeting 1. a material in the form of sheets * * * b: material (as a plastic) in the form of continuous film * * *.

In the instant case, the hosiery organizer has a thin surface layer of PVC covering the textile fabric. Therefore, based on the above definitions, it is clear that plastic sheeting is the material which constitutes the outer surface of the hosiery organizer for tariff purposes.

In sum, the hosiery organizer is the type of merchandise which is included in Heading 4202, HTSUSA, since it is an accessory designed to facilitate the storage and protection of women's hosiery during travel. Moreover, the outer surface of the hosiery organizer consists of a plastic sheeting material. Accordingly, it is the position of this office that the subject merchandise is classifiable in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, as a travel, sports and similar bags, other.

HOLDING:

The hosiery organizer is classifiable in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, which provides for trunks, suitcases . . . and similar containers . . . other: travel, sports and similar bags, other. Articles classifiable under this subheading are subject to a duty rate of 20 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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