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NY I89075





January 6, 2003

CLA-2-39:RR:NC:SP:221 I89075

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 3923.90.0080

Ms. Barbara Sassa
Miami International Forwarders
1801 NW 82 Avenue
Miami, FL 33126-1013

RE: The tariff classification of plastic hangers from Sri Lanka and China.

Dear Ms. Sassa:

In your letter dated December 9, 2002, on behalf of Fishman & Tobin Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling.

Samples of four plastic hangers were submitted with your request. Styles T140-78T-K20, 496 and 226 are top hangers. Style 110 is a bottom hanger that incorporates plastic pinch clips that tighten with a sliding metal grip to secure shorts, pants or skirts. Styles 226 and 496 are of fairly flimsy construction and measure only 3/16 inch in thickness at the ridge. Styles T140-78T-K20 and 110 are of more substantial construction. The molded plastic ridges of these styles measure 5/16 inch in thickness. Information submitted previously on these styles verified that they are used in a closed loop system for recycling reusable hangers and redistributing them to where the garments are manufactured. This previous information indicated that these hangers are used approximately four times each. Styles T140-78T-K20 and 110 have plastic top hooks molded to incorporate a colored size cap. The caps are non-removable at store level, but mechanically removable at the hanger recycling center.

The applicable subheading for all of the hangers will be 3923.90.0080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plasticsother. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.

Articles classifiable under subheading 3923.90.0080, HTS, which are products of Sri Lanka may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check the Customs Web site at www.customs.gov. At the Web site, click on "CEBB", click on “Files”, click on “Search” and then enter a key word search for the term "T-GSP".

You also ask whether the hangers, when imported holding apparel, are separately classifiable from the apparel. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 5(b) of the HTS provides that, subject to the provisions of GRI 5(a), packing materials and packing containers entered with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision is not binding when such materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use. Styles 140-78T-K20 and 110 are substantially similar to the hangers that were the subject of HQ 964963, 964964 and 964948, all dated June 19, 2001. Those hangers, which were used in hanger recovery systems similar to the one previously described for styles 140-78T-K20 and 110, were ruled to be of sufficiently substantial construction to be suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods. Thus, styles 140-78T-K20 and 110 may be classified separately in subheading 3923.90.0080, HTS, even when imported with garments.

Hanger styles 496 and 226 are not constructed as substantially as the hangers in HQ 964963, 964964 and 964948 and you have submitted no information substantiating commercial reuse of these particular styles. Styles 496 and 226 are of a flimsy one-piece molded construction that is not suitable for repetitive use for the commercial shipment of garments. These hangers are of a kind normally used for packing garments, and should be classified with the garments with which they are imported.

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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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