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NY N007052




March 6, 2007

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

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 3923.90.0080

Mr. Field Barnes
R.F. Barnes Customs Brokers
216 E. Rhapsody
San Antonio, TX 78216-3114

RE: The tariff classification of a plastic packaging tray from China.

Dear Mr. Barnes:

In your letter dated February 8, 2007, on behalf of Green Bags, Texas, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

A sample was provided with your letter. The packaging tray is composed of polyactide resin. The tray will be imported empty and will be used to package food. The tray is flimsily constructed and is not designed for repeated use.

The applicable subheading for the disposable plastic packaging trays will be 3923.90.0080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plasticsother. The rate of duty will be 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/.

You have requested a ruling as to whether the plastic packaging trays may be entered without country of origin marking. 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 CFR 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 CFR 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 that reaches the ultimate purchaser.

The company that fills the trays with food products is considered to be the ultimate purchaser of the disposable trays. Therefore, the packaging trays 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 articles, and the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the shipping containers will reach the ultimate purchaser unopened.

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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