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HQ 224687

May 13, 1993

CON-9-04-CO:R:C:E 224687 JRS

CATEGORY: TEMPORARY IMPORTATION BOND

Mr. George Cigarroa
Cigarroa Dispatch
518 E. Matamoros
Laredo, Texas 78042

RE: Subheading 9813.00.05, HTSUS

Dear Mr. Cigarroa:

This is in response to your letter dated April 30, 1993, requesting a ruling on the eligibility of the following procedure to qualify for free importation under bond. Our ruling follows.

FACTS:

Joan Fabrics Corporation, a U.S. corporation, desires to import temporarily, free under bond, polypropylene yarn to be woven into fabric for furniture under subheading 9813.00.05, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), and then export the resulting article back to the exporter, Industrias Polifil, in Mexico.

The description of the process in the United States is briefly summarized as follows. The imported 100% polypropylene continuous filament yarn is woven (warp and weft) into a jacquard fabric for furniture (which has 40 yarns per inch and 11 picks per inch) and is finished with backing and needle punched. You do not state whether any waste occurs during this operation.

ISSUE:

Whether the above-described operation qualifies as a process for purposes of temporary duty-free treatment under subheading 9813.00.05, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 9813.00.05, HTSUS, provides for the importation into the United States temporarily free of duty under bond (TIB), of articles to be repaired, altered or processed, including processes which result in articles manufactured or produced in the United States.

If merchandise entered under a TIB results in articles produced or manufactured in the United States, a complete accounting of all articles, wastes (i.e., scrap fabric) and recoverable losses must be made to the Customs Service. U.S. Note 2(b), Chapter 98, Subchapter XIII, HTSUS. Exportation of the articles and valuable wastes must take place within the bond period under Customs supervision. U.S. Note 1(a) to Chapter 98, Subchapter XIII, HTSUS, provides in part that merchandise imported under TIB procedures may not be imported for sale or sale on approval. Further, U.S. Note 1(a) allows the initial TIB period, one year from the date of importation, to be extended, upon application to the district director, for one or more further periods which, when added to the initial one year, shall not exceed a total of three years. See 19 CFR 10.37.

We have held, for purposes of our drawback statute (19 U.S.C. 1313), that the use of yarn to make upholstery fabric produces a new and different article satisfying the requirement of a manufacture or production. See 212899 WR, dated April 28, 1981, abstracted as T.D. 81-190-U. Processes under a TIB are given a more liberal construction than what is permitted under our drawback statute. It is our opinion, therefore, that the weaving of the yarn is clearly a process within the meaning of subheading 9813.00.05, HTSUS.

Please note that the imported yarn may be subject to visa requirements as well as quota. Any merchandise subject to a quota which has been filled cannot be released under a temporary importation bond. See T.D. 54802(53) and (54)(Copies enclosed for your information). If the quota is open, the merchandise may be entered under TIB procedures, but there will be a charge against the quota.

Merchandise entered in the United States under any item in Chapter 98 of the HTSUS, except subheading 9802.00.60 or 9802.00.80, is exempt from the merchandise processing fee of 0.17 percent ad valorem, see 19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(9)(A).

HOLDING:

Based on the information provided, the weaving of imported yarn into upholstery fabric qualifies as a process under subheading 9813.00.05, HTSUS, for temporary admission into the United States, under bond, without the payment of duty.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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See also:

• Tariff No.: 9802.00.60 - U.S. articles of specific metals exported for further processing and returned for further processing
• Tariff No.: 9802.00.80 - U.S. articles assembled abroad, which have not lost their physical identity or have not advanced in value or improved in condition abroad
• Tariff No.: 9813.00.05 - Articles to be repaired, altered or processed (including processes which result in articles manufactured or produced in the United States)