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HQ 958578




February 14, 1996

CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 958578 RFA

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8214.90.90

Mr. Lou Piropato
Daniel F. Young, Inc.
17 Battery Place
New York, NY 10004-1101

RE: Stainless Steel Cheese Set; Cheese Shaver; Cheese Knife; Headings 8211 and 8214; Goods Put Up In Sets For Retail Sale; GRI 3

Dear Mr. Piropato:

In a letter dated September 20, 1995, to the Customs National Import Specialist Staff in New York, on behalf of American Commercial (Mikasa) , you requested the tariff classification of the Mikasa pattern "Zena" G3026-582, stainless steel cheese set, consisting of a cheese shaver with a serrated slicing edge, and a knife with a claw-like appendage for picking up cheese slices, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your letter was referred to this office for a response together with the sample you furnished.

FACTS:

The merchandise, labeled as a Mikasa "Zena" G3026-582, stainless steel cheese set, consists of a cheese shaver with a serrated slicing edge, and a knife with a claw-like appendage for picking up cheese slices. The cheese shaver and the cheese knife are packaged in a box suitable for sale to end-users.

ISSUE:

Does the subject merchandise, consisting of two different types of stainless steel cheese knives, meet the criteria of "goods put up in sets for retail sale" for tariff classification purpose under the HTSUS?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

The following provisions are under consideration:

8211: Knives with cutting blades, serrated or not (including pruning knives), other than knives of heading 8208, and blades and other base metal parts thereof:

8211.91: Other: [t]able knives having fixed blades, and parts thereof:

8211.91.25: Knives with stainless steel handles: [w]ith handles containing nickel or containing over 10 percent by weight of manganese: [o]ther. . . .

Good classifiable under this provision have a column one, general rate of 0.5¢ each + 7.8 percent ad valorem.

8211.91.40: Knives with stainless steel handles: [o]ther. . . .

Good classifiable under this provision have a column one, general rate of 0.4¢ each + 5.1 percent ad valorem.

8214.90.90: Other articles of cutlery (for example, hair clippers, butchers' or kitchen cleavers, chopping or mincing knives, paper knives); manicure or pedicure sets and instruments (including nail files); base metal parts thereof: [o]ther: [o]ther (including parts). . . .

Good classifiable under this provision have a column one, general rate of 1.8¢ each + 4 percent ad valorem.

You are of the opinion that the subject merchandise is classifiable as "goods put up in sets for retail sale" under subheading 8214.90.90, HTSUS. If imported separately the cheese knife with the claw is prima facie classifiable under heading 8211, HTSUS, and the cheese slicer is prima facie classifiable under heading 8214, HTSUS. Each item in this set is prima facie classifiable within two or more headings. Therefore, classification under GRI 1 fails, and we must apply the other GRIs.

GRI 3(a) states that if a product is classifiable in two or more headings by application of GRI 2(b), or for any other reason, then the "heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to . . . part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods."

GRI 3(b) provides that "goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character."

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. To determine what is a "set put up for retail sale", EN X to GRI 3(b), page 4, states that:

[f]or the purposes of this Rule, the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" shall be taken to mean goods which:

(a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings;

(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and

(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on boards).

The subject merchandise meets the criteria of "goods put in sets for retail sale", because: the items in it are provided for in headings 8211 and 8214, HTSUS; all of the products put together carry out the specific activity of cutting and slicing cheese wedges; and the items are packaged in one box to be sold directly to the user without repacking.

Because the item is a set, we must determine which component provides the essential character. EN VIII to GRI 3(b), page 4, states that:

[t]he factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.

Based upon examination of the merchandise, we find that no single component imparts the essential character of the set. Because no essential character of the set can be found, we must apply GRI 3(c), which states:

[w]hen goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.

By application of GRI 3(c), we find that the set is classifiable under subheading 8214.90.90, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The Mikasa "Zena" G3026-582, stainless steel cheese set is classifiable under subheading 8214.90.90, HTSUS, which provides for: "[o]ther articles of cutlery (for example, hair clippers, butchers' or kitchen cleavers, chopping or mincing knives, paper knives); manicure or pedicure sets and instruments (including nail files); base metal parts thereof: [o]ther: [o]ther (including parts). . . ." The general, column one rate of duty is 1.8¢ each + 4 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals Division

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