HQ 084980: Mounted Scarecrow and Basket

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 084980

                        October 26, 1989


CLA-2  CO:R:C:G  084980  JBW

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.:  9505.90.60

Brenda A. Jacobs, Esquire
Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C.
1707 L Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

RE:  Mounted Scarecrow and Basket

Dear Ms. Jacobs:

          This ruling letter is in response to your inquiry of
June 28, 1989, on behalf of K Mart Corporation, regarding
classification of a mounted scarecrow and basket under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA).

FACTS:

          The sample submitted is a scarecrow figure mounted with
a wooden basket lined with plastic on a piece of flat wood.
Styrofoam balls compose the head and torso of the figure. The
head has eyes, a mouth, a spherical red nose, and straw for hair.
The figure is clothed in tattered clothing and a hat.  Strands of
straw form the extremities of the figure.

ISSUE:

          Whether the item is classified as a festive article?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

          The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) set forth
the legal framework in which merchandise is to be classified
under the HTSUSA.  GRI 1 requires that classification be
determined first according to the terms of the headings of the
tariff and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless
otherwise required, according to the remaining GRI's.

          In your letter, you assert that the item is
classifiable under Heading 9505, HTSUSA, as a festive, carnival
or other entertainment article.  We agree.  The term festive
denotes relating to a feast or celebration.  The Explanatory
Notes, which provide the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at
the international level, include items considered to be "other
decorations ... traditionally associated with a particular
festival" as classifiable under Heading 9505.  Such items tend
to possess no function other than decoration that would suggest
another more specific heading, e.g., home furnishings.

          The scarecrow and basket depict a fall harvest theme
and may be associated with both Halloween and Thanksgiving.  The
function of the item is mostly decorative. The item is therefore
classified under subheading 9505.90.60, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

          The mounted scarecrow and basket item is classified
under subheading 9505.90.60, HTSUSA, as a festive, carnival or
other entertainment article and is subject to a duty of 3.1
percent ad valorem.


                              Sincerely,



                              John Durant, Director
                              Commercial Rulings Division