HQ 958183: Classification of salvaged pieces of cloth; heading 6310, HTSUSA; to qualify as rags, merchandise must be worn, dirty or torn, or in small pieces

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 958183
                                 
October 23, 1995                 

CLA-2  R:C:T  958183  jb

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  6310.10.2010

Zia Rashid
Ainy Inc.
201 Locustwood Blvd.
Elmont, NY 11003

RE:  Classification of salvaged pieces of cloth; heading 6310, HTSUSA; to qualify as rags,     merchandise must be worn, dirty or torn, or in small pieces

Dear Mr. Rashid:

     This is in response to your letter, dated July 11, 1995, requesting further reconsideration
of New York ruling letter (NY) 806654, dated March 9, 1995, which was the subject of a
proposed modification published in the Customs Bulletin on July 19, 1995.  You further request
that we disregard that proposed modification in light of the new samples you have submitted to
us.  The determination in NY 806654 was modified and published in the Customs Bulletin, on
September 6, 1995.  Additionally, that modification was based on the samples you submitted to us
at that time.  The samples you have now submitted to us are altogether different from the former
samples and consequently, this ruling letter will only address itself in classifying the new samples
and will be unrelated to NY 806654.

FACTS:

     The merchandise at issue consists of eleven samples which you state are composed of
cotton knit fabric.  All the samples, except sample number five and eight, are cut in a jagged,
uneven manner, with no square or straight cuts.  Their dimensions and particulars are as follows:

     1.    This sample has been cut from what appears to be a men's large white T-shirt.        The major portions of the two sleeves have been cut off and the front panel has           been cut down the middle, from the neckline through the waistline.  The bottom hem has been cut off the waistline.  This piece includes several stains;


     2.   A white, roughly triangular piece measuring 17 inches by 12 inches.  This appears
          to be new material;

     3    A blue, fleecy knit material cut into a roughly 17 inches by 30 inches rectangle. 
          One of the corners has been cut off diagonally, removing approximately one third
          of the surface area.  This appears to be new material;

     4.   A red, rib-knit house shaped piece measuring 14 inches by 20 inches.  This piece
          also has several button hole size holes;

     5.   A green, somewhat rectangular piece measuring 20 inches by 20 inches.  This
          piece appears to be the front panel of a T-shirt; it has been neatly cut, as if from a
          pattern.  There are no roughly cut edges, and there is a streak or bleach stain
          running down the center;

     6.   A white, rib-knit diamond shaped piece measuring 20 inches by 36 inches.  This
          appears to be new material;

     7.   A white, rounded diamond shaped piece measuring 10 inches by 15 inches.  This
          appears to be new material;

     8.   This white piece appears to be the front or rear panel of a T-shirt cut from a
          pattern.  All edges are neatly cut, except for the bottom edge;

     9.   A piece of white, circular knit fabric measuring 27 inches by 24 inches.  This
          material has several stains;

         10.   This piece appears to be a cut section of the left or right half of a men's large white
               T-shirt.  It appears as if the bodice portion of the shirt was cut down the middle
               and the sleeve and hems cut off.  This piece also has several stains;

        11.    A white, roughly rectangular piece measuring 10 inches by 27 inches.  This           appears to be new material.

ISSUE:

     What is the proper classification of the subject merchandise?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in accordance with the General Rules
of Interpretation (GRI), taken in order.  GRI 1 requires that classification be determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, taken in order. 
Where goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, the remaining GRI will be applied,
in the order of their appearance.

     Heading 6310, HTSUSA, provides for, among other things, used or new rags.  The EN to
heading 6310, HTSUSA, state in pertinent part:

     Rags of textile fabrics (including knitted or crocheted fabrics, felt on nonwovens). Rags      may consist of articles of furnishing or clothing or of other old textile articles so worn out,
     soiled or torn as to be beyond cleaning or repair, or of small new cuttings (e.g.,        dressmakers' or tailors' snippings).

                       *      *     *     

     To fall   in the heading, these products must be worn, dirty   or torn, or in small pieces.   They are generally fit only for the recovery (e.g., by pulling) of the fibres (which are  usually re-spun), for the manufacture of paper or plastics, for the manufacture of polishing materials (e.g., polishing wheels), or for use as industrial wipers (e.g., machine wipers).
     
     Although all of the subject samples appear to have been cut rather than torn, we consider
the rough, uneven and jagged nature of that cutting to be equivalent to tearing.  The subject
samples meet the definition in the EN to heading 6310, HTSUSA, of textile rags.  They are
beyond cleaning or repair, and they are either too small, too dirty, or unevenly cut to be usable for
anything other than throw-away wiping cloths.   Customs has, in the past, issued many rulings on
similar types of materials.  See HQ 955028, dated January 4, 1994; HQ 952757, dated March 9,
1993; HQ 950307, dated February 21, 1992; NY 889026, dated August 13, 1993; NY 866226,
dated August 26, 1991; and HQ 082518, dated May 1, 1989.

HOLDING:

     The submitted eleven samples of salvaged pieces of cloth are correctly classified in
subheading 6310.10.2010, HTSUSA, which provides for, among other things, used or new rags:
sorted: other; of cotton.

     


                              Sincerely,


                              
                              John Durant, Director
                              Tariff Classification Appeals Division