CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085108 KWM
Mr. Chuck Huettner
J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co., Inc.
15 Park Row
New York, New York 10038
RE: Tariff classification of pencil pouches
imported by F.W. Woolworth Co.
Dear Mr. Huettner,
Your letter of June 15, 1989, submitted to our New York
office, requesting a classification ruling, has been forwarded to
this office for a ruling.
FACTS:
You have requested a classification ruling for items referred
to in your letter as "PVC pencil pouches" to be imported from
China. Two samples were submitted with your request. One sample
is approximately 2 inches x 7+ inches x 1+ inches; the other is
approximately 3+ inches x 9 inches x 1, inches. Both samples have
zippered openings along the top. On one sample, a looped strap is
attached to the zipper pull mechanism. On the other, a looped cord
has been threaded through a grommet on the side of the case and
knotted on the inside.
The samples are constructed of non-cellular plastic to which
a woven textile backing of cotton or man-made fiber has been
applied. The backing is not easily separable from the non-
cellular coating. It is our opinion that the textile backing is
for reinforcement purposes. One sample is printed with a graphic
design, and the other is printed with a pictorial design. Tags
attached to each sample identifies them as "pencil cases".
ISSUE:
What is the proper classification for these goods under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (hereinafter "HTSUSA") is made in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (hereinafter
"GRI's") 1 through 5, and the United States Rules of
Interpretation. GRI 1 provides that classification is determined
first according to the headings of the tariff schedule and any
relative section or chapter notes, and then, if the headings and
chapter notes do not require otherwise, in accordance with the
remaining GRI's.
Subheading 4202.31 HTSUSA includes, among other goods
delineated in the heading language,
"Trunks,. . .briefcases, school satchels, . . .
handbags,. . .and similar containers . . .of plastic
sheeting, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber or
of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such
materials: Articles of a kind normally carried in the
pocket or the handbag."
The samples which you have submitted would, in the opinion of this
office, fall within this heading. While you have referred to the
looped straps as "wrist straps", we have determined that the
ordinary use of these items would not involve wearing them on the
wrist, but as a pouch or pocket to be carried inside a handbag or
other container. The size and awkward manner in which the item
hangs off the wrist, thereby limiting use and movement of the
hands, were considerations in our decision.
In determining classification here, it is necessary to
determine whether the items are constructed of materials "with
outer surface of plastic sheeting or of textile materials" under
subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA, or of "Other" material under heading
4202.39, HTSUSA. To make this distinction, it is necessary to
determine what constitutes these materials for tariff purposes.
As indicated previously, the goods submitted with the request
are constructed of a non-cellular plastic material backed by a
woven textile. To be classified under subheading 4202.32 HTSUSA,
goods must meet both the "outer surface" and "plastic sheeting"
terms of that subheading. To determine the meaning of the
expression "outer surface", it is appropriate to look to the
dictionary definitions of those terms. Webster's II New Riverside
University Dictionary (1984) defines "outer" as:
outer (adj.) 1. Located on the outside: EXTERNAL. 2.
Farther from the center or middle.
The term "surface" is defined as:
surface (n.) 1.a. The exterior face of an object. b. A
material layer constituting such an exterior
face.
The expression "outer surface", then, means that surface which is
both visible and tactile. An examination of the goods submitted
shows that it is the "outer surface" which is composed of non-
cellular plastic material.
Having determined that such plastic material composes the
"outer surface", it must comply with the definition of "plastic
sheeting" as that term is defined by the tariff schedule. In this
case, it is our opinion, based upon inspection of the samples, that
the material used in construction of these goods is made from a
plate, sheet, or strip of non-cellular plastic combined with a
textile fabric which is present merely for reinforcing purposes.
In short, the material is a combination of noncellular plastic and
woven textile. However, it is also our opinion that such material
does not comply with the definition of "plastic sheeting" under
subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA, for the reasons articulated below.
"Plastics and Articles thereof" are classified in Chapter 39,
HTSUSA. Legal Note 2(1) to Chapter 39, HTSUSA, states:
2. This chapter does not cover:
(l) Goods of section XI (textiles and textile articles);
The Legal Notes to Section XI - Textiles, HTSUSA, provide that:
1. This section does not cover:
(h) Woven, knitted or crocheted fabrics, felt or
nonwovens, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated
with plastics, or articles thereof, of Chapter 39;
The effect of these provisions in the chapter and section notes is
to place within the scope of Chapter 39 those goods which are
considered plastics, as that Chapter defines them, and to include
those materials regarded as textile materials in Section XI
(including Chapter 59). When articles are composed of combinations
of plastics and textiles, the notes to the respective chapters
define which goods fall within Chapter 39 and which fall within
Chapter 59. The Explanatory Notes to Chapter 39, HTSUSA, relating
to plastics and textile combinations, provide, in pertinent part:
. . . Otherwise, the classification of plastics and textile
combinations is essentially governed by Note 1(h) to Section
XI, Note 3 to Chapter 56 and Note 2 to Chapter 59. The
following products are also covered by this chapter:. . .
(d) Plates, sheets,and strip plastics combined with
textile fabrics, felt or nonwovens, where the
textile is present merely for reinforcing purposes.
Legal Note 2 to Chapter 59, HTSUSA, provides in pertinent part
that:
2. Heading 5903 applies to:
(a) textile fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or
laminated with plastics, whatever the weight per
square meter and whatever the nature of the plastic
material (compact or cellular), other than: . . .
5. Plates, sheets or strip of cellular plastics
combined with textile fabric, where the textile
fabric is present merely for reinforcing
purposes.
(Emphasis added).
The samples submitted in this case require careful examination
to classify them correctly. They are constructed of "plates,
sheets or strips" of plastic where the textile fabric is present
merely for reinforcing purposes. As such, they would appear to
fall within the class of goods excluded from Chapter 59, HTSUSA,
and included in Chapter 39, HTSUSA, by Legal Note 2, set forth
above. However, the note specifically provides that such "plates,
sheets or strips" be of cellular plastics. The plastics used in the
construction of the instant goods are noncellular plastics, and
therefore do not meet the requirements of Legal Note 2, above.
This office has previously determined that the expression
"plastic sheeting" as used in subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA, applies
to goods constructed of material classified under Chapter 39,
HTSUSA; i.e., plates, sheets, or strips of cellular plastics
combined with textile fabric, where the textile fabric is present
merely for reinforcing purposes. Having determined that the goods
submitted do not have an outer surface of plastic sheeting, for the
reasons stated above, they cannot be classified under subheading
4204.32, HTSUSA. Therefore, they are classified under subheading
4202.39, HTSUSA - Articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket
or in the handbag; Other. This classification is made in
accordance with GRI 1, since subheading 4202.39, HTSUSA, by its
terms and by the terms of the relevant section and chapter notes,
includes goods of this type.
HOLDING:
It is the opinion of this office that the good submitted,
referred to as "pencil pouches", are properly classified under
subheading 4202.39.0000, HTSUSA, as articles of a kind normally
carried in the pocket or in the handbag; Other, and dutiable at
the rate of 20 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division