HQ 560585 - Country of origin marking for pencils imprinted with school names and colors; marking after importation, certification; 19 CFR 134.32(d); 19 CFR 134.34 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule

faqs.org Rulings By Number Rulings By Category Tariff Numbers

faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 1997 HQ Rulings > HQ 560327 - HQ 734474 > HQ 560585

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
HQ 560585

AUGUST 8, 1997

MAR-2:05 RR:TC:SM 560585 RSD

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Irving L. Perlman
Executive Vice-President
Max L. Cowen' Stores Inc.
419 Mandeville Street
Utica, New York 13502

RE: Country of origin marking for pencils imprinted with school names and colors; marking after importation, certification; 19 CFR 134.32(d); 19 CFR 134.34

Dear Mr. Perlman:

This is in response to your letter dated July 8, 1997, addressed to the Chief, Metals and Machinery Branch National Commodity Specialist Division, concerning the country of origin marking requirements for pencils, which are imprinted with school names and logos. You request reconsideration of NY B85052 dated June 18, 1997. We have received samples of the pencils.

FACTS:

Your company sells pencils, which are imprinted with school names and logos. The pencils are standard #2 pencils, which are painted in various colors. They are typically sold to schools, which may in turn furnish the pencils to their students. As imported, the merchandise is completely finished as a pencil, but contains no marking or printing on it. In the United States, your company will imprint the pencils with the name and logo of a school. You market the product as pencils, which are imprinted with a school's colors. You indicate that schools typically only want to have their school colors on the pencils, and having colors on the pencils other than the school colors would detract from the product and render them less marketable. Presently, you are planning to bring in 12 different colors of pencils, and you offer 6 different imprinting colors.

You claim that because of the nature of the business, it would be impractical and prohibitively expensive to mark the pencils before importation. If the pencils are marked at the time of importation, you indicate that you would need to keep a large inventory of pencils in different colors to ensure that the color of the country of origin marking matches the other printing that will be put on the pencils. You estimate that the inventory carrying costs would comprise between 20 to 30 percent annually of the total cost of the pencils. An inventory of this size would take about 3 to 4 years to sell, and would entail a greater financial risk to your company.

Rather than having pencils marked with their country of origin at the time of importation, you propose to mark the pencils after importation by marking them at the same time they are imprinted with the school names and in the same colors. You state that if the country of origin marking is applied at the same time that the pencils are imprinted with the school names, the size of the inventory that would be needed could be greatly reduced. You have also agreed to mark the containers in which the pencils are imported with the country of origin of the pencils. Two samples were furnished. The first sample is a blue pencil, which is not imprinted. The second sample is a red pencil, which is imprinted with a store name in white lettering. The imprinted pencil also bears the marking "Indonesia" immediately below the ferule. In NY B85052, Customs ruled that the pencils at issue must be marked "Made in Indonesia," at the time of importation in a manner which is legible, conspicuous and certain to reach the ultimate consumer.

ISSUE:

May the pencils be marked with their country of origin after importation?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was "that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will." United States v. Friedlaender & Co. 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (1940).

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. 19 CFR 134.34 provides that an exception under 19 CFR 134.32(d) may be authorized in the discretion of the district director for imported articles which are to be repacked after release from Customs custody under the following conditions:

(1) The containers in which the articles are repacked will indicate the origin of the articles to an ultimate purchaser in the United States.

(2) The importer arranges for supervision of the marking of the containers by Custom officers at the importer's expense or secures such verification, as may be necessary, by certification and the submission of a sample or otherwise, of the marking prior to the liquidation of the entry.

In HRL 735292 (September 21, 1993), Customs indicated that although the above provision sets forth the procedures to be followed when unmarked imported articles are to be repacked into marked containers after importation, these procedures are also appropriate in other situations where there are practical problems in requiring marking at the time of importation. We noted that the purpose of these procedures is to ensure that articles which are not adequately marked at the time of importation due to practical problems are properly marked after importation.

The analysis used in HRL 735292 was followed in HRL 735239, January 28, 1994, which concerned imported hexagon shaped pencils used at golf courses. In that decision, we pointed out that articles of foreign origin imported into the United States normally must be marked with their country of origin at the time of importation. However in certain circumstances, Customs has recognized that it may be permissible for articles to be marked after importation. In the case of the pencils involved in HRL 735292, because there was no way of knowing on which of the six sides of the pencils the golf course name and other information would be printed in the United States, we recognized that requiring each pencil to be marked with its country of origin before importation would result in a large number of pencils having the county of origin marking obliterated by the printing in the United States. Therefore, we found that it was acceptable for the pencils to be marked with their country of origin after importation at the same time other information is printed on the pencils, as long as the procedures set forth in 19 CFR 134.34 are followed.

We find that this case is similar to HRL 735239 because there are practical problems in requiring the pencils to be marked with their country of origin at the time of importation. We recognize that requiring marking at the time of importation would require keeping of a large inventory of pencils in various colors, which would greatly increase the costs involved in selling the pencils. In addition, there appears to no way of ensuring that the imprinting done in United States would not interfere with the country of origin marking on the pencil. We note that if your proposal is followed, and the pencils are marked after importation, they still would be marked before they reach the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. Accordingly, the pencils may be marked with their country of origin after importation, provided the procedures set forth in 19 CFR 134.34, are followed and the port director at the port of importation is satisfied that the pencils will reach the ultimate purchaser marked with the country of origin.
HOLDING:

Based upon the information provided, the pencils at issue may be marked with their country of origin after importation and at the same time that the school names and logos are imprinted, provided that Customs officials at the port of importation are satisfied that the pencils will reach the ultimate purchaser properly marked and the provisions of 19 CFR 134.34 are satisfied. NY Ruling B85052, is hereby modified.

A copy of this ruling should be attached to the entry documents file at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy , this ruling should not be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Previous Ruling Next Ruling