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HQ 967312




December 15, 2004

CLA-2:RR:CR:GC 967312 IOR

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

Tariff No.: 8466.10.80, HTSUS

Colleen O’Shea-Moran
Imports, U.S. Customs & Compliance
Darice Inc./ Lamwrite West
13000 Darice Parkway
Park 82
Strongsville, OH 44149

RE: Paper crafting tool

Dear Ms. O’Shea-Moran:

This is in response to your letter of August 18, 2004, to the National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD) New York, requesting a binding ruling on the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of a paper crafting tool. Your ruling request was referred to this office by the NCSD for reply. A sample was submitted for our examination.

FACTS:

The subject merchandise consists of item #1203-93, a “10 in 1” paper crafting tool from China. The “10 in 1” tool consists of one soft grip tool, three piercing tips, five scoring tools, and nine blades, all packed separately in a plastic storage case, lined with foam, with a hinged lid. The paper crafting tool is used for creating paper crafts, greeting cards and general scrapbooking projects.

The soft grip tool is a hollow steel tube shaped like a pen, with a pocket clip. At the bottom of the tube is a screw-in collet type device with a copper jointer, used to secure the interchangeable tools at the tip. The “soft grip” refers to a foam sleeve around the tube, just above the jointer. The user grips the foam sleeve between thumb and forefinger as if gripping a pen.

The three piercing tips are made of steel. They are used to pierce paper in either round, triangle or square shapes. The five scoring tools are made of copper and range in head size from 1mm to 4.5 mm, and can be used for embossing and tracing on paper. The nine blades are made of steel and are contained in a round plastic storage case. All of the items are contained in a plastic storage case fitted with a foam insert cut with a space for each item.

You request the classification of the foregoing.

ISSUE:

What is the classification of the paper crafting tool?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). The systematic detail of the HTSUS is such that most goods are classified by application of GRI 1, that is, 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.

The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:

Handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included; blow torches and similar self-contained torches; vises, clamps and the like, other than accessories for and parts of machine tools; anvils; portable forges; hand- or pedal-operated grinding wheels with frameworks; base metal parts thereof: Other handtools (including glass cutters) and parts thereof: Household tools, and parts thereof:
Of iron or steel:
Other (including parts)
8205.51.45 Of copper..

Interchangeable tools for handtools, whether or not power-operated, or for machine-tools; base metal parts thereof: 8207.90 Other interchangeable tools, and parts thereof: Other:
Other:
Not suitable for cutting metal, and parts thereof:

For handtools, and parts thereof

Knives with cutting blades, serrated or not (including pruning knives), other than knives of heading 8208, and blades and other base metal parts thereof: Other:
8211.93 Knives having other than fixed blades Blades:
Other

Parts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of heading 8456 to 8465, including work or tool holders, self-opening dieheads, dividing heads and other special attachments for machine tools; tool holders for any type of tool for working in the hand: Tool holders and self-opening dieheads:
Other..

In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The Explanatory Notes (ENs), although not dispositive nor legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

Item #1203-93, the “10 in 1” paper crafting tool consists of a tool holder, eight detachable and interchangeable steel and copper tools, and nine detachable and interchangeable steel blades. The item does not meet the terms of heading 8205, HTSUS as “handtoolsnot elsewhere specified or included,” because it is not one single tool. The piercing tips and scoring tools are classifiable as interchangeable tools in heading 8207, HTSUS, the blades are classifiable as blades in heading 8211, HTSUS, and the tool holder is classifiable as a tool holder in heading 8466, HTSUS.

No single heading covers the subject merchandise, therefore classification must be accomplished by other than GRI 1. Goods that are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, are classifiable in accordance with GRI 3. GRI 3(a) states in part that when two or more headings each refer to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific, even if one heading gives a more precise description of the goods.

GRI 3(b) states, in relevant part, that goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified as if consisting of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. Explanatory Note (X) to GRI 3(b), on p. 5 (2002) states that for purposes of Rule 3(b) the term “goods put up in sets for retail sale” means goods which: (a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and, (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on boards).

The subject merchandise consists of blades, a tool holder, and interchangeable tools packaged in a case ready for retail sale which are prima facie classifiable in three different headings. The items packaged together, consist of articles put up together to carry out the specific activity of decoratively working with paper. The articles are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Therefore the kit in question is within the term “goods put up in sets for retail sale.” GRI 3(b) states in part that goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), are to be classified as if they consisted of the component which gives them their essential character.

The factor or factors which determine essential character will vary with the goods. EN Rule 3(b)(VIII) lists as factors the nature of the material or component, their bulk, quantity, weight or value, and the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. In HQ 084551, dated August 9, 1989, for a set consisting of 23 screwdriver bits, 14 wrench sockets, a 1-inch socket adapter, a 4-inch extender and 1 ratchet handle, contained in a plastic case, it was determined that the essential character of the set was imparted by the ratchet handle because it was necessary for the use of the screwdriver bits and sockets, and the adapter and extender were designed for use with the ratchet handle. In this case also the pen-like tool holder is necessary in order to use the blades, piercing points and scoring tools. Without the holder, the set would be useless, whereas the set could still be used in the event of the loss of one or all of either the piercing points, scoring tools, or blades. The holder accounts for nearly 77% of the weight of the set. The actual value of the components was not provided, however, it would appear that as the bulk of the weight of the set is in the holder, the bulk of the value is also in the holder. The holder is also designed to be held as a pen or pencil and is thus well suited for detailed and intricate work with paper.

Of several court decisions on “essential character,” in which the court has looked primarily to the role of the constituent materials or components in relation to the use of the goods to determine essential character, the decision in Better Home Plastics Corp. v. United States, 916 F. Supp. 1265 (Ct. Int’l Trade 1996), aff’d 119 F.3d 969 (Fed. Cir. 1997) pertained to a set. In that case, it was determined that in a relatively low cost shower curtain set consisting of an inner plastic liner, an outer textile curtain, and plastic hooks, the plastic liner imparted the essential character of the set. The court weighed “the indispensable function of keeping water inside the shower enclosure, along with the protective, privacy and decorative functions of the plastic liner” against the “decorative function and the relative cost of the outer curtain.” The analysis applied in HQ 084551, is consistent with that in Better Home Plastics Corp., as it considered the use of the ratchet handle in relation to the use of the set. Based on the foregoing analysis, and precedent, we conclude that the tool holder imparts the essential character of the subject set.

We must also determine the subheading for the tool holder. For purposes of determining the subheading, GRI 6 is applied. GRI 6 provides that “for legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to [rules 1 through 5], on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.” For purposes of GRI 6, the relative section, chapter and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires.

In this case, the classification of the tool holder can be determined on the basis of GRI 1. The holder meets the description in heading 8466, HTSUS, specifically subheading 8466.10.80, HTSUS, which provides for “[p]arts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of heading 8456 to 8465, including work or tool holders, self-opening dieheads, dividing heads and other special attachments for machine tools; tool holders for any type of tool for working in the hand: Tool holders and self-opening dieheads: Other.”

Certain containers may be classified with the articles they are designed to hold, if the requirements of GRI 5(a) are met. In pertinent part, GRI 5(a) states that:

Camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, drawing instrument cases, necklace cases and similar containers, specially shaped or fitted to contain a specific article or set of articles, suitable for long- term use and entered with the articles for which they are intended, shall be classified with such articles when of a kind normally sold therewith.

In this case, the plastic case with foam insert is specially fitted to contain the specific set of articles. It does not easily accommodate additional items. The case is suitable for long term use, in that it is made of hard plastic and can be closed. The case is entered with the articles it contains. The case meets the requirements of GRI 5(a), and is classified with its contents.

HOLDING:

By application of GRI 3(b) and 6, the paper crafting tool is classified in subheading 8466.10.8075, HTSUSA, as “[p]arts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of heading 8456 to 8465, including work or tool holders, self-opening dieheads, dividing heads and other special attachments for machine tools; tool holders for any type of tool for working in the hand: Tool holders and self-opening dieheads: OtherOther” with a column one, general duty rate of 3.9%. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the internet at www.usitc.gov.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director

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