HQ 084423: Tariff classification of a trousers, belt and suspendergroup

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 084423

                                      August 3, 1989


CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  084423  HP

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  6204.62.4040

Mr. Jerry Armani
Mamiye Sales, Inc.
112 West 34th Street, Suite 700
New York, New York  10120

RE:  Tariff classification of a trousers, belt and suspender
group

Dear Mr. Armani:

     This is in reply to your letter of April 5, 1989, to our New
 York office, concerning
the appropriate tariff classification of a certain girls' overall
, with suspenders and belt,
stated to be produced in Hong Kong.  Your reference is MB9L6330A.

FACTS:

     The submitted sample consists of a girls' trousers, with
suspenders and belt, not
considered "bib and brace overalls" as defined in the Explanatory
 Notes to heading 6103,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA
).  The garment is
100 percent cotton denim, "Ice Cream" washed, with a waistband
extension above the
natural waistline, a front bib extension, adjustable printed
elastic suspenders (having a
print substantially similar to the rolled-up cuffs of the garment
 and attached by clips to
the front bib and back waistband extension), an exposed side
zipper closure, a polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) belt through belt loops on the natural waistline,
two front scoop
pockets, and contrast fabric in various places.

ISSUE:

     Whether the garment and its accessories are to be classified
 as a composite good or a
set for tariff purposes.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Subheading 6204.62, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia,  women
's or girl's trousers, of
cotton.  Classification lies in whether the trousers-suspenders-
belt combination con
stitutes either a composite good or a set put up for retail sale.
  If so, classification is
based upon an trousers analysis; if not, separate trousers,
suspenders and belt analyses.

      The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) to the HTSUSA
govern the classification
of goods in the tariff schedule.  GRI 1 states, in pertinent part
:

          ... classification shall be determined according to the
           terms of the headings and
          any relative section or chapter notes ....

Goods which cannot be classified in accordance with GRI 1 are to
be classified in
accordance with subsequent GRI's, taken in order.
     GRI 3 states, in pertinent part:

          When ... goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two
           or more headings,
          classification shall be effected as follows:

          (b)  Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different
               materials or made up of
               different components, and goods put up in sets for
                retail sale, which cannot
               be classified by reference to 3(a) [which requires
                that goods be classified,
               if possible, under the more specific of the
               competing provisions], 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 to the HTSUSA constitute the official
interpretation of the
System at the international level.  Explanatory Note (IX) to GRI
3 provides:

          For the purposes of [GRI 3(b)], composite goods made up
           of different components
          shall be taken to mean not only those in which the
          components are attached to
          each other to form a practically inseparable whole but
          also those with separable
          components, provided these components are adapted to
          one another and are
          mutually complementary and that together they form a
          whole which would not
          normally be offered for sale in separate parts.

Explanatory Note (X) to GRI 3 provides, in pertinent part:

          For the purposes of [GRI 3(b)], the term "goods put up
          in sets for retail sale"
          shall be taken to mean 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
               ....

                                   *    *    *

          [C]lassification [of sets and of composite goods] is
          made according to the
          component, or components taken together, which can be
          regarded as conferring
          on the set as a whole its essential character.

     It is the opinion of the Customs Service that the trousers,
suspenders and belt
combination is not a composite good.  Each item has a separate
identity, and each is
not adapted to the other as required for classification as a
composite good.  Rather, the
combination fits within the description and definition of goods
put up in sets for retail
sale.  It is composed of different articles, is put together to
meet a particular need,
i.e., the organization of an ensemble, and is imported in a
condition for sale directly to
consumers without repacking.
     Pursuant to GRI 3(b), sets of goods shall be classified as
if they consisted of the
component which gives the set its essential character.  In this
case, as in virtually
every instance involving suspender and garment combinations, it
is the garment which
provides the essential character.  The suspenders and belt are
merely an accessory to
the garment, and, barring unusual or exceptional circumstances,
is not the main reason
for the existence of the combination or the primary motivating
factor governing the
purchase of the articles.  As a result, the trousers-suspenders-
belt set is classifiable
under the applicable heading for girls' blue denim trousers.

     As we stated above, the addition of the PVC belt to the
trousers does not conform to
the definition of composite goods as previously interpreted.
While it is true that textile
belts sold with garments may be treated as composite goods, the
sample belt is of a
different material than the garment (PVC to the garment's 100%
cotton), is a completely
different color than the garment (brown to the garment's primary
blue), and could easily
be sold separately to match an indeterminable number of clothing
articles.  It is our
opinion that the belt is not mutually complementary to the
articles it is imported with,
and must be classified as part of the trousers-suspenders set.

HOLDING:

     In view of the foregoing, the trousers-suspenders-belt set
is classified under HTSUSA
subheading 6204.62.4040, as women's or girls' suits, ensembles,
suit-type jackets, blazers,
dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls
, breeches and shorts
(other than swimwear), trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches
 and shorts, of cotton,
other, other, other, trousers and breeches, girls', blue denim,
other, at 17.7 percent ad
valorem.  The skirt requires a visa for textile category 348; the
 suspenders a visa under
category 659.

     Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (
the ninth and tenth digits
of the classification) and the restraint (quota/visa) categories,
 you should contact your
local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to
determine the current
applicability of any import restraints or requirements.

                                   Sincerely,


                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division