HQ 081618: Tariff classification of sequined apparel

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 081618

                                    November 16, 1988



             CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  081618  SM

             CATEGORY:  Classification

             TARIFF NO.:  6104.42.0010; 6104.52.0010; 6109.10.0060;
                        6110.10.2080; 6110.20.2075; 6114.20.0010

             Mr. William Ortiz
             Import Supervisor
             S. J. Stile Associates, Ltd.
             153 66 Rockaway Boulevard
             Jamaica, New York  11434

             RE:  Tariff classification of sequined apparel

             Dear Mr. Ortiz:

                   Your letters of December 1 and 4, 1987, and May 5, 1988,
             on behalf of Lloyd Williams, addressed to the Area Director of
             Customs, New York Seaport, requesting tariff classification
             rulings for six styles of sequined garments, have been re-
             ferred here to Customs Headquarters for reply.

             FACTS:

                   Samples of six styles of women's garments were sub-
             mitted.  You state that all will be manufactured in Hong Kong
             except Style 78601/88902, which will be manufactured in China.
             All but Style 78601/88902 are of 100 percent cotton knit fab-
             ric; the latter style is of 95 percent lamb's wool and five
             percent nylon.  All six styles are virtually covered on the
             outer surface with plastic sequins and bugles.

                   Style 78302 is a tank top with straps approximately two
             inches wide at the shoulder and low front and back neck-
             lines.  It also has rib-knit neckline, armhole, and lower
             edges.

                   Style 78301 is similar to Style 78302 but does not reach
             the waist.

                   Style 88209 is a short tank dress dipping almost to the
             waist in back, with straps approximately two inches wide at
             the shoulder.  It also has rib-knit neckline, armhole, and
             lower edges.

                   Style 78305 is a pull-on skirt with an elasticized waist
             and rib-knit lower edge.  











                                           -2-



                   Style 78303 is a pullover with short sleeves and rib-
             knit sleeve, neckline, and lower edges.  Style 78601/88902 is
             a pullover with long sleeves and similar rib-knit edges,
             fitted with shoulder pads.

             ISSUE:

                   How are sequined, or beaded, garments classified under
             the HTSUSA?

             LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                   Under the Tariff Schedules of the United States Anno-
             tated (TSUSA), textile apparel articles with beads or sequins
             were generally classified as ornamented textile apparel.
             Depending on the amount of beadwork, however, they might be
             classified as articles of beads or as articles of personal
             adornment.  The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
             States Annotated (HTSUSA), in contrast, makes no distinction
             between ornamented and unornamented textile articles.  The
             HTSUSA is a new statute with new rules for the classification
             of imported articles.

                   Classification under the HTSUSA is in accordance with
             the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's).  GRI 1 provides
             that classification is determined first according to the terms
             of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative sec-
             tion and chapter notes.

                   Various headings of Chapter 61, HTSUSA, provide for
             articles of apparel, knitted or crocheted.  Heading 6104 in-
             cludes women's skirts and dresses, knitted or crocheted.
             Heading 6106 includes women's blouses and shirts, knitted or
             crocheted.  Heading 6109 includes tank tops, knitted or cro-
             cheted.  Heading 6110 includes pullovers and similar articles,
             knitted or crocheted.  Heading 6114 provides for other gar-
             ments, knitted or crocheted.

                   The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of
             the HTSUSA at the international level, indicate that classifi-
             cation of goods in Chapter 61 is not affected by the presence
             of parts or accessories of, for example, plastics, unless
             these materials constitute more than mere trimming.  In such a
             case the articles are to be classified in accordance with the
             relative chapter notes or the GRI's.

                   The plastic on these garments, in the form of sequins,
             also referred to as spangles, and bugles, cannot be said to
             constitute more than trimming.  The articles themselves are
             knitted cotton or wool garments complete without the sequins.  











                                           -3-



                   Even assuming that the sequins were to be treated as
             other than trimming, the only other possible provision into
             which the samples might fall to be classified is heading 3926,
             HTSUSA, which  provides for other articles of plastics.  How-
             ever, this classification is precluded by a relative chapter
             note, Note 2 of Chapter 39, which excludes from Chapter 39
             textiles and textile articles of Section XI, in which Chapter
             61 occurs.

                   The Explanatory Notes for heading 3926, HTSUSA, specify
             that certain wearing apparel is intended to be covered by this
             heading, i.e., "articles of apparel and clothing accessories
             (other than toys) made by sewing or sealing sheets of plas-
             tics, e.g., aprons, belts, babies' bibs, raincoats, etc."
             This description does not cover the garments in question, and
             we conclude that they are properly classifiable in Chapter 61.

             HOLDING:

                   Style 78302 is classified under subheading 6109.10.0060,
             HTSUSA, textile category 339, a provision for women's tank
             tops of cotton, knitted or crocheted.

                   Style 78301 is classified under subheading 6114.20.0010,
             HTSUSA, textile category 339, a provision for women's cotton
             tops, knitted or crocheted.

                   Style 88209 is classified under subheading 6104.42.0010,
             HTSUSA, textile category 336, a provision for women's cotton
             dresses, knitted or crocheted.

                   Style 78305 is classified under subheading 6104.52.0010,
             HTSUSA, textile category 342, a provision for women's cotton
             skirts, knitted or crocheted.

                   By Chapter Note 4 of Chapter 61, Style 78303 is not
             classifiable under heading 6106, HTSUSA, as a blouse because
             it has a ribbed band at the bottom and because it has fewer
             than ten stitches per linear centimeter.  By Statistical Note
             3 of Chapter 61, it cannot be classified under a statistical
             provision for sweaters, because it is not constructed with
             nine or fewer stitches per two centimeters.  It is therefore
             classified under subheading 6110.20.2075, HTSUSA, textile

















                                           -4-


             category 339, a provision for women's sweaters, pullovers,
             sweatshirts, waistcoats, and similar articles, knitted or cro-
             cheted, of cotton, other.  For the same reason, Style 78601/
             88902 is classified under the corresponding provision for
             other women's garments of wool, subheading 6110.10.2080, tex-
             tile category 438.

                   These classifications represent the present position of
             the Customs Service under the HTSUSA.  If there are changes
             before the effective date of January 1, 1989, this advice may
             not continue to be applicable.

                                        Sincerely,



                                        John Durant, Director
                                        Commercial Rulings Division











































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