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NY M86497




September 22, 2006

CLA-2-39:RR:NC:SP:221 M86497

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 3923.30.0090; 3923.50.0000

Mr. Paul Davini
TDR Packaging, Inc.
1860 Osprey Bluff Blvd.
Orange Park, FL 32003

RE: The tariff classification of plastic bottles and caps from China.

Dear Mr. Davini:

In your letter dated August 28, 2006, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The sample provided with your letter is a 2-ounce (59 ml) plastic bottle with a plastic cap. The bottles will be shipped empty and filled with hair care products such as shampoo or conditioner in the United States.

The applicable subheading for the plastic bottles, either shipped alone or with their plastic caps, will be 3923.30.0090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics: carboys, bottles, flasks and similar articles: other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for the plastic caps, when shipped separately from, or in excess quantities of, the plastic bottles, will be 3923.50.0000, HTSUS, which provides for stoppers, lids, caps and other closures, of plastics. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.

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/.

We note that the bottles are marked “Made in USA.” Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1304), requires that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. Section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations [19 C.F.R. §134.1(d)], defines “ultimate purchaser” as “generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported.” Section 134.24(b), Customs Regulations [19 C.F.R. §134.24(b)], provides that disposable containers, not designed or capable of reuse, which are imported empty and packed and sold in multiple units, need not be individually marked with the country of origin. The marking requirements may be met by marking the outermost container which reaches the ultimate purchaser. The company who packages the shampoo or conditioner into the bottles is considered to be the ultimate purchaser of the bottles. Therefore, the bottles may be excepted from individual marking provided the shipping containers in which they are imported are marked to indicate the country of origin of the bottles, and the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the shipping containers will reach the ultimate purchaser unopened.

Though the bottles are marked "Made in USA," such marking relates to the origin of the shampoo or conditioner that is to be packaged in the bottles, and not to the bottles themselves, since the bottles will lose their identity as separate articles of commerce after they are filled. The marking will not be considered misleading or deceptive, provided that the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the shampoo or conditioner to be packaged in the bottles is in fact manufactured in the United States.

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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