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HQ 955012




October 28, 1993

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 955012 ch

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6307.90.9986

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
1000 Second Avenue
Suite 2200
Seattle, Washington 98104

RE: Internal Advice 69/93; classification of a drawstring textile bag.

Dear Sir:

This is in response to request for Internal Advice number 69/93, dated August 3, 1993. In that correspondence, you requested tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) for a textile drawstring bag imported into the United States by Milton Bradley Company. A sample was provided to this office for examination.

FACTS:

The submitted sample is a rayon drawstring bag measuring approximately 8 inches by 6 inches. It is closed on three sides. The open top features a drawstring closure. The bag is used to store wooden tiles in conjunction with the board game Scrabble.

ISSUE:

Whether the instant drawstring bag is classifiable under heading 4202, HTSUSA, which provides, inter alia, for travel bags; or heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up textile articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides for:

Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of plastic sheeting, or textile materials, of vulcanized fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper.

Thus, the enumerated articles and containers similar thereto are classified under this provision.

Heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other textile articles not more specifically described elsewhere in the tariff schedule. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 6307 state in pertinent part, at pages 867, 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 containers are excluded from heading 4202. In practice, this distinction is difficult to apply as 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 case, the drawstring pouch is used to store wooden tiles for the game Scrabble, and is not used for travel purposes. It follows that this item is classifiable under heading 4202 only if it is similar to the containers used for storage found in that heading. In the past, we have concluded that drawstring pouches of insubstantial construction, which are not specially shaped or fitted to contain specific merchandise, are not similar to the containers enumerated in heading 4202. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 953177, dated April 7, 1993; HRL 953176, dated March 16, 1993; HRL 088411, dated April 23, 1991; HRL 086852, dated May 10, 1990.

The instant pouch is not used as a travel bag and is not specially shaped or fitted to hold specific merchandise. Therefore, we conclude that it is not a container of heading 4202. As the drawstring pouch is composed of textile materials and is not more specifically described elsewhere in the tariff schedule, it shall be classified as a made up textile article of heading 6307.

HOLDING:

The subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading 6307.90.9986, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles, including dress patterns: other: other: other: other: other. The applicable rate of duty is percent 7 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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