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HQ 963803




August 15, 2000

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 963803BB

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6702.90.35

Ms. Tara Thobe
Bath & Body Works
7 Limited Parkway East,
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068

RE: Velour Holly Berry Pick; Multi Berry Pick; Metallic Leaves Pick.

Dear Ms. Thobe:

This is in response to your letter of February 25, 2000, to Customs Headquarters, Office of Regulations and Rulings, Washington, DC, requesting a ruling on the classification of assorted “tie-off” berry and leaf “picks,” pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule Of The United States (HTSUS), and a country of origin marking determination. This ruling sets forth the classification. A separate ruling will be issued with regard to the country of origin marking. You submitted a sample for each of the three subject articles: Velour Holly Berry Pick, Multi Berry Pick, and Metallic Leaves Pick.

FACTS:

Your letter identifies and describes the three subject samples as “tie-offs.” The first article, the Velour Holly Berry Pick, Style 9432, is made of 60% polyester velour, 15% styrofoam, 20% wire and 5% paper. The second article, the Mutli Berry Pick, Style 9509, is made of 13% polyester leaf, 61% styrofoam berries and fruits, 6% floral paper tape, 10% wire and 10% paint and pigment. The third article, the Metallic Leaves Pick, Style 9508, is made of 74% polyester leaves, 6% floral paper tape, 10% wire and 10% paint and pigment. You state that the items will be used as “decorations on gift baskets.”

ISSUE:

Whether the articles are classifiable under heading 6702, HTSUS, as “artificial flowers, foliage and fruit and parts thereof[.]”

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). Under GRI 1, HTSUS, goods are to be classified according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.

In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The Explanatory Notes (ENs), although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. Customs believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 98-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

The HTSUS provision under consideration is as follows:

Artificial flowers, foliage and fruit and parts thereof; articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit:

Of plastics:

Of other materials:

Other:

EN 67.02 provides that this heading covers:

Artificial flowers, foliage and fruit in forms resembling the natural products, made by assembling various parts (by binding, glueing, assembling by fitting into one another or similar methods). This category also includes conventional representations of flowers, foliage or fruit made up in the manner of artificial flowers, etc.”

Parts of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit (e.g., pistils, stamens, ovaries, petals, calyces, leaves and stems).

Articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit (e.g., bouquets, garlands, wreaths, plants), and other articles, for use as trimmings or as ornaments, made by assembling artificial flowers, foliage or fruit.

The EN also states that articles under this heading include: “artificial flowers, foliage or fruit fitted with a pin or other minor fastening device.” (EN 67.02).

Polyester fabric and other man-made synthetic materials are used to construct the artificial berries, leaves and stems for each of the three articles. Your statement that the articles “will be used as decorations on gift baskets[,]” demonstrates that the picks will be generally used in a variety of different ways to decorate and adorn gift packages and containers holding the requester’s products. Based on this analysis, Customs is of the opinion that all three of the subject “picks” are classifiable under heading 6702, HTSUS, specifically subheading 6702.90.35, HTSUS, which provides for: “artificial flowers, foliage and fruit and parts thereof: articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit: . . . Of other materials: Of man-made fibers[.]”

HOLDING:

The Velour Holly Berry Pick, Multi Berry Pick, and Metallic Leaves Pick are all classifiable under subheading 6702.90.35, HTSUS, as “artificial flowers, foliage and fruit and parts thereof: articles made of artificial flowers, foliage or fruit: . . . Of other materials: Of man-made fibers[.]”

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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