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HQ 562780




September 8, 2003

CLA-02 RR:CR:SM 562780 DLD

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION
TARIFF NO.: 9811.00.60

Mr. Jeff Morse
Customs Manager
Keeco, LLC
543 Forbes Boulevard
South San Francisco, CA 94080

RE: Disposal of marked samples imported to solicit orders, subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS and commercial samples.

Dear Mr. Morse:

This is in response to your letter of June 2, 2003, in which you request a binding ruling on whether properly marked samples imported duty-free under subheading 9811.00.60 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), and marked commercial samples conforming to CD #3500-07 of February 28, 1986, and its update, VBT 88-103 of January 4, 1989, may be given to a charity or to employees of Keeco.

FACTS:

Your firm, Keeco LLC, previously known as L. Kee and Co., imports textile samples under subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, to solicit orders for foreign merchandise in the United States, and commercial samples marked in accordance with CD #3500-07 of February 28, 1986, and its update, VBT 88-103 of January 4, 1989. Some are unmarked samples of under $1 value, or, if of greater value, they are marked to render them unsuitable for sale or for use other than as a sample. All the samples are marked, none are mutilated. The samples may be quilts, comforter shells, window coverings, sheets, pillow cases, or other textile articles. On August 19, 2003, you submitted to us a sample of a curtain tie or sash which contains your standard marking: “Sample – Not for Resale.” After the samples are no longer required, or useful for sales purposes, Keeco proposes to dispose of them either by donating them to charitable organizations or by giving them at no cost to Keeco employees who wish to have them.

2.

ISSUE:

Whether imported samples otherwise eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, [as well as properly marked commercial samples ineligible for subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, treatment,] may be given free of charge to a charity or to the importer’s employees when the samples are no longer needed.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, allows duty-free entry of “[a]ny sample (except samples covered by heading 9811.00.20 or 9811.00.40 [pertaining to alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, respectively]), valued not over $1 each, or marked, torn, perforated or otherwise treated so that it is unsuitable for sale or for use otherwise than as a sample, to be used in the United States only for soliciting orders for products of foreign countries.”

We have previously held that samples of footwear which were imported into the U.S. for the purpose of taking orders and after use either destroyed or donated to charity were eligible for duty-free treatment under subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 557282 of September 16, 1993. In HRL 557683 of March 3, 1994, Customs held that footwear samples entered under subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, and used as samples could later be disposed of by being donated to a charity, reconstituted abroad, or exported for sale or for use as samples abroad, provided that all of the other requirements of this tariff provision were met. The key limitation was that the samples could not be reconstituted into footwear suitable for sale in the U.S.

HOLDING:

Textile samples which satisfy all of the requirements of subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, and properly marked commercial samples ineligible for subheading 9811.00.60, HTSUS, treatment may be donated to charitable organizations or given free of charge to the importer’s employees when the articles no longer are needed as samples. However, the samples may not be reconstituted into articles suitable for sale in the U.S.

3.

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial Rulings Division

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