HQ 952321: Wall hanging which is intended to hold barrettes is adecorative article with an incidental utilitarian function. HRL951967 followed.

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 952321

                        October 27, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T  952321 HP

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:   6304.93.0000

Mr. David A. Eisen
Siegel, Mandell & Davidson, P.C.
One Astor Place
1515 Broadway
43RD Floor
New York, NY 10036

RE:  Wall hanging which is intended to hold barrettes is a
decorative article with an incidental utilitarian function.  HRL
951967 followed.

Dear Mr. Eisen:

     This is in reply to your letter of July 6, 1992, to our New
York office.  That letter concerned the tariff classification,
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), of a Peppermint Rose Barrette Holder,
produced in China and/or Taiwan.  Please reference your client
Avon Products, Inc.

FACTS:

     The merchandise at issue is a scented holder for hair
accessories, consisting of a main body and two straps.  The main
body is 16 centimeters wide and 211/2 centimeters tall.  The top
of this section is rounded, and the bottom is flat with squared
corners.  The woven shell material will be 65% polyester and 35%
cotton.  The shell will be filled with padding.  Attached to the
top of the main body is a loop which will allow the item to hang
on the wall.

     Permanently attached straps are attached to each of the two
bottom corners of the main section.  The straps, upon which the
hair ornaments will be connected, measure approximately 29
centimeters in length.  The straps are similar in construction to
the main body.  The hair ornaments will be secured to the straps
using their integral holding devices.  Neither the straps nor the
main body will have devices which fasten the ornaments to the
straps.

ISSUE:

     Whether the barrette holder is considered a furnishing
article under the HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Heading 6304, HTSUSA, provides for textile furnishing
articles.  The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) constitute the
official interpretation of the scope and content of the tariff at
the international level.  While not legally binding, they do
represent the considered views of classification experts of the
Harmonized System Committee.  See Totes, Inc. v. United States,
Slip Op. 92-153, 40 Cust. B. & Dec. 35 (C.I.T. Sept. 4, 1992). 
It has therefore been the practice of the Customs Service to
follow, whenever possible, the terms of the Explanatory Notes
when interpreting the HTSUSA.  The EN to this heading, at page
864, states:

               This heading covers furnishing articles
          of textile materials, other than those of the
          preceding headings or of heading 94.04, for
          use in the home, public buildings, theatres,
          churches, etc., and similar articles used in
          ships, railway carriages, aircraft, trailer
          caravans, motor cars, etc.

               These articles include wall hangings and
          textile furnishings for ceremonies (e.g.,
          weddings or funerals); mosquito nets;
          bedspreads (but not including bed coverings
          of heading 94.04); cushion covers; loose
          covers for furniture, antimacassars; table
          covers (other than those having the
          characteristics of floor coverings - see Note
          1 to Chapter 57); mantlepiece runners;
          curtain loops; valances (other than those of
          heading 63.03).

     It is a longstanding Customs position that if an article can
be hung on a wall like a wall hanging and has a utilitarian
function separate and distinct from its decorative value, the
article cannot be classified under heading 6304, HTSUSA.  See HRL
083203 of November 17, 1989 (cow message center components
creating utilitarian function); HRL 086144 of February 15, 1990
(country granny paper towel holder); HRL 085014 of July 31, 1989
(gift wrap organizer).  HRL 088553 of November 6, 1991, furthered
this principle by holding that classes of articles ejusdem
generis with the articles cited by the Explanatory Note above,
although having utilitarian functions, are classified within
heading 6304 (crib safety tent).  

     The straps do not contain any fasteners, pockets or other
holding apparatus, as do the examples cited in the preceding
paragraph.  While the ultimate purchaser may fasten hair
accessories to the straps, it is those accessories themselves
which are providing the holding function.  You believe, however,
that the barrette holder meets each of these exclusionary prongs,
and that correct classification would be as an other made up
article of heading 6307, HTSUSA.

     In HRL 951967 of September 3, 1992, we issued to your client
a binding ruling on the classification of textile greeting card
holders.  Therein, we ruled that the holders were essentially
"unfinished wall hangings" requiring attachment of accessories to
be completed.  In addition, we noted that the

          straps merely provide a foundation to which
          the cards will be affixed.  The article,
          taken as a whole, is purely decorative in
          nature although we recognize that even
          decorative articles will have components that
          may marginally be described as "functional". 
          The mere fact that the straps provide a means
          for affixing the cards does not render this a
          utilitarian article; that reasoning would
          result in findings that virtually every
          decorative article which has a functional
          component (such as ... the backing itself
          which provides a foundation ... ) would no
          longer be classifiable as a decorative
          furnishing article.

     Except for the fact that the barrettes self-clip to the
straps, as opposed to greeting cards being attached to straps via
existing clips, the merchandise at issue is nearly identical to
that in HRL 951967.  Accordingly, we consider its rationale
controlling, and classify the barrette holder as a furnishing
article.

HOLDING:

     As a result of the foregoing, the instant merchandise is
classified under heading 6304.93.0000, HTSUSA, textile category
666, as other furnishing articles, excluding those of heading
9404, not knitted or crocheted, of synthetic fibers.  The
applicable rate of duty is 10.6 percent ad valorem.

     The designated textile and apparel category may be
subdivided into parts.  If so, visa and quota requirements
applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected.  Since
part categories are the result of international bilateral
agreements which are subject to frequent negotiations and
changes, to obtain the most current information available, we
suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status
Report On Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an issuance
of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated weekly and is
available at your local Customs office.

     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 status of any import restraints or requirements.

     A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry
documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported.  If the
documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the
transaction.

                           Sincerely,



                      John Durant, Director