HQ 083287: Classification of a doll packaged with an extraoutfit and small cushion for retail sale

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 083287

                          March 7, 1990


CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  083287 STB

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  9502.10.20; 9902.95.01

Mr. Samuel Zekser
Sobel Shipping Co., Inc.
170 Broadway
Suite 1501
New York, N.Y. 10038

RE:  Classification of a doll packaged with an extra
outfit and small cushion for retail sale

Dear Mr. Zekser:

     Your letter dated October 17, 1988, addressed to our New
York office concerning the tariff classification of a stuffed
doll with accessories, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), was referred to this office
for a direct reply to you.

FACTS:

     The sample, "Lil' Powder Puff Dress Up Set", item 70710,
consists of a stuffed doll, approximately 7.5 inches high,
already dressed in a blue outfit.  The doll is imported and
packed for retail sale with a yellow sleeping outfit and matching
pillow.

ISSUES:

      (1) Whether a doll, accompanying sleeping outfit and
pillow, packaged for retail sale, constitute a set within the
meaning of General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3(b).

      (2)  If such a package constitutes a set, what is the
essential character of the set?

      (3)  If the item providing the essential character of the
set is subject to a duty free provision, is the entire set
subject to this provision?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification under the HTSUSA is governed by the General

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Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).  GRI 3(b) determines
classification of items in a set put up for retail sale. The rule
states in pertinent part:

          [G]oods 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.

      The Explanatory Notes, which constitute the official
interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, state in
Note X to Rule 3(b) 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; and

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

          The doll and the accompanying accessories satisfy the
above criteria of a set for the following reasons:

          (1)  The doll and the accessories are different
articles classifiable under different headings.

          (2)  In the instant case, the items are packaged
together to meet the particular need of providing a doll with the
accessories necessary to dress the doll for bed and pretend that
the doll is sleeping.

          (3)  The items are packaged together in a manner
suitable for sale without the need for repacking.

     The instant merchandise thus meets all the requirements of a
set.  Once the existence of a set is established, GRI 3(b)
indicates that the goods are to be classified according to the
material or component which gives them their essential character.
The Explanatory Notes state that such factors such as bulk,
quantity, weight and value may be considered in determining the
essential character.

     The doll provides the essential character of this set.
The doll is the central item used in conjunction with all of



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the accessories.  The doll provides the chief value as well as
the majority of the bulk and weight of the set.

     The doll in this set is stuffed, and is properly
classifiable in subheading 9502.10.2000, HTSUSA.  Dolls of this
subheading are subject to temporary duty suspension under
subheading 9902.95.01, HTSUSA, which provides duty free treatment
for stuffed dolls, whether or not dressed, effective on or before
12/31/90.

     It should be noted that Note 2 of the U.S. Notes to Chapter
99 provides for the application of the GRI's to the provisions of
this chapter.  Note 2 specifically states:

     2.  Unless the context requires otherwise, the general notes
         and rules of interpretation, the section notes, and the
         notes in chapter 1 through 98 apply to the provisions of
         this chapter.

     In view of the foregoing, the entire set is properly
classifiable under subheading 9502.10.2000, and is subject to
duty free treatment in subheading 9902.95.01, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

     The sample under consideration, "Lil' Powder Puff Dress Up
Set", is classifiable in subheading 9502.10.2000, HTSUSA, and
subject to duty free treatment under subheading 9902.95.01,
HTSUSA.

                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division