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NY A87687




October 8, 1996

CLA-2-48:RR:NC:2:234 A87687

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4821.10.2000; 4821.10.4000

Mr. Bruce Wilson
Mallory & Church Corporation
676 South Industrial Way
Seattle, Washington 98108

RE: The tariff classification and country of origin marking of paper labels from Costa Rica.

Dear Mr. Wilson:

In your letter dated September 10, 1996, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

Samples identified as "bellybands" were submitted and will be retained for reference. They are scored, irregularly-shaped strips of paper, about two inches in width and eight inches in length, printed on one side with the brand name and logo of a line of neckties, along with brief text praising the attributes of such ties. One end of each bellyband is coated with a narrow stripe of pressure-sensitive adhesive, protected by a piece of plastic which can be peeled off.

Following importation, each of these items will be folded into a band or sleeve, which will then be slipped over the widest part of the front of a necktie to prepare it for retail display. You state that bellybands are used to attract the consumer to the tie by identifying the tie's brand.

The applicable subheading for the bellybands, if printed in whole or in part by a lithographic process, will be 4821.10.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for paper and paperboard labels printed by such process. The rate of duty will be 7 cents per kilogram.

If none of the printing is lithographic, the applicable subheading will be 4821.10.4000, HTS, which provides for other printed paper and paperboard labels. The rate of duty will be 3.4%.

Articles classifiable under subheadings 4821.10.2000 and 4821.10.4000, HTS, which are products of Costa Rica are entitled to duty free treatment under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

You also ask whether the bellybands must be individually marked with their country of origin if they are imported in cartons marked "Made in Costa Rica." You indicate that your firm will receive said cartons in Seattle, and will then fold the bands and put them onto ties to be distributed to your customers.

Customs has previously held that labels imported in properly marked containers, and sold only to parties who will apply them to their own goods, may be excepted from individual marking pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(d). That is, the importer of the labels is considered the ultimate purchaser of same, the last to receive them in the form in which they were imported. The labels are subsequently deemed to have lost their own identity, in effect having become integral parts of the goods to which they were attached. Accordingly, the bellybands, when imported in properly marked containers under the outlined circumstances, will not be required to be individually marked with their own country of origin.

Please note, however, that this in no way absolves your company from ensuring that the neckties themselves, if made outside the United States, be properly marked with their country of origin. Although your letter refers to your firm as a manufacturer of men's neckties, it also suggests that most or all of the ties receiving the subject labels will be from Mexico or Costa Rica. Since their ultimate purchasers will be retail consumers, the ties will of course be subject to normal, individual marking requirements.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Carl Abramowitz, at (212) 466-5733.

Sincerely,

Roger J. Silvestri
Director

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