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NY H87796




March 6, 2002

CLA-2-64:RR:NC:TA:347 H87796

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

Ms. Tammy F. Hetrick
Burton Snowboard Company
80 Industrial Parkway
Burlington, VT 05401

RE: Request for information regarding footwear imported together with drawstring shoe bags/pouches from China.

Dear Ms. Hetrick:

In your letter dated February 11, 2002 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

You have submitted a sample of a shoe bag that you state will be imported with one pair of shoes packed together inside a cardboard (we presume) shoe box for your “Gravis Footwear” shoe line that will be manufactured in China. Your ruling request concerns only the treatment of this shoe bag when imported together with a pair of shoes. You state that the shoe bag is also of China origin and is made of a thin polypropylene spunbonded non-woven fabric. The bag measures approximately 13 ½-inches in width, 16 ½-inches in height and has a drawstring closure on top. A design logo that resembles a large “G” is printed on the outside front of the bag and we presume this same trade logo design will also be on the “ Gravis Footwear” line shoe it will be packed and shipped with in the shoebox. Although you do not state this in your letter, we will presume that the shoe bags are never individually sold at retail but only accompany shoes at the time of retail sale and are only meant for storing the shoes when they are not in use.

GRI 3(b) provides for composite goods made up of different components. Explanatory Note IX to GRI 3(b) provides that composite goods can consist of separable components, provided these components are adapted to one another and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole, which would not normally be offered for sale separately. The shoes and bag are a composite good as that term is defined and applied in the HTSUS. In this case, the components are separable and adapted to be used together. This simple bag/pouch, we presume, is slightly larger than a pair of the shoes it is imported with and would not easily accommodate additional items, with room enough at the top to close the drawstring. The “Gravis Footwear” logo, featured on the bag is another indication of this bag’s primary purpose. The bag would not likely be sold as an independent product for carrying various other personal effects (as would a back pack, fanny bag or shoulder bag). Although shoes are not always sold with drawstring bags/pouches, placement of the shoes in the bag during travel will keep the pair together and protect other personal effects from dirt that the shoes pick up. In this regard, the shoes and bag together form a composite article classified according to GRI 3(b). Composite goods are classified according to the component which gives them their essential character. Therefore a pair of shoes accompanied by the type of simple drawstring bag as the one you have submitted, will constitute a composite article classifiable with the rate applicable to the classification of the shoes.

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 Richard Foley at 646-733-3042.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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