CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085591 JBW 844853
Mr. John Moriarty
Import Manager
9971 Valley View Road
Minneapolis, MN 56344
RE: Modification of New York Ruling Letter (NYRL 844853)
Regarding the Classification of Egg Wrappers
Dear Mr. Moriarty:
On September 11, 1989, our New York office issued a
ruling, NYRL 844853, that classified your product "Dudley's Egg
Dazzlers," item #10750, under subheading 3924.90.5000 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA), which provides for other household articles of plastic:
other. In a letter dated September 6, 1989, you inadvertently
included in a second letter to New York a request for
classification of this product along with other products.
Ordinarily, the Customs Service will not entertain requests for
classification of articles that are already pending. 19 C.F.R.
177.1(a) (1989). However, after review of NYRL 844853, our New
York office has requested that we reconsider their initial
classification.
FACTS:
"Dudley's Egg Dazzlers" is a retail package of twelve
plastic printed wrappers that are used to decorate eggs. The
plastic wrappers have printed flowers, animals, baskets, or
designs. A wrapper is placed around an egg, which is in turn
immersed in boiling water. The wrapper shrinks to fit smoothly
around the egg. Included in the retail package are cardboard
stands used for drying the eggs.
ISSUE:
What is the classification of printed egg wrappers
under the HTSUSA?
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. Where
goods are classifiable under two or more headings, GRI 3 governs.
The Explanatory Notes, which represent the official
interpretation of the tariff at the international level, for GRI
3(b) define goods put up in sets for retail sale. Such goods:
(a) consist of at least two different articles that are
classifiable in different headings, (b) consist of products put
up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific
activity, and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale
directly to users without repackaging. GRI 3(b) requires
classification of goods put up in sets as if they consisted of
the component that gives them their essential character.
The article under consideration is a set. It consists
of two components, the plastic wrappers and the cardboard stands,
that are classifiable under different headings and packaged in a
retail package for direct sale to consumers. The activity
carried out by the wrappers is egg decoration. The wrappers play
the principal role in the use of the set and therefore impart the
essential character to the set.
Chapter 49, HTSUSA, provides for printed matter. The
Explanatory Notes include within this chapter "all printed matter
of which the essential nature and use is determined by the fact
of its being printed with motifs, characters or pictorial
representations." Moreover, although most products classified
under this chapter are printed on paper, the Explanatory Notes
includes goods of other materials. The article under
consideration meets the description of printed matter and is
therefore classified under Chapter 49. More specifically, the
article is classified under subheading 4911.91.4040, HTSUSA, as
other printed matter: other: pictures, designs, and photographs:
printed not over 20 years at the time of importation: other:
other.
HOLDING:
The "Dudley's Egg Dazzlers," item #10750, is classified
under subheading 4911.91.4040, HTSUSA. The duty is 3.1 percent
ad valorem. NYRL 844853 is hereby modified pursuant to 19 C.F.R.
177.9(d) (1989).
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division