us-cbp-cross-rulings-hq-083261•HQ 083261: Classification of an All-In-One Organizer
HQ 083261: Classification of an All-In-One Organizer
us-cbp-cross-rulings-hq-083261HQ 083261: Classification of an All-In-One OrganizerGuidance
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 083261
September 14, 1989
CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083261 jlj 833907
CATEGORY: Classification
TARIFF NO.: 4202.32.20; 4202.39.00
Mr. Louis S. Shoichet
Siegel, Mandell and Davidson, P. C.
One Whitehall Street
New York, New York 10004
RE: Classification of an All-In-One Organizer
Dear Mr. Shoichet:
On behalf of your client, Avon Products, Inc., you
requested a tariff classification for an All-In-One Organizer
to be imported from China. You submitted a sample along with
your request.
FACTS:
The All-In-One Organizer is imported and sold as a set.
It consists of a memorandum pad, a calendar and address book
and a pen, all contained within a wallet-like vinyl container
with a snap closure. The wallet-like container is made of
cellular rubber or plastic reinforced with textile. It is
designed to hold the other three items. The wallet-like
container measures approximately 4-3/4 inches by 3-3/4 inches
in its closed position. It is designed to be carried in a
handbag or a pocket. You state that the sample is packed in a
retail carton box when it is sold at retail.
ISSUE:
What is the classification of the All-In-One Organizer
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA)?
-2-
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3(b), HTSUSA, states
that goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified
as if they consisted of the material or component which gives
them their essential character. The Explanatory Notes for GRI
3(b), HTSUSA, define the term "goods put up in sets for retail
sale" to mean goods which:
(1) consist of at least two different
articles which are, prima facie,
classifiable in different headings,
(2) consist of products or articles
put up together to meet a
particular need or carry out a
specific activity, and
(3) are put up in a manner suitable
for sale directly to users without
repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases
or on boards).
The instant organizer includes a memorandum pad of paper
which, if imported separately, would be classified under the
provision for memorandum pads, letter pads and similar
articles, in subheading 4820.10.20, HTSUSA. It also contains a
ballpoint pen which, if imported separately, would be
classified under the eo nomine provision for ballpoint pens in
subheading 9608.10.00, HTSUSA. The first factor is met in that
there are at least two articles which are classified in
different headings.
The next element of retail sets is also present in that
the four articles are all intended to help the owner to
organize his activities -- i.e., a calendar and address book, a
memorandum pad, a pen with which to record addresses and notes,
and a convenient wallet-like container with a snap closure to
package the set.
The third and final element of retail sets is also present
in that the All-In-One Organizer will be packed in a retail
carton box when it is sold at retail.
-3-
The next question to be determined is the essential
character of the set. The Explanatory Notes state that a set's
essential character may be determined by the nature of the
component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role
of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.
The wallet-like container is more substantial and probably more
valuable than any of the other elements of the set. The
wallet-like container also packages the set in a convenient
form and pulls all the components together. Clearly the
wallet-like container constitutes the essential character of
the set.
The outer surface of the wallet-like container is of
cellular rubber or plastic reinforced with textile material.
Schedule 7, Part 12, Subpart A, Headnote 2, Tariff Schedules of
the United States (TSUS), defined the term "reinforced or
laminated plastics" as follows:
2. For the purposes of the tariff schedules,
the term "reinforced or laminated plastics"
means --
(i) rigid, infusible, insoluble plastics
formed by the application of heat and
high pressure on two or more superimposed
layers of fibrous sheet material which
has been impregnated or coated with
plastics, or
(ii) rigid plastics comprised of imbedded
fibrous reinforcing material (such as paper,
fabric, asbestos, and fibrous glass)
impregnated, coated or combined with
plastics usually by the application of
heat or heat and low pressure.
Although a definition of "reinforced or laminated
plastics" does not appear in the HTSUSA, it is a well settled
principle of Customs law that tariff terms are to be construed
in accordance with their common and commercial meanings, which
are presumed to be the same. Information before this office is
that the definition for "reinforced or laminated plastics"
under the TSUS, supra, still represents the common and
commercial understanding of those terms. Inasmuch as the
instant wallet-like container does not have a rigid plastic
outer surface, it cannot be classified as having a reinforced
or laminated plastic exterior surface.
If the outer surface of the wallet-like container is of
plastic, it is classifiable under the provision for wallets...
- 4 -
and similar containers...: articles of a kind normally carried
in the pocket or in the handbag: with outer surface of plastic
sheeting: other, in subheading 4202.32.20, HTSUSA, dutiable at
the rate of 20 percent ad valorem. If the outer surface of the
wallet-like container is of reinforced rubber, it is classified
under the provision for other articles of a kind normally
carried in the pocket or in the handbag, in subheading
4202.39.00, HTSUSA, dutiable at the rate of 20 percent ad
valorem.
HOLDING:
The All-In-One Organizer is a set put up for retail sale.
Its essential character lies in the wallet-like container. It
is classified in subheading 4202.32.20, HTSUSA, or in
subheading 4202.39.00, HTSUSA, depending upon the nature of the
outer surface of the wallet-like container.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division
jones library 083261JLJ
6cc: A.D., N.Y. Seaport (NIS-234 and NIS-341)
JLJohnson:peh:8/16/89
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