HQ 957753: Classification of woman's woven skirt; ghagra; not "India Item"; not exempt from quota

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 957753

                          April 11, 1995

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 957753 CMR

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 6204.52.2070

Mr. Anil Jain
Jain Associates
10-3-310/1, Masab Tank
Hyderabad-500 028
(A. P.) India

RE: Classification of woman's woven skirt; ghagra; not "India
    Item"; not exempt from quota

Dear Mr. Jain:

     This is in response to your request of February 24, 1995,
for a classification ruling on a woman's cotton woven skirt which
you state is an Indian handicraft item.  A sample was received
with your request.

FACTS:

     The submitted sample, no style number, is a 100 percent
cotton woven skirt.  The skirt has a tunnel waistband with a 
functional drawstring with three small bells at the end of each
cord.  The garment is ankle-length, wide and loose, and does not
contain any elastic.  It features a design pattern of various
flowers and dots in alternating bands.  We accept that this
pattern is a typical Indian design.

     In your submission, you claim that the garment is a wrinkle
free skirt and is worn by tribal women in India.  In a telephone
conversation with a member of my staff, you indicated that the
design pattern is applied to the fabric by machine and then
workers fill in the rest of the print by hand.  Thus, the fabric
is only partially handprinted.

ISSUE:

     Does the submitted skirt qualify as an "India Item" within
the terms of the United States/India bilateral textile agreement?
                               -2-


LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Designation of certain items as "India Items" exempt from
quota is determined by the language of the bilateral textile
agreement between the United States and India, and not by the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA).  The U.S./India bilateral textile agreement, at Annex
E, Head Note, describes "India Items", in part, as:

     * * * traditional folklore handicraft textiles products made
     in the cottage industry.  They comprise clothes, clothing
     accessories and decorative furnishings whose shape and
     design are traditionally and historically Indian.
     [Emphasis added.]

       These products should not include zip fasteners and must
     be ornamented in the characteristic Indian folk styles using
     one of the following methods:

          (a) handpainting (including Kalamkari) or handprinting
              or handicraft tie and dye or handicraft Batik,
              [Emphasis added].

                       *        *         *
     A ghagra is defined in the U.S./India bilateral textile
agreement as "an ankle-length, very wide skirt with draw-string
or hooks at the waist."  The submitted sample fits the cited
description of a ghagra.  However, it fails to meet the
requirement for ornamentation.

     You informed this office by telephone that the fabric from
which the garment is made is partially handprinted and partially
machine printed.  Your description was that the pattern was
initially applied by machine (sketched on the fabric) and then
workers handprinted the remaining parts of the pattern.

     In order to qualify as handprinted ornamentation within the
meaning of the bilateral, it is the position of this office that
the garment must be entirely handprinted.  Any machine printing
will disqualify the item, even if the machine printing is in
preparation for subsequent handprinting.  Therefore, when
handprinting is the ornamentation method claimed for an item,
unless instructed otherwise, Customs will not consider a
partially handprinted, partially machine printed item as a
qualifying "India Item".

HOLDING:

     The skirt at issue does not qualify as an "India Item"
exempt from quota.  As a woman's woven cotton skirt, it is                                -3-


classified in subheading 6204.52.2070, HTSUSA, textile category
342, dutiable at 8.6 percent ad valorem.  The skirt is subject to
quota/visa restraints.

     The designated textile and apparel category may be
subdivided into parts.  If so, the 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 renegotiations and
changes, to obtain the most current information available, we
suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status
Report On Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an internal
issuance of the U.S. Customs Service which is updated weekly and
is available for inspection 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 importation of this merchandise to
determine the current status of any import restraints or
requirements.

                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division