CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 088791 KWM
TARIFF No.: 4820.10.4000
Mr. Stephen M. Kott
Foreign Merchandise Services
K Mart Apparel Corporation
7373 West Side Avenue
North Bergen, New Jersey 07047-6411
RE: Pocket Agenda; Agenda / Address book; Diary; Notebook; Address book; Heading 4820;
Planner; Organizer.
Dear Mr. Kott:
We have received your letter dated January 15, 1991, requesting a tariff classification for
"vinyl pocket agendas." Your correspondence and a sample of the merchandise were forwarded
to this office for a ruling.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue is referred to as an "agenda/address book." It is composed of
three pieces of paperboard covered with plastic sheeting and assembled by heat sealing into a
tri-fold design. The flap is held secure by a magnet. Inside the cover are a telephone and
address
indexer and a note pad. Both are secured by inserting the cardboard backing into a slit in the
interior plastic surface. Thus, each can be removed and/or replaced when its' usefulness is
exhausted. The folder also contains plastic inserts for business cards and a bali point pen.
Lastly,
we note that your letter also contained a detailed breakdown by cost and by weight of the
component materials.
ISSUE:
How is the pocket agenda classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). The
systematic detail of the harmonized system is such that virtually all goods are classified by
application of GRI 1, that is, according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and
any relevant Section or Chapter Notes.
We note one heading which may be eligible for classification of this product by applying
GRI 1. Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia, notebooks, memorandum pads,
diaries
and similar articles. The term "diary" is defined in the Compact Edition of the Oxford English
Dictionary 1987 as:
2. A book prepared for keeping a daily record, or having spaces with printed dates
for daily memoranda and jottings; also applied to calendars containing daily memoranda
on matters of importance to people generally, or to members of a particular profession,
occupation, or pursuit.
Id. at 321. A similar article might be an address book for recording and keeping important
addresses and telephone numbers in a single place for easy reference. The sample pocket
agenda
is designed to keep notes, memoranda, addresses and telephone numbers in a single convenient
location, as evidenced by the address indexer and the note pad. We find that the pen and
plastic
sleeves complement the other elements in the agenda; moreover, their value in relation to the
whole is slight. Customs considers heading 4820 to include within its scope diaries or similar
articles which contain complementary items, so long as those complements do not alter the
essential character of the primary article. We find the instant article to be classified in heading
4820, HTSUSA. Subheading 4820.10.20, HTSUSA, provides for diaries, notebooks and
address
books, bound. Customs does not consider these article bound. They are more properly
classified
in subheading 4820.10.40, HTSUSA, "other" diaries.
It has been suggested that the provision for wallets and similar containers of heading
4202, HTSUSA, includes the instant articles. We believe that these articles are
distinguishable.
Agendas such as these are neither used in a similar manner, nor exhibit the physical attributes
which would indicate that they are ejusdem generis to the items described in heading 4202,
HTSUSA.
Having found that heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides, eo nomine, for the merchandise,
and that no other heading is eligible for consideration, the sample article is classified as a
diary,
address book or similar article of heading 4820, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The merchandise at issue, described as a pocket agenda, is classified in subheading
4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, under the provision for registers, account books, notebooks, order
books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles: other.
Articles
classifiable in this subheading are free of duty.
Sincerely,
John A. Durant, Director