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HQ 225032


February 25, 1994

BAG-5-CO:R:C:E 225032 AJS

CATEGORY: BAGGAGE

Mr. James J. Campbell
Port Director of Customs
P.O. Box 12445
Greater Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh PA 15231

RE: Flight attendant uniforms; Subheading 9804.00.65; personal use; Brookside Veneers, LTD v. U.S.; HQ 221675.

Dear Mr. Campbell:

This is in reply to your request of October 26, 1993, concerning the duty on uniforms for flight attendants.

FACTS:

Flight attendants were sent abroad for training. During this training they were issued uniforms by their employer which cost less than $400. The flight attendants did not pay for these uniforms. These uniforms are the property of the employer and are to be returned to it when the attendants leave their job. After the uniforms serve their useful life span, new ones will be issued to the attendants for no charge. The only time attendants will pay for a uniform is if they damage one before the end of the uniform's life span.
ISSUE:

Whether the subject uniforms are for the personal use of the flight attendants within the meaning of subheading 9804.00.65, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 9804.00.65, HTSUS, provides for "[a]rticles imported by or for the account of any person arriving in the United States who is a returning resident thereof . . .

[o]ther articles acquired abroad as an incident of the journey from which the person is returning . . . for his personal or household use . . . [a]rticles, accompanying a person, not over $400 in aggregate fair retail value in the country of acquisition . . ." The essential issue in this case is whether the subject uniforms are for the personal use of the flight attendants. The term "personal" is not defined in the HTSUS. When this is the case, Congress is presumed to attach the common meaning of a term in a tariff provision. Brookside Veneers, LTD v. United States, 10 CIT 836 (1986), aff'd 6 Fed. Cir. (T) 121 (1988). In determining the common meaning of a tariff term, lexicographic and scientific authorities, dictionaries, and other reliable information sources may be consulted. Brookside Veneers at 125. The term "personal" is described as "[o]f or relating to a particular person: private (personal concerns)." Webster's II, New Riverside University Dictionary, p. 877 (1984). In this case, the uniforms do not relate to the personal concerns of the flight attendants. The subject uniforms are to be worn at work by the attendants, are not paid for nor owned by the attendants, and are to be returned to the employer if the attendants leave their job. In our view, this type of article is not for personal use but rather for business use. Consequently, the uniforms are not properly classifiable within subheading 9804.00.65, HTSUS.

In HQ 221675 (September 14, 1989), Customs addressed the issue of whether a computer was for personal use. Customs stated that the ultimate determination as to whether or not an item qualifies under subheading 9804.00.65, HTSUS, as an article for one's personal use depends on the use the article will be put to in the United States. Furthermore, we stated that an item for personal use, for example, is not used for business purposes. In this instance, the subject uniforms will be used for business purposes. It would seem unlikely that the attendants would use their uniforms for any personal purpose. Therefore, we find this decision supportive for determining that the subject uniforms are not for personal use.

Your requests also raises the question of in what manner the Custom Service may collect duties owed for the subject uniforms. Your request states that the employer is willing to make a voluntary tender for any duties owed on the uniforms. We suggest that you contact Mr. John Accetturo, Chief, Revenue Accounting Branch, at (317) 298-1308 for assistance in resolving this matter.

HOLDING:

The subject uniforms are not for personal use and thus not classifiable within subheading 9804.00.65, HTSUS.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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