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NY J81881




March 17, 2003

CLA-2-48:RR:NC:SP:234 J81881

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4811.90.9000

Ms. Barbara L. Fox
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
500 Volvo Parkway
Chesapeake, VA 23320

RE: The tariff classification of design-printed “computer paper” from China.

Dear Ms. Fox:

In your letter dated February 28, 2003, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

A sample identified as “Xmas computer paper,” SKU-130506, was submitted for our examination. It is a shrink-wrapped retail package of 42 loose, 8½” x 11” sheets of white paper. The top 2¼”portion on one side of each sheet has a decorative printed border running horizontally across the entire width. (The product will be offered in six different designs, involving motifs with snowmen, Santa Claus, reindeer, etc.) The paper, which does not appear to be coated or impregnated, is said to be intended for use in computer-controlled inkjet or laser printers.

You believe that the appropriate classification for the above-described product is subheading 4817.20, HTS, which provides for letter cards, plain postcards and correspondence cards, of paper or paperboard. The sheets of computer paper clearly are not “postcards.” For guidance on the meaning of the terms “letter cards” and “correspondence cards,” the Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be consulted. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTS. Pertinent excerpts from the EN to heading 4817 read as follows:

Letter cards are sheets of paper or paperboard or card with gummed (and sometimes perforated) edges or other provision for closing or sealing without the use of envelopes.
Correspondence cards do not fall in this heading unless they have deckled or gilt edges or rounded corners, or are printed or otherwise prepared in such a manner as clearly to indicate their use as stationery.

This heading also excludes: (a) letter paper in folded or unfolded sheets, printed or not, and whether or not boxed or packeted (heading 48.02, 48.10, 48.11, as the case may be).

We find that the merchandise before us is multipurpose design-printed paper that does not answer to the above definitions of “letter cards” or “correspondence cards.” It appears to be more akin to the “letter paper” excluded from heading 4817 by the EN. Loose sheets of surface-decorated or printed paper, of any size, are currently provided for in heading 4811, HTS.

The applicable subheading for the “Xmas computer paper” will be 4811.90.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for paper,surface-decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular sheets, of any size, other than goods of the kind described in heading 4803, 4809 or 4810other (than certain enumerated kinds and sizes). The rate of duty will be 0.5%.

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 Carl Abramowitz at 646-733-3037.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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