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HQ 953075




March 2, 1993

CLA-2-CO:R:C:M 953075 MMC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF No.: 9404.90.20

Mr. Joseph Stocks
Clarin Corporation
927 North Shore Drive
Lake Bluff, IL 60044

RE: Stadium pack; Travel bag, Sports bag, Spectator bag; Travel bag cushion combination; Heading 4202.00.00, HTSUS, cushions; GRI 3

Dear Mr. Stocks:

This is in response to your letter addressed to the Area Director of Customs in New York dated 10/29/92, requesting a classification ruling under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of an article identified as the Clarin Stadium Pack, model 750 produced in China. Your letter was referred to this office for reply.

FACTS:

The sample submitted for examination combines a stadium seat cushion and a system of utility pockets designed to contain a spectator's accessories. It has a shoulder strap and a handle sewn between the cushion compartment and the accessories compartments. The cover of the bag is made of 100% nylon textile materials and has a bi-fold design for easy carrying. The cushion compartment and the other compartments are joined together by a center binding where the handle and shoulder strap are attached. The article folds in half when carried by the handle or strap. Both parts of the spectator pack are of equal lengths (15") and their widths vary only slightly (bag portion 13 1/2" cushion portion 15").

The seat cushion portion contains a 1" thick urethane foam pad and measures approximately 14" x 15". The pad can be removed by unzipping the compartment and pulling the foam out. A woven strap with a swivel snap hook which is sewn onto the back of the cushion compartment attaches to the bleacher seat to keep the article in place. The accessories portion consists of five assorted zippered pockets sewn to the front side of the pack. These pockets are designed to hold sunglasses, binoculars, a portable radio, camera, programs, blankets and similar items. There is also a mesh pouch to hold drink containers.

ISSUE:

What is classification of the Stadium Pack?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The stadium pack is described in two different headings. Heading 4202, HTSUS, provides for travel bags and Heading 9404, HTSUS, provides for cushions. The stadium pack may be considered a combination of a travel bag and a seat cushion because it has the capability to function as both.

When in use, the cushion portion is placed on the bleacher and fastened by a swivel hook to hold the cushion in place. The bag portion then folds down in front of the bleacher and behind the legs of the spectator providing easy access to any of the other accessories the spectator carried to the event. The functions of both the bag portion and the cushion portion of the pack are complementary to each other, making them physically as well as functionally integrated to an extent that it is not possible to isolate a single function and identify it as the principle one of the entire pack.

The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) govern the classification of merchandise under the HTSUS. GRI 1, HTSUS, states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. When goods cannot be classified by applying GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI's are applied in descending order. Inasmuch as the stadium bag is a composite good described in two headings, it cannot be classified according to GRI 1.

GRI 2(a) is inapplicable because it applies to unfinished articles, and the stadium pack is imported in a finished condition. GRI 2 (b) states, in pertinent part, that any reference in a heading to a material or substance shall be taken to include a reference to mixtures or combinations of that material or substance with other materials or substances. The classification of goods consisting of more than one material or substance shall be according to the principles of rule 3.

GRI 3 states that when, by application of rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:

(a) 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 materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or 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.

(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and 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, insofar as this criterion is applicable.

(c) When 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.

The stadium pack cannot be classified according to the relative specificity provision of GRI 3(a) because the applicable headings describe only part of the article and are thus considered equally specific. The merchandise cannot be classified as a GRI 3(b) composite good consisting of different components because the single component which gives the stadium pack its essential character cannot be determined.

Under the terms of the GRI's, goods which cannot be classified according to GRI's 1 through 3(b) are classified under GRI 3(c). Under GRI 3(c), the merchandise is classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration. Heading 9404, HTSUS, is the last in numerical order. Thus, the stadium pack is classifiable as an article of bedding and similar furnishings (for example, mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes, and pillows) fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material or of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered; Other, under subheading 9404.90.20, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The stadium pack is classifiable as a cushion under subheading 9404.90.20, HTSUS.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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