NY 0867545 - The marking requirements of a tint cap for paint can lids from Singapore. - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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NY 867545

October 11, 1991

CLA-2-:S:N:N3G:221 867545

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Arthur F. McCormack
Rheem Closures (F.E.) Pte. Ltd.
5540 West 5th Street #78
Oxnard, California 93035

RE: The marking requirements of a tint cap for paint can lids from Singapore.

Dear Mr. McCormack:

In your letter dated September 23, 1991, you requested a ruling on the marking requirements for a plastic tint cap for paint can lids.

The tint cap is purchased by manufacturers of plastic paint pails. The cap is incorporated into the pail cover at the time the pail and lid are manufactured. The empty pail and the loose covers are sold to paint manufacturers, who fill the pail with white paint and then attach the lid. The paint is then sold to retailers. If the retail purchaser of the paint wishes a color other than white, the tint cap is removed from the cover, the proper color tint is added, the cap is replaced and the paint is mixed.

Unless excepted by law, Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that all articles of foreign origin imported into the United States must be legibly and conspicuously marked to indicate the country of origin to an ultimate purchaser in the United States. A manufacturer in the United States is considered to be the ultimate purchaser if the processing performed is such that the imported article loses its identity or its independent functional significance and becomes an integral part of a new article with a new name, character and use.

You have submitted a copy of a Headquarters letter issued to you on July 30, 1987, ruling that a round, threaded steel cap or plug, designed to fit into a flanged opening of a steel drum, required individual country of origin marking. Headquarters informed you that "Although the importer may sell the plug along with the container, the plug is not permanently attached and the process of combining the plug with the drum is not sufficient to constitute a substantial transformation."

The tint cap performs a function similar to that of the plug. It fits into an opening in the paint lid. Although the paint can manufacturer may sell the cap with the container, the cap is not permanently attached and the
process of combining the cap with the lid is not sufficient to constitute a substantial transformation. The paint manufacturer who fills the pail with the paint and closes it with the lid and cap is the ultimate purchaser of the tint cap. In the circumstances which you describe, these caps will not reach the ultimate purchaser in the original marked shipping containers, and thus individual country of origin marking is required. Should the circumstances change so that the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the caps will reach the ultimate purchaser in sealed shipping containers which are marked to indicate the country of origin, the caps may be excepted from individual marking.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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