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NY M80485




February 24, 2006

CLA-2-49:RR:NC:SP:234 M80485

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4911.91.2040; 9610.00.0000; 3213.10.0000

Mr. Joseph R. Hoffacker
Barthco Trade Consultants
The Navy Yard
5101 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19112

RE: The tariff classification of children’s activity kits from China.

Dear Mr. Hoffacker:

In your letter dated February 7, 2006, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of K.B. Toys of Massachusetts, Inc. Three samples were submitted for our examination and are being returned to you as requested.

Item # 50854, “Spiderman Activity Book,” consists of two 5½” x 5½” x ½” blister packs held together in book-like fashion by a plastic spiral binding. One of the blister packs contains a small plastic stencil and six small markers in assorted colors. The other blister pack contains a 3½”-square, 50-sheet pad of paper. 25 of the sheets are blank, thus resembling an ordinary note pad, while the remaining 25 sheets are lithographically printed with line drawings to be colored by the user.

For purposes of classification in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the constituents of item # 50854 will be regarded as “goods put up in sets for retail sale” whose essential character is imparted by the 50-sheet paper component. Based on General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3(b), HTSUS, the set will be classified as if it consisted of the component that imparts its essential character. In this instance, however, the 50-sheet paper component is itself a “composite good” having two portions: a note pad of heading 4820, HTSUS, and lithographs of heading 4911, HTSUS. Since we find that the essential character of the composite paper good cannot clearly be ascribed to either of its individual portions, we will resort to GRI 3(c) to classify it. GRI 3(c) directs that in such circumstances the classification will be in the heading which appears last in numerical order among those that equally merit consideration. Thus, based on the above reasoning, the 50-sheet paper good falls in heading 4911, as does the entire set.

Accordingly, the applicable subheading for the complete # 50854 “Spiderman Activity Book” will be 4911.91.2040, HTSUS, which provides for other (than certain enumerated) lithographs on paper or paperboard, not over 0.51 mm in thickness. The rate of duty will be Free.

Item # 48931, “My Little Pony Dry-Erase Tracer,” is a round, 6”-diameter drawing board having two sections (front and back) held together by a hinge along one edge. The front section consists of a molded plastic frame that surrounds a clear, hard-plastic window intended to serve as a reusable tracing surface. A few interchangeable paper discs, all printed with line drawings, are included with the product, and are intended to be placed behind the window so that they can be traced using a dry-erase marker (also included). The back section of the unit is an opaque dry-erase board made of hard plastic with a slick, coated-paper facing. A small, heart-shaped piece of felt cloth, designed to serve as an eraser, is also included. All components are packed together in a retail blister pack. For tariff classification purposes, the items will be considered “goods put up in sets for retail sale” whose essential character is imparted by the tracing/drawing unit.

Accordingly, the applicable subheading for the complete # 48931 “My Little Pony Dry-Erase Tracer” set will be 9610.00.0000, HTSUS, which provides for slates and boards, with writing or drawing surfaces, whether or not framed. The rate of duty will be 3.5%.

Item # 39337, “SpongeBob Paint by Number Double-Sided Mobile” set, consists of 12 small, numbered pots of paint in assorted colors, a small paintbrush, two 7” x 9” paperboard sheets incorporating paint-by-number punch-outs for assembly into a mobile, two yards of clear string, and two 5” x 7” paint-by-number paperboard “posters.” All items are packed together in a printed paperboard retail carton.

The applicable subheading for the complete # 39337 “SpongeBob Paint by Number Double-Sided Mobile” set will be 3213.10.0000, HTSUS, which provides for artists’, students’ or signboard painters’ colors, modifying tints, amusement colors and the like, in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans or in similar forms or packings: colors in sets. The rate of duty will be 6.5% on the entire set.

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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.

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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