HQ 554846: Duty-free treatment of fur hats from Canada

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 554846

                                   January 3, 1989

          CLA-2  CO:R:C:V  554846 DBI

          CATEGORY:  Classification

          TARIFF NO.:  9810.00.90, HTSUS (854.30, TSUS)

          Mr. Joseph Kraus
          Lillian Fur Co.
          4530 Clark Street
          Montreal, Quebec H2T 2T4

          RE: Duty-free treatment of fur hats from Canada

          Dear Mr. Kraus:

                This is in response to your letter dated September 2, 1986,
          to the Area Director of Customs, New York Seaport, concerning the
          applicability of item 854.30, Tariff Schedules of the United
          States (TSUS), to fur hats to be imported from Canada.  Your
          letter was forwarded to this office for a response.
          Unfortunately, it was misplaced.  We sincerely regret the delay
          in responding.

          FACTS:

                You advise that your company is interested in exporting fur
          hats from Canada into the U.S. due to the small market for such
          hats in Canada.  These fur hats are worn by strictly religious
          Jewish people only on the Sabbath and the religious Jewish Holy
          Days.  A sample has been submitted for examination.

          ISSUE:

                Whether the imported fur hats would be eligible for duty-
          free treatment under subheading 9810.00.90, Harmonized Tariff
          Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) (854.30, TSUS).

          LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                As you may be aware, the HTSUS will replace the TSUS,
          effective January 1, 1989.  Item 854.30, TSUS, will be carried
          over into the HTSUS without change as subheading 9810.00.90.
          Subheading 9810.00.90, HTSUS, provides for the duty-free


















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          treatment of prayer shawls, bags for the keeping of prayer
          shawls, and headwear of a kind used for public or private
          religious observances, whether or not any of the foregoing is
          imported for the use of a religious institution.

                According to information obtained from a Rabbi at the
          Yeshiva University, New York, N.Y., the fur hats are required to
          be worn by men that are members of a small sect of the religious
          Jewish community called the Hasidim, who are devoted to strict
          observance of their ritual religious law.  The   Rabbi stated
          that the hats, called shtraimle, are required to be worn by
          Hasidic men only on the Sabbath, the Jewish Holy Days and other
          serious religious occasions.  The Rabbi added that the hats are
          not for warmth (they are worn even in the summer) or for
          decorative or ornamental purposes and that a Hasidic man would be
          considered undressed for prayer if he did not wear the fur hat.
          The Rabbi stated that wearing the shtraimle distinguishes the
          wearer from other people in the Jewish community who are not of
          this sect, and that a Hasidic man who did not wear it on such
          religious occasions would not be fulfilling his religious
          obligation.  It was also noted by the Rabbi that while it is
          possible to pray without any particular garment being worn, it is
          such a strong Hasidic custom that it can be said that it is
          required to be worn.  While the language of subheading
          9801.00.90, HTSUS, states that the headwear must be of the "kind
          used for pubic or private religious observances" and does not
          include any language requiring that the headwear be worn for
          public or private religious observances, it is clear from the
          information provided that the fur hats are required to be worn by
          Hasidic men during serious religious occasions.


          HOLDING:

                Based on the information and sample submitted, it is our
          opinion that the described fur hats may be considered headwear of
          a kind used for public or private religious observances and,
          therefore, may be entered duty-free under subheading 9810.00.90,
          HTSUS.

                                     Sincerely,





                                     John Durant
                                     Director, Commercial
                                     Rulings Division