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NY C86138





April 22, 1998

CLA-2-49:RR:NC:SP:234 C86138

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4911.99.8000

Ms. Mary Lenoci
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. 849 Thomas Drive
Bensenville, IL 60106

RE: The tariff classification of spelling and arithmetic activity kits from China.

Dear Ms. Lenoci:

In your letter dated March 26, 1998, on behalf of Cadaco (Chicago), you requested a tariff classification ruling. Two samples were submitted and will be retained for reference.

The first item, identified as "Spell Time," is an activity kit designed to help young children acquire reading and spelling skills. It consists of a hinged, 7" x 10" x 1 3/4" hard-plastic carrying case specially fitted to hold its contents, which are 78 "letter tiles" in assorted colors, 15 "picture cards," one "cardholder" and one printed instruction sheet.

Each "letter tile" is a 3/4" x 1" piece of hard plastic which has been printed on its face with a letter of the alphabet. (There are 3 identical tiles corresponding to each letter of the alphabet.) In addition, the back surface of each tile incorpo-rates four peg-like protrusions arranged in a configuration unique to its particular letter.

The picture cards are 6 3/4" x 9 3/4" sheets of paperboard bearing a series of printed illustrations of various objects, adjacent to which are small hole-punched, color-coded rectangular spaces. The user is to select a picture card, place it on the cardholder (a pivoting plastic work board, permanently mounted within the case), and proceed to spell out the name of each pictured object by placing the proper tiles in the designated spaces. The color-coding helps the child select the correct letters, and the peg/hole system makes it impossible to place the wrong tile in a particular space.

The cardholder is designed so that it may also be used (without a picture card) as a free-form work space in which the letter tiles can be arranged within grooved "tracks" to form any words, as desired.

The second sample, identified as "Sum Time," is essentially the same type of kit, except that it is designed to help children learn to count and to perform simple arithmetic problems. In this kit, the plastic tiles are printed with numerals and mathematical symbols, while the paperboard cards feature counting exercises and unfinished equations to be completed by the user.

We note your suggestion that the above-described products might be classifiable as games in heading 9504, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). However, that heading is not applicable because the articles do not involve contests or competitions leading to a win-or-lose objective. Also, since the kits are primarily educational/learning aids rather than products designed to amuse, they are not considered toys of chapter 95, HTS. Customs has previously ruled similar merchandise to be "printed matter" of chapter 49, HTS.

The applicable subheading for the "Spell Time" and "Sum Time" kits will be 4911.99.8000, HTS, which provides for other (non-enumerated) printed matter. The rate of duty will be 2.9%. 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,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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