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HQ 956425


July 28, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 956425 ch

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6307.90.9989

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
700 Doug Davis Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30354

RE: Internal Advice No. 1/94; Tariff Classification of Nylon Raschel Knit Drawstring Bags.

Dear Sir:

This is in response to your request for internal advice, dated December 16, 1993, requesting tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) for certain nylon raschel knit drawstring bags. A representative sample was provided to this office for examination.

FACTS:

The submitted sample is a nylon raschel knit bag with a drawstring closure. It measures 9 inches by 12 inches, and is also representative of larger bags measuring 12 inches by 18 inches, and 18 inches by 24 inches.

The importer, ABC School Supply, Inc., has submitted three catalog advertisements. The first advertisement is entitled "Storage - cards, bags, boxes." The bags are displayed and described as follows:

NYLON MESH STORAGE BAGS
Nothing better for construction materials storage. Available in three sizes, in three assorted colors, red, yellow and blue, each with a strong, drawstring closure.

Various storage crates, trays and boxes are pictured and promoted on the same page.

A second catalog advertisement is entitled "Math Resource Sets." The drawstring bags are presented as part of the "Math Manipulative Lab," described below:

A fit companion to the popular resource guide, "Mathematics Their Way," this manipulative lab contains components which encourage sorting, grouping, classification, and other activities important to understanding basic math and geometric concepts. The Lab includes: 100 colored counting cubes in drawstring storage bag; 10 sorting dishes; 500 linking cubes in drawstring storage bag; 250 plastic pattern blocks in drawstring storage bag; 10 geo-boards -- 7" x 7"; 400 geo-board rubber bands; 48 logic blocks in plastic storage box; 400 counting and stacking disks in drawstring storage bag; 500 counting and sorting buttons in plastic storage tub; 500 rainbow links in drawstring storage bag; over 2,700 pieces. For convenient storage, all elements come in a 14"Wx24"Lx11"D hard plastic Stor-N-View box with a lid.

The drawstring bags are displayed with their contents.

A third catalog advertisement is entitled "Furniture -- Classroom Storage." The merchandise is marketed as "Nylon Mesh Bags With Drawstrings." The bags are displayed and have been filled with sports gear or balls. The advertisement includes pictures and descriptions of other articles, such as a bookcase, storage carts and storage trays.

ISSUE:

Whether the drawstring bags are classifiable in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up textile articles; or subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, which provides in part for travel bags of man-made fibers?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 4202.92, HTSUSA, provides for travel, sports and similar bags of textile materials. Chapter 42, Additional U.S. Note 1, states that:

For the purposes of heading 4202, the expression "travel, sports and similar bags" means goods, other than those falling in subheadings 4202.11 through 4202.39, of a kind designed for carrying clothing and other personal effects during travel, including backpacks and shopping bags of this heading, but does not include binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, bottle cases and similar containers.

On the other hand, heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other textile articles not more specifically described elsewhere in the tariff schedule. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 6307, at page 867, state in pertinent part that the provision includes:

(5) Domestic laundry or shoe bags, stocking, handkerchief or slipper sachets, pyjama or nightdress cases and similar articles.

(6) Garment bags (portable wardrobes) other than those of heading 42.02.

In addition, the EN to heading 6307, at page 868, state that the heading excludes "travel goods (suit-cases, rucksacks, etc.), shopping-bags, toilet-cases, etc., and all similar containers of heading 42.02."

The foregoing EN indicate that travel containers of heading 4202, HTSUSA, are excluded from heading 6307. Moreover, the exemplars cited as examples of bags classifiable within heading 6307 suggest that certain storage bags are excluded from heading 4202.

In practice, the distinction between travel and storage bags is often difficult to apply. For example, garment bags, shoe bags and similar bags may be principally used for either storage or travel depending upon their construction or design. Furthermore, heading 4202 is not limited to containers used for travel purposes. For example, jewelry boxes are classifiable under heading 4202, despite the fact that they are principally used to store and/or display their contents. Other containers of heading 4202, including cutlery cases, cigarette cases and similar cases, may principally be used for storage purposes, depending upon their construction.

In this instance, the drawstring bags are marketed as storage containers. Moreover, they are composed of an insubstantial raschel knit material which would not withstand the rigors of travel over a prolonged period of time. Consequently, we conclude that the bags cannot be classified as travel, sports and similar bags within heading 4202, HTSUSA. Accordingly, they are classifiable in heading 6307, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

The subject merchandise is classifiable in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles, including dress patterns: other: other: other, other: other. The applicable rate of duty is 7 percent ad valorem.

This decision should be mailed by your office to the internal advice requester no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. On that date the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription Service, Lexis, Freedom of Information Act and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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