CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 086048 NLP
Tariff No.: 7310.29.00
Robert G. Kalik, Esq.
Bennett A. Caplan, Esq.
McDermott, Will & Emery
1850 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C 20006
RE: Classification of a Liquor Container
Dear Sirs:
This is in response to your letter of October 24, 1989, on
behalf of Mohawk Valley/Dewar's Scotch, requesting a tariff
classification of a tinplate liquor container manufactured in
Scotland under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS). A sample was submitted for our examination.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is a rectangular box of tinplated
steel composition. It is approximately 3.5 inches wide, 12.5
inches high and 3.5 inches deep. The container has a hinged
front lid, and the inside contains a cardboard box, which is
designed to hold a 750 milliliter bottle of Dewar's Scotch. The
box's exterior is colored gold, and is embossed and printed with
images and descriptions of Edinburgh Castle, Eilean Donan Castle,
the Dewar's Highlander, the Aberfeldy-Dewar's Distillery and the
Dewar's Seal. The box is also marked with the legend, "DEWARS
White Label Evokes the Spirit of SCOTLAND." The tin will be
imported with a 750 ml. bottle of Scotch inside.
ISSUE:
Whether the tinplate containers are the normal packing
containers for the scotch and therefore not subject to treatment
as imported articles?
-2-
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 5
provides the following:
(a) Camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases,
drawing cases, necklace cases and similar containers,
specialy shaped or fitted to contain a specific article
or set of articles, suitable for long-term use and
entered with the article s for which they are intended,
shall be classified with such articles when of a kind
normally sold therewith. This rule does not, however,
apply to containers which give the whole its essential
character.
(b) Subject to the provisions of rule 5(a) above, packing
materials and packing containers entered with the goods
therein shall be classified with the goods if they are
of a kind normally used for packing such goods.
However, this provision does not apply when such
packing materials or packing containers are clearly
suitable for repetitive use.
The tinplate box at issue is not the normal container for
packing scotch whiskey. Under GRI 5(b), the normal packing
container for the scotch is the liquor bottle. The bottle is not
suitable for repetitive use after the liquor is gone. It is
classifiable with the liquor at the same rate of duty.
Furthermore, the tinplate box is not provided for under GRI
5(a). The instant box is not specially shaped or fitted to
contain a specific article or set of articles. Nor is it
suitable for long-term use. Thus, the tinplate box is separately
classifiable from the scotch in the bottle.
In adddition, inside the tinplate box is a piece of
cardboard that is easily removed. The purpose of the cardboard
is to hold the bottle in place and protect the bottle while it is
in the box. It protects the bottle in the same way that
styrofoam packing materials would. Therefore, under GRI 5(b),
the cardboard inset would be classifiable with the liquor at the
same rate of duty.
-3-
Therefore, since the tinplate box is not the normal
container for packing scotch, the issue to be decided is the
correct classification of the box. GRI 1 provides that
classification is 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,
taken in order.
Heading 7310 provides for tanks, casks, drums, cans, boxes
and similar containers, for any material (other than compressed
or liquefied gas), of iron or steel, of a capacity not exceeding
300 liters, whether or not lined or heat insulated, but not
fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment. The Explanatory
Notes (ENs) are the official interpretation of the HTS at the
international level and provide guidance on the interpretation of
HTS heading 7310. The ENs for heading 7310 provide as follows:
....]T[his heading covers sheet or plate iron
or steel containers of a capacity not exceeding
300 l, but of a size easily moved or handled,
commonly used for the commercial conveyance and
packing of goods, and such containers installed
as fixtures.
Furthermore, the ENs to Heading 7310 states that "The smaller
containers ]covered by this heading[ include boxes, cans, tins,
etc., mainly used as sales packings for butter, milk, beer,
preserves, fruit or fruit juices, biscuits, teas...." (Emphasis
added). However, heading 7310 is not limited to containers which
would comprise the normal packing container for the articles they
contain.
The instant tinplate rectangular box has a capacity of less
than 300 liters and it will be used as sales packing for an item
similar to the exemplars in the Explanatory Notes to heading
7310, HTSUS. Therefore, the tinplate box is classifiable within
heading 7310, HTSUS, as a container of steel, not exceeding 300
liters.
-4-
HOLDING:
The tinplate box is classifiable in subheading 7310.29.00,
which provides for tanks, casks, drums, cans, boxes and similar
containers of iron or steel of a capacity of less than 50
liters: Other. The instant merchandise is entitled to entry free
of duty.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division