HQ 956559: Classification of textile holiday musical wreaths; Not 9505, festive, carnival or other entertainment articles; Heading 6304, other furnishing articles; HRL 952889, 951143; 089894.

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 956559

                          June 24, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:F 956559 LPF

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 6304.93.0000

Mr. H.W. Ebert
H.W. Ebert Company
45 John Street
New York, NY 10038

RE: Classification of textile holiday musical wreaths; Not 9505,
    festive, carnival or other entertainment articles; Heading
    6304, other furnishing articles; HRL 952889, 951143; 089894.

Dear Mr. Ebert:

    This is in response to your letter of May 10, 1994, submitted
on behalf of American Fun & Toy Creators, Inc., concerning the
classification of textile holiday musical wreaths under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). 
You submitted a sample with your request for a binding ruling.

FACTS:

    The articles at issue, imported from Hong Kong, are described
as textile holiday musical wreaths.  The wreaths are composed of
an outer fabric of 30 percent cotton and 70 percent polyester
filled with stuffing and attached to a cardboard backing.  A piece
of cardboard across the front of the sample wreath includes the
words "Happy Easter."  The cardboard backing enables the wreath to
be hung.  The article includes a battery attachment which powers
a musical chip which, in the case of the sample, plays various
melodies associated with Easter.

ISSUE:

    Whether the textile holiday wreath is classifiable within
heading 9505 as a festive, carnival or other entertainment article
or within heading 6304 as an other furnishing article.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

    The General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) taken in their
appropriate order provide a framework for classification of
merchandise under the HTSUS.  Most imported goods are classified
by application of GRI 1, that is, according to the terms of the 


                               -2-

headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter
notes.  In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on
the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not
otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied.  The
Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and
Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of the
tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under
the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the
headings and GRIs.

    Heading 9505 provides for, inter alia, festive, carnival and
other entertainment articles.  The ENs to 9505 indicate that the
heading 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 such as festoons, garlands,       
               Chinese lanterns, etc., as well as various        
               decorative articles made of paper, metal foil,    
               glass fibre, etc., for Christmas trees (e.g.,     
               tinsel, stars, icicles), artificial snow, coloured
               balls, bells, lanterns, etc.  Cake and other      
               decorations (e.g., animals, flags) which          
               are traditionally associated with a particular    
               festival are also classified here.

               (2) Articles traditionally used at Christmas
               festivities, e.g., artificial Christmas trees     
               (these are sometimes of the folding type),        
               nativity scenes, Christmas crackers, Christmas    
               stockings, imitation yule logs....

     In general, merchandise is classifiable in heading 9505,
HTSUSA, as a festive article when the article, as a whole:

     1.   is of non-durable material or, generally, is not
          purchased because of its extreme worth, or intrinsic   
          value (e.g., paper, cardboard, metal foil, glass fiber,
          plastic, wood);

     2.   functions primarily as a decoration (e.g., its primary
          function is not utilitarian); and

     3.   is traditionally associated or used with a particular
          festival (e.g., stockings and tree ornaments for       
          Christmas, decorative eggs for Easter).

     An article's satisfaction of these three criteria is
indicative of classification as a festive article.  The motif of 
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an article is not dispositive of its classification and,
consequently, does not transform an item into a festive article.
     
     Customs will consider an article, such as the textile wreath,
to be made of non-durable material since it is not designed for
sustained wear and tear, nor is it purchased because of its extreme
worth or value (as would be the case with a decorative, yet costly,
piece of art or crystal).  In addition, the article's primary
function is decorative, as opposed to utilitarian. 

     However, when examining the textile wreath, as a whole, it is
evident that the article is not traditionally associated or used
with the particular festival of Easter.  The textile wreath is a
wall hanging not ejusdem generis with those articles cited in the
ENs to 9505, as exemplars of traditional, festive articles.  You
will note that the articles cited within the EN, for instance,
Christmas trees, Christmas tree ornaments, nativity scenes,
Christmas crackers, Christmas stockings, and imitation yule logs,
are named articles which in their entirety are traditionally used
or associated particularly with Christmas.  Likewise, we have
considered decorative eggs and jack o' lanterns (when capable of
illumination) to qualify as named articles which in their entirety
are traditionally used or associated particularly with Easter and
Halloween, respectively.  Although Customs considers the form of
Santa Claus to qualify as a named article which in its entirety is
used particularly with Christmas, we have been reluctant to
classify as festive articles figures such as bunnies, nutcrackers,
witches, ghosts, and goblins, which are not particularly related
to a festival and often appear in movies, cartoons, or mythology.

     Although we recognize that textile wreaths or wall hangings
with this type of motif are sold during the Easter or spring
season, it remains our position that the motif of an article is
not dispositive of its classification and that such factors do not
transform an item into a festive article.  Customs classifies, as
festive, those articles which as a whole, without principally
relying on the articles' motif, are identifiable as being
traditionally associated or used with a particular festival.  See
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 952889, issued March 17, 1993. 
Furthermore, it has been our position that a word, phrase, or
slogan associated with a particular festival will not transform an
item into a festive article.  See HRL 951143, issued January 15,
1993.  The article must be classified elsewhere.

     Heading 6304 provides for other furnishing articles.  The EN
to 6304 indicate that the heading includes furnishing articles of
textile materials for use in the home, public buildings, theatres,
churches, etc.  However, we note that in addition to being
comprised of a textile furnishing component, the article also
includes a musical chip classifiable elsewhere in the HTSUS.  




                               -4-

     Whereas the article qualifies as a composite good, we are
directed by GRI 3(b) to classify the entire article in the
provision providing for the component which imparts its "essential
character."  Because the textile furnishing component distinguishes
the article in accordance with EN VIII to GRI 3(b), the entire
textile wreath wall hanging is classifiable within heading 6304. 
The appropriate subheading is 6304.93.0000.  This decision is in
accord with HRL 089894, issued January 6, 1992, where textile wall
hangings resembling wreaths were classified within heading 6304.

HOLDING:

     The textile wreath wall hanging is classifiable in subheading
6304.93.0000, HTSUSA, as "Other furnishing articles...: Other: Not
knitted or crocheted, of synthetic fibers."  The applicable rate
of duty is 10.6 percent ad valorem.
     
     Articles classifiable in subheading 6304.93.0000, HTSUSA, fall
within the textile category designation 666, which may be
subdivided into parts.  If so, visa and quota requirements
applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected.  The Status
Report on Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), issued by
Customs, provides current and vital information in this regard.

                                   Sincerely,


     
                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division