CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 089073 HP
Mr. Marc S. Greenberg
Vice President
American Shipping Company
P.O. Box 1486
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
RE: DD 860014 affirmed. Travel bag; cosmetic bag; leather;
plastic; essential character; value; labor; appearance; material
Dear Mr. Greenberg:
This is in reply to your letter of March 4, 1991, concerning the
tariff classification of a travel bag, produced in China, under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
Please reference your client Ohio Bag Corp.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue consists of a travel bag, style 368-L,
measuring approximately 6" x 8". The top of the bag has a zippered
closure. The outer surface of the bag is approximately 50% leather
and 50% vinyl. The front of the bag is made up exclusively of
stitched patched leather and has two zippered pouches. The back of
the bag is of vinyl sheeting. The lining is 100% vinyl.
In Miami, FL District Ruling Letter (DD) 860014 of February 14,
1991, we classified this merchandise under subheading 4202.92.4500,
HTSUSA, as a travel, sports and similar bag, with an outer surface
of plastic sheeting. You now request reconsideration of DD 860014,
arguing that the leather portion of the bag should control
classification. In your letter, you maintain that the pouch is
more properly classifiable in subheading 4202.31.6000, HTSUSA, the
provision for articles of leather, of a kind normally carried in
the pocket or in the handbag.
ISSUE:
Whether the bag is considered of plastics or of leather under
the HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Subheadings 4202.31 through 4202.39, HTSUSA, provide for
articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the
handbag. The Explanatory Notes indicate that subheadings 4202.31,
4202.32, and 4202.39 include such items as spectacle cases,
note-cases (bill-folds), wallets, purses, key-cases,
cigarette-cases, cigar-cases, pipe-cases and tobacco- pouches.
Subheadings 4202.91 and 92, HTSUSA, provides for travel, sports
and similar bags. U.S. Additional Note 1 to Chapter 42 indicates
that:
For the purposes of heading 4202, the expression
'travel, sports and similar bags' means goods,
other than those falling in subheadings 4202.11
through 4202.39, of a kind designed for carrying
clothing and other personal effects during trav
el....
In cases such as the one at hand, a fine line separates a
4202.91 and 92 classification from a 4202.31 designation. The
style and design of the subject cosmetic bag nonetheless suggest
that it was intended to be a travel bag for the convenience of the
individual, not as an accessory to a handbag. Consequently, the
pouch is more properly classifiable in subheadings 4202.91 or 92,
HTSUSA.
Subheading 4202.91, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia, bags with
an outer surface of leather. Subheading 4202.92, HTSUSA, provides
for similar bags of plastics or textiles. The General Rules of
Interpretation (GRIs) to the HTSUSA govern the classification of
goods in the tariff schedule. GRI 1 states, in pertinent part,
that:
... classification shall be determined according
to the terms of the headings and any relative
section or chapter notes ...
Goods which cannot be classified in accordance with GRI 1 are to be
classified in accordance with subsequent GRIs, taken in order. GRI
3 states, in pertinent part:
When by application of Rule 2(b) [goods of more
than one material or substance] or for any other
reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under
two or more headings, classification shall be
effected as follows:
* * *
(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of
different materials or made up of
different components, and goods put up
in sets for retail sale, which cannot be
classified by reference to 3(a) [which
requires that goods be classified, if
possible, under the more specific of the
competing provisions], shall be
classified as if they consisted of the
material or component which gives them
their essential character, insofar as
this criterion is applicable.
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the HTSUSA constitute the
official interpretation of the tariff at the international level.
While not legally binding, they do represent the considered views
of classification experts of the Harmonized System Committee. It
has therefore been the practice of the Customs Service to follow,
whenever possible, the terms of the Explanatory Notes when
interpreting the HTSUSA. Explanatory Note (IX) to GRI 3 provides:
For the purposes of [GRI 3(b)], composite goods
made up of different components shall be taken to
mean not only those in which the components are
attached to each other to form a practically in
separable whole but also those with separable
components, provided these components are adapted
to one another and are mutually complementary and
that together they form a whole which would not
normally be offered for sale in separate parts.
[C]lassification [of composite goods] is made
according to the component, or components taken
together, which can be regarded as conferring on
the set as a whole its essential character.
The factors which determine essential character of an article
will vary from case to case. It may be the nature of the materials
or the components, its bulk, quantity, weight, value, or the role a
material plays in relation to the use of the goods. In general,
essential character has been construed to mean the attribute which
strongly marks or serves to distinguish what an article is; that
which is indispensable to the structure or condition of an article.
The leather and plastic portions of the bag are approximately
equal. The leather portion comprises virtually all of the front of
the bag (the portion primarily visible in public). The plastic
portion comprises all of the back of the bag. In response to our
request, you have submitted a cost breakdown for materials and
labor. These figures show that the material cost for leather
exceeds the material cost for the vinyl by nearly 10 times. Labor
costs are fairly evenly divided between the sewing processes.
Based upon these factors, we find that neither portion of the
handbag "serves to distinguish what the article is;" neither
imparts the essential character.
GRI 3(c) states that when "[g]oods cannot be classified in
accordance with the above rules[, such goods] shall be classified
under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those
which equally merit consideration." Subheading 4202.92 is
therefore appropriate. DD 860014 is affirmed.
HOLDING:
As a result of the foregoing, the instant merchandise is
classified under subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, as trunks,
suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school
satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical
instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers;
traveling bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, handbags,
shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco
pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes,
powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, or leather or
of composition leather, of plastic sheeting, of textile materials,
of vulcanized fiber or paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with
such materials, other, with outer surface of plastic sheeting or of
textile materials, travel, sports and similar bags, other. The
applicable rate of duty is 20 percent ad valorem.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry
documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the
documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the
transaction.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division