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HQ 951967


September 3, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 951967 SK

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6304.93.0000

David A. Eisen
Siegel, Mandell & Davidson, P.C.
One Astor Plaza
1515 Broadway, 43rd floor
New York, N.Y. 10036

RE: Classification of textile greeting card holders; decorative in nature; not festive article; not of class or kind of goods traditionally associated with celebration of Christmas; furnishing article; heading 6304, HTSUSA.

Dear Mr. Eisen:

This is in response to your inquiry of May 5, 1992, requesting the tariff classification of two textile card holders. Representative samples of both the "Greeting Card Holder" and the "Seasonal Card Holder" were submitted to this office for examination.

FACTS:

The submitted articles are described as a "Greeting Card Holder" and a "Seasonal Card Holder". They are designed to hang on walls as a method of displaying greeting cards. The items measure approximately 34 inches in length and approximately 20 inches in width and consist of a rectangular shaped, stuffed fabric shell "header" with four textile straps attached which drop vertically from the header. The four straps are permanently sewn to the header and are evenly spaced so that cards affixed thereto will be clearly visible when displayed and not overlap one another. The rectangular fabric header piece is made of an exterior shell fabric consisting of a woven blend of 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton which is stuffed with 100 percent polyester to provide form and shape. The importer asserts that the front exterior of the "Greeting Card Holder" will be decorated in a Christmas holiday theme.

ISSUE:

Whether the subject merchandise is classifiable under heading 9505, HTSUSA, which provides for festive articles, heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles or under heading 6304, HTSUSA, which provides for furnishing articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be in accordance with the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

Heading 9505, HTSUSA, provides for, in pertinent part, festive, carnival or other entertainment articles. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 9505, HTSUSA, state that this provision covers:

(A) Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, which in view of their intended use are generally made of non-durable material. They include:

(1) Decorations ... which are traditionally associated with a particular festival.

(2) Articles traditionally used at Christmas festivities, e.g., artificial Christmas trees ... nativity scenes, Christmas crackers, Christmas stockings, imitation yule logs. [emphasis added]

In your submission you assert that the Greeting Card Holder is classifiable under heading 9505, HTSUSA, in that this article "belongs to the class or kind of goods traditionally associated with the celebration of Christmas. In particular, the item will be decorated with a Christmas motif and is dedicated for use solely during the Christmas holiday as a mechanism for holding, organizing and displaying Christmas greeting cards". There is no doubt that this item will be used as a decorative wall hanging during the Christmas season. However, that is not what the EN to this heading require in order for classification to be proper here. The EN specifically state, twice, that festive articles used during the Christmas season must be those which are traditionally associated with or used at Christmas. The exemplars listed, artificial Christmas trees and yule logs, are clearly of that nature. The Greeting Card Holder is not akin to
such articles; the fact that it may be used at Christmas is not enough to warrant classification under heading 9505, HTSUSA. Moreover, the mere presence of a holiday motif will not necessarily transform a non-festive article into one that is. The article must be examined as a whole in determining whether classification as a festive article is appropriate.

In the alternative, you submit that if classification is not proper under heading 9505, HTSUSA, then both articles should be classified under heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other made-up articles. Heading 6307 is a residual provision, and provides for made up articles of any textile material which are not included more specifically in other headings of Section XI or elsewhere in the Nomenclature. Should classification be found proper under heading 6304, HTSUSA, classification under heading 6307, HTSUSA, is obviously precluded.

Heading 6304, HTSUSA, provides for other furnishing articles. The EN state that heading 6304, HTSUSA, covers "furnishing articles of textile materials ... these articles include wall hangings... ." [emphasis added]

You assert that the subject merchandise is not classifiable under heading 6304, HTSUSA, because the subject merchandise is not ejusdem generis with the enumerated exemplars in this heading. We note that the articles at issue are designed to hang from walls so that greeting cards may be displayed in a decorative fashion. The greeting and seasonal card holders are, in essence, unfinished wall hangings which require only the affixation of the cards to render them complete. As such, they are specifically provided for in the EN to this heading as wallhangings.

You further claim that the straps to which the greeting cards will be attached serve a utilitarian function in that they are designed to "hold, organize and display" various cards and therefore the merchandise serves a distinct functional purpose and is not intended merely for decorative use. This office disagrees. The straps merely provide a foundation to which the cards will be affixed. The article, taken as a whole, is purely decorative in nature although we recognize that even decorative articles will have components that may marginally be described as "functional". The mere fact that the straps provide a means for
affixing the cards does not render this a utilitarian article; that reasoning would result in findings that virtually every decorative article which has a functional component (such as the clips which hold a picture's backing in place, or even the backing itself which provides a foundation for a picture or photograph) would no longer be classifiable as a decorative furnishing article.

In examining the submitted samples, and taking into acount the use to which they will be put, it is eminently clear that the card holders are decorative wall hangings and therefore specifically provided for in heading 6304, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

The subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading 6304.93.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for other furnishing articles, excluding those of 9404: other: not knitted or crocheted, of synthetic fibers..., dutiable at a rate of 10.6% ad valorem. The textile quota category is 666.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest that your client check, close to the time of shipment, the Status Report on Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated weekly and is available at your local Customs office.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of the classification), and the restraint (quota/visa) categories, your client should contact its local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to determine the current applicability of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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