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HQ 962525




October 25, 2001

CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 962525 SS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NOS.: 6505.90.6030

James W. Lawless
C.H. Powell Company
47 Harvard Street
Westwood, MA 02090

RE: Baby Shampoo/Sun Visors; Headgear Made up of Other Textile Fabric; Subheading 6505.90.6030, HTSUSA; Superceding Decision on Preclassification Ruling Letter PC 878021; Not Other Headgear; Not Heading 6506, HTSUSA

Dear Mr. Lawless:

This letter is in response to your request dated December 22, 1998, on behalf of your client The First Years Inc., concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) of baby shampoo/sun visors. One sample was submitted with your request.

We note that Preclassification Ruling Letter (PC) 878021, issued to your client on October 6, 1992, classified a similar baby shampoo/sun visor, identified by item number 3113, under subheading 6506.91.0045, HTSUSA, as other headgear. You acknowledge that Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 961943, dated June 22, 1998, classified a similar baby shampoo/sun visor under subheading 6505.90.6030, HTSUSA, as headgear made up of other textile fabric. Upon review of PC 878021, we find it to be in error. Accordingly, this ruling serves to supercede PC 878021 pursuant to the analysis set forth below:

FACTS:

The sample submitted is a baby shampoo/sun visor identified by the importer as item number 3004. The product is a flat oblong piece of styrene butadiene rubber with an oval hole. A thin knitted polyester fabric is laminated onto one surface of the rubber. The knitted polyester fabric weighs less than 1,500 grams per square meter. The visor is designed to fit over a baby’s head during a bath to prevent soap or shampoo from running into the baby’s eyes or for protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays during exposure to sunlight. The visor’s rubber surface prevents slippage on the head and provides a soft but secure seal to prevent shampoo or sun from coming into contact with the baby’s eyes and face.

ISSUE:

Whether the baby shampoo/sun visors should be classified under subheading 6505.90.6030, HTSUSA, or 6506.91.0045, HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS

Classification of goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (EN) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the EN provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80.

The headings under consideration are 6505 and 6506, HTSUSA. Heading 6505, HTSUSA, provides for “Hats and other headgear, knitted or crocheted, or made up from lace, felt or other textile fabric, in the piece (but not in strips), whether or not lined or trimmed; hair-nets of any material, whether or not lined or trimmed.” Heading 6506, HTSUSA, provides for “Other headgear, whether or not lined or trimmed.”

The visors are a combination of rubber and textile. They are constructed of polyester knit fabric laminated onto a layer of synthetic rubber. The EN to Chapter 40 (“Rubber and Articles Thereof”) state that the classification of rubber and textile combinations is essentially governed by Note 1 (ij) to Section XI, Note 3 to Chapter 56

Note 3 to Chapter 56 covers felt and nonwovens and is not applicable in this case. and Note 4 to Chapter 59.

Section XI covers “Textiles and Textile Articles”. Note 1 (ij) to Section XI, states that the section does not cover knitted fabrics laminated with rubber or articles thereof, of Chapter 40. The EN to Chapter 40 state in pertinent part that the chapter covers:

Textile fabrics (as defined in Note 1 to Chapter 59) impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with rubber weighing more than 1,500 g/m2 and containing 50 percent of less by weight of textile material:

Plates, sheets and strip of cellular rubber, combined with textile fabrics (as defined in Note 1 to Chapter 59), felt or nonwoven, where the textile is present merely for reinforcing purposes.

Chapter 59 covers, among other things, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated textile fabrics. Note 4 to Chapter 59, HTSUSA, provides as follows:

For the purposes of heading 5906, the expression “rubberized textile fabrics” means:

Textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with rubber:

Weighing not more than 1,500 g/m2; or

Weighing more than 1,500 g/m2 and containing more than 50 percent by weight of textile material;

Fabrics made from yarn, strip or the like, impregnated, coated, covered or sheathed with rubber, of heading 5604: and

Fabrics composed of parallel textile yarns agglomerated with rubber, irrespective of their weight per square meter.

This heading does not, however, apply to plates, sheets or strip of cellular rubber, combined with textile fabric, where the textile fabric is present merely for reinforcing purposes (chapter 40), or textile products of heading 5811.

Customs believes that the knit polyester fabric is present for more than mere reinforcement. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 962744, dated October 7, 1999; HQ 961943, dated June 22, 1998; and HQ 083452, dated September 8, 1989. The textile fabric provides a protective cover for the rubber. The textile fabric gives the visor a different visual appearance and tactile quality, and enhances the marketability of the product. The fabric also serves as an absorbent base to take the ink for a clear imprint of a decorative design/character. Although a design could be imprinted on the rubber itself, the visual effect would be different and would lack the durability of the imprint on fabric. Customs has stated that where a textile fabric which is combined with rubber has a purpose which is “more than mere reinforcement,” the merchandise is properly classified as a rubberized textile fabric of heading 5906, HTSUSA. HQ 962744 (cited above). Furthermore, we note that the fabric weighs less than 1,500 grams per meter squared. Therefore, the polyester synthetic rubber material is considered a “rubberized textile fabric” classifiable in heading 5906, HTSUSA.

Articles made of rubberized textile fabric of heading 5906, HTSUSA, are considered to be articles of textiles. See HQ 557216, dated August 19, 1993, and HQ 956484, dated August 19, 1994. Thus classification under heading 6505, HTSUSA, the heading specifically covering textile headgear, is appropriate.

Furthermore, the EN for 65.05 states that the heading covers hats and headgear made up from lace, felt or other textile fabric in the piece, whether or not the fabric has been oiled, waxed, rubberized or otherwise impregnated or coated. The EN for 65.06 merely states that the heading covers headgear not classified in preceding headings of the chapter. Although the EN for 65.06 states that the heading covers headgear of rubber or plastic and lists bathing caps as an example, the visors at issue are not rubber headgear but rather headgear made of rubberized textile fabric. Accordingly, the baby shampoo/sunvisors are classified in heading 6505, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

The baby shampoo/sun visor is classified under subheading 6505.90.6030, HTSUSA, the provision for “Hats and other headgear, knitted or crocheted, or made up from lace, felt or other textile fabric, . . . : Other: Of man-made fibers: Knitted or crocheted or made up from knitted or crocheted fabric: Not in part of braid, For babies.” The general column one duty rate is 25.9 cents per kilogram plus 9.1 percent ad valorem. The applicable visa category is 239.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status on Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated weekly and is available at the local Customs office.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact the local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to determine the current applicability of any import restraints or requirements.

In your letter dated December 12, 1998, you requested “sufficient time” to react to a change in classification. On November 30, 2000, Customs advised you that it would issue a ruling superceding the decision in PC 878021 and provided you with an opportunity to submit evidence of consistent classification treatment in order to evaluate your request for a delayed effective date. To date, you have not provided any information to substantiate a clam of treatment under 19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(2). Since consistent classification treatment by Customs on identical or substantially identical merchandise has not been established in this case, the request for a delayed effective date must be denied.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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