HQ 951967: Classification of textile greeting card holders; decorative in nature; not festive article; not of class or kind of goods traditionally associated with celebration of Christmas; furnishing article; heading 6304, HTSUSA.

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                            HQ 951967

                        September 3, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 951967 SK

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 6304.93.0000

David A. Eisen
Siegel, Mandell & Davidson, P.C.
One Astor Plaza
1515 Broadway, 43rd floor
New York, N.Y. 10036

RE: Classification of textile greeting card holders; decorative  
    in nature; not festive article; not of class or kind
    of goods traditionally associated with celebration of
    Christmas; furnishing article; heading 6304, HTSUSA.

Dear Mr. Eisen:

     This is in response to your inquiry of May 5, 1992,
requesting the tariff classification of two textile card holders. 
Representative samples of both the "Greeting Card Holder" and the
"Seasonal Card Holder" were submitted to this office for
examination.

FACTS:

     The submitted articles are described as a "Greeting Card
Holder" and a "Seasonal Card Holder".  They are designed to hang
on walls as a method of displaying greeting cards.  The items
measure approximately 34 inches in length and approximately 20
inches in width and consist of a rectangular shaped, stuffed
fabric shell "header" with four textile straps attached which
drop vertically from the header.  The four straps are permanently
sewn to the header and are evenly spaced so that cards affixed
thereto will be clearly visible when displayed and not overlap
one another.  The rectangular fabric header piece is made of an
exterior shell fabric consisting of a woven blend of 65 percent
polyester and 35 percent cotton which is stuffed with 100 percent
polyester to provide form and shape.  The importer asserts that
the front exterior of the "Greeting Card Holder" will be
decorated in a Christmas holiday theme.





                              - 2 -


ISSUE: 

     Whether the subject merchandise is classifiable under
heading 9505, HTSUSA, which provides for festive articles,
heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles
or under heading 6304, HTSUSA, which provides for furnishing
articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is governed by
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order.  GRI
1 provides that classification shall be in accordance with the
terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. 

     Heading 9505, HTSUSA, provides for, in pertinent part,
festive, carnival or other entertainment articles.  The
Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 9505, HTSUSA, state that this
provision covers:

     (A) Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, 
         which in view of their intended use are generally 
         made of non-durable material. They include:

         (1) Decorations ... which are traditionally associated 
             with a particular festival. 

         (2) Articles traditionally used at Christmas            
             festivities, e.g., artificial Christmas trees ...
             nativity scenes, Christmas crackers, Christmas
             stockings, imitation yule logs. [emphasis added]
          
     In your submission you assert that the Greeting Card Holder
is classifiable under heading 9505, HTSUSA, in that this article
"belongs to the class or kind of goods traditionally associated
with the celebration of Christmas.  In particular, the item will
be decorated with a Christmas motif and is dedicated for use
solely during the Christmas holiday as a mechanism for holding,
organizing and displaying Christmas greeting cards".  There is no
doubt that this item will be used as a decorative wall hanging
during the Christmas season.  However, that is not what the EN to
this heading require in order for classification to be proper
here.  The EN specifically state, twice, that festive articles
used during the Christmas season must be those which are
traditionally associated with or used at Christmas.  The
exemplars listed, artificial Christmas trees and yule logs, are
clearly of that nature.  The Greeting Card Holder is not akin to



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such articles; the fact that it may be used at Christmas is not
enough to warrant classification under heading 9505, HTSUSA. 
Moreover, the mere presence of a holiday motif will not
necessarily transform a non-festive article into one that is. 
The article must be examined as a whole in determining whether
classification as a festive article is appropriate.  

     In the alternative, you submit that if classification is not
proper under heading 9505, HTSUSA, then both articles should be
classified under heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other
made-up articles.  Heading 6307 is a residual provision, and
provides for made up articles of any textile material which are
not included more specifically in other headings of Section XI or
elsewhere in the Nomenclature.  Should classification be found
proper under heading 6304, HTSUSA, classification under heading
6307, HTSUSA, is obviously precluded.

     Heading 6304, HTSUSA, provides for other furnishing
articles.  The EN state that heading 6304, HTSUSA, covers
"furnishing articles of textile materials ... these articles
include wall hangings... ." [emphasis added]

     You assert that the subject merchandise is not classifiable
under heading 6304, HTSUSA, because the subject merchandise is
not ejusdem generis with the enumerated exemplars in this
heading. We note that the articles at issue are designed to hang
from walls so that greeting cards may be displayed in a
decorative fashion.  The greeting and seasonal card holders are,
in essence, unfinished wall hangings which require only the
affixation of the cards to render them complete. As such, they
are specifically provided for in the EN to this heading as
wallhangings.  

     You further claim that the straps to which the greeting
cards will be attached serve a utilitarian function in that they
are designed to "hold, organize and display" various cards and
therefore the merchandise serves a distinct functional purpose
and is not intended merely for decorative use.  This office
disagrees.  The straps merely provide a foundation to which the
cards will be affixed.  The article, taken as a whole, is purely
decorative in nature although we recognize that even decorative
articles will have components that may marginally be described as
"functional".  The mere fact that the straps provide a means for







                              - 4 -


affixing the cards does not render this a utilitarian article;
that reasoning would result in findings that virtually every
decorative article which has a functional component (such as the
clips which hold a picture's backing in place, or even the
backing itself which provides a foundation for a picture or
photograph) would no longer be classifiable as a decorative
furnishing article.  

     In examining the submitted samples, and taking into acount
the use to which they will be put, it is eminently clear that the
card holders are decorative wall hangings and therefore
specifically provided for in heading 6304, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

     The subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading
6304.93.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for other furnishing
articles, excluding those of 9404: other: not knitted or
crocheted, of synthetic fibers..., dutiable at a rate of 10.6% ad
valorem.  The textile quota category is 666. 

     The designated textile and apparel category may be
subdivided into parts.  If so, visa and quota requirements
applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected.  Since
part categories are the result of international bilateral
agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and
changes, to obtain the most current information available, we
suggest that your client check, close to the time of shipment,
the Status Report on Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an
internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated
weekly and is available at your local Customs office.

     Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation
(the ninth and tenth digits of the classification), and the
restraint (quota/visa) categories, your client should contact its
local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to
determine the current applicability of any import restraints or
requirements.
  


                            Sincerely,




                            John Durant, Director
                            Commercial Rulings Division