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HQ 088170


February 20, 1991

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 088170 CMS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7310.10.00

Ms. Elsbeth G. Eddy
Chief, Minerals and Metals Section
Foreign Trade Division
United States Department of Commerce
Bureau of the Census
Washington, D.C. 20233

RE: Drums; Barrels; Tanks; Casks; Cans; Boxes; Containers; Trash Cans; Storage Bins; Clearly Suitable For Repetitive Use; GRI 5(b)

Dear Ms. Eddy,

This is in response to your request dated October 25, 1990, for a ruling on the classification of certain drums and barrels. Our ruling follows.

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of certain drums and barrels which are entered filled with products such as juices or vegetables. After importation the drums and barrels are not reused for shipping purposes, but are used as trash cans and storage bins in warehouses and plants. Some of the containers are reported separately on the Customs entry and are classified separately in provisions for containers such as 7310.10.00, HTSUSA.

ISSUE:

Are the drums and barrels "clearly suitable for repetitive use" pursuant to GRI 5(b)?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 5(b) provides:

Subject to the provisions of rule 5(a) above, packing materials and packing containers entered with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of
a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision does not apply when such packing materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use.

The use of juice and vegetable containers as trash cans and storage bins after importation is not a "repetitive use" pursuant to GRI 5. The "repetitive use" described by the second sentence of GRI 5(b) is the use to which GRI 5 containers are put, i.e., as containers in which goods are packed at the time of entry; such containers are normally the containers in which goods are shipped and are clearly suitable for repetitive use as shipping containers.

From the description provided we cannot state whether the particular containers referred to in your letter are clearly suitable for repetitive use. However, it is clear that proving that the containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use as trash cans and storage bins after importation does not establish that they are "clearly suitable for repetitive use" pursuant to GRI 5(b). The containers under consideration cannot be reported separately on the Customs entry and classified separately on the basis that they are used as trash cans and storage bins after importation. Unless GRI 5(b) containers are not of a kind normally used for packing the goods therein, or are clearly suitable for repetitive use as containers in which goods are shipped, they must be classified with the goods therein pursuant to the language of GRI 5(b).

It should be noted that the applicable standard for "clearly suitable for repetitive use" is not that the containers could possibly be reused. The second sentence of GRI 5(b) provides that to be classified separately, containers must be clearly suitable for repetitive use. One type of container that is clearly suitable for repetitive use, as provided by the Explanatory Notes to GRI 5(b), p. 7, is a container of iron or steel for compressed or liquefied gas.

Some of the circumstances in which containers are properly classified in provisions for containers such as Heading 7310 are when they are not entered with goods therein, are not normally used for packing the goods therein, or are "clearly suitable for repetitive use" as containers in which the goods are entered.

HOLDING:

The mere establishing that containers in which juices and vegetables are normally entered, are used as trash cans and
storage bins after importation, is not sufficient for classifying the containers separately pursuant to GRI 5(b), under provisions for containers such as 7310.10.00, HTSUSA.

Sincerely,


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