HQ 087432: Pistol Cleaning Kit

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 087432

                         October 2, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  087432  NLP

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.: 9603.90.8050

F.S. Dickson
The American Import Company
1453 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103-2577

RE:  Pistol Cleaning Kit

Dear Sir:

     This is in response to your letter of June 18, 1990
requesting the tariff classification of a pistol cleaning kit,
imported from Taiwan.  An illustration of the merchandise was
submitted for our examination.

FACTS:

     The pistol cleaning kit is comprised of the following:

           1 Plastic Grip and cover with belt
           1 Base steel bar with bronze joint and muzzle
             protector
           1 Extension bar
           1 Bronze bit
           1 Phosphor bronze brush
           1 Cotton bristle

The pistol cleaning kit is designed to clean out a pistol.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's).  GRI
1 provides that classification is determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relevant section or chapter notes
and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRI's,
taken in order.

     GRI 3 states, in pertinent part:

     When by application of Rule 2(b) or for any other reason,
     goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more
     headings, classification shall be affected as follows:


          (b)  Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different
          materials or made up of different components, and goods
          put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be
          classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified
          as if they consisted of the material or component
          which gives them their essential character, insofar as
          this criterion is applicable.

     Explanatory Note (X) to GRI 3(b) states that the term "goods
put 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;

          (c)  are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly
               to users without repacking.

     In the instant case, the pistol cleaning kit qualifies as a
set within the meaning of GRI 3(b).  The kit consists of at least
two different articles which are classifiable in different
headings.  The kit contains products which are put up together to
carry out the activity of cleaning a pistol.  The kit is put up
in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without
repacking.

     Since the pistol cleaning kit is a set we must determine the
essential character of the kit in accordance with GRI 3(b).
Explanatory Note VIII to GRI 3(b) states that:

          The factor which determines essential character will
          vary as between different kinds of goods.  It may, for
          example, be determined by the nature of the material or
          component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by
          the role of a constituent material in relation to the
          use of the goods.

     In this case, the component which gives the kit its
essential character is not readily apparent.  Each part in the
kit plays a role in the cleaning of the pistol.  No single item
imparts a unique character to the function of the kit, as a
whole, and, moreover, none of the factors given above prove
determinative in any respect.

When, as in the instant case, the component which gives the
goods at issue their essential character cannot be determined,
classification is determined by utilizing GRI 3(c).  GRI 3(c)
provides the following:

          (c)  When goods cannot be classified by reference to
               3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the
               heading which occurs last in numerical order
               among those which equally merit consideration.

The competing headings for the pistol cleaning set are as
follows:

          Plastic grip          3926.90.25, which provides for
                                other articles of plastics and
                                articles of other materials of
                                headings 3901 to 3914, other,
                                handles and knobs, not elsewhere
                                specified or included, of
                                plastics.

          Base Steel bar        8205.59.55, which provides for
          Extension bar         other handtools and parts
                                thereof, other, other

          Bronze Bit            8205.59.60, which provides for
                                other handtools and parts
                                thereof, other, of copper

          Phosphor Bronze       9603.90.8050, which provides for
          Brush                 brushes (including brushes
                                constituting parts of machines,
                                appliances or vehicles) other,
                                other, other.

          Cotton bristle        1403.90.40, which provides for
                                vegetable materials of a kind
                                used primarily in brooms or in
                                brushes, other, other.


     Applying GRI 3(c), the pistol cleaning kit is classifiable
in Heading 9603, HTSUSA, which appears last in numerical order
among the above competing headings which equally merit
consideration.

HOLDING:

     The pistol cleaning kit is classifiable in subheading
9603.90.8050, HTSUSA, which provides for brushes, other, other.
The rate of duty is 5.6 percent ad valorem.

                              Sincerely,



                              John Durant, Director
                              Commercial Rulings Division