CLA-2 RR:TC:SM 560361 MLR
Mr. Bruce Schiller
MSAS Customs Logistics, Inc.
8725 NW 18th Terrace
Suite 301
Miami, FL 33172
RE: Applicability of partial duty exemption under HTSUS
subheading 9802.00.80 to
t-shirts; washing; softening; Vircoscour
Dear Mr. Schiller:
This is in response to your letter of March 12, 1997,
requesting a ruling regarding the applicability of subheading
9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS), to garments assembled in Honduras and washed with
Vircoscour. Samples of t-shirts before and after the
washing process and a material safety data sheet describing
the Vircoscour and Vircosoft compounds were submitted with
your request.
FACTS:
It is stated that t-shirts will be assembled from U.S.
components in Honduras. After assembly, the t-shirts will be
washed. The purpose of the washing process is to provide
adequate shrinkage and remove light to medium oil and soil.
The process consists of the following steps:
1. Fill machine with 120ø F water
2. Wash 4 minutes with Vircoscour FVH 2%
3. Drain and fill 120ø F
4. Rinse 3 minutes
5. Drain and fill 120ø F
6. Wash 4 minutes Vircosoft H-1 4%
7. Extract 4 minutes
ISSUE:
Whether the t-shirts assembled and subjected to a washing
process abroad qualify for the partial duty exemption
available under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, when returned
to the U.S.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides a partial duty
exemption for:
[a]rticles ... assembled abroad in whole or in part of
fabricated components, the product of the United States,
which (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly
without further fabrication, (b) have not lost their
physical identity in such articles by change in form,
shape or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced in
value or improved in condition abroad except by being
assembled and except by operations incidental to the
assembly process, such as cleaning, lubricating and
painting.
All three requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, must
be satisfied before a component may receive a duty allowance.
An article entered under this tariff provision is subject to
duty upon the full cost or value of the imported assembled
article, less the cost or value of the U.S. components
assembled therein, upon compliance with the documentary
requirements of section 10.24, Customs Regulations (19 CFR
10.24).
Section 10.14(a), Customs Regulations {19 CFR 10.14(a)},
states in part that:
[t]he components must be in condition ready for assembly
without further fabrication at the time of their
exportation from the United States to qualify for the
exemption. Components will not lose their entitlement to
the exemption by being subjected to operations incidental
to the assembly either before, during, or after their
assembly with other components.
Operations incidental to the assembly process are not
considered further fabrication operations, as they are of a
minor nature and cannot always be provided for in advance of
the assembly operations. See 19 CFR 10.16(a). Relevant to
the facts in this case, section 10.16(b)(1), Customs
Regulations {19 CFR 10.16(b)(1)}, provides that "cleaning" is
an incidental operation. However, any significant process,
operation or treatment whose primary purpose is the
fabrication, completion, physical or chemical improvement of
a component precludes the application of the exemption under
subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, to that component. See 19 CFR
10.16(c). Section 10.16(c)(4) specifically provides that the
chemical treatment of components or assembled articles to
impart new characteristics, such as shower-proofing,
permapressing, sanforizing, dyeing, or bleaching of textiles,
is not considered incidental to the assembly process.
This ruling will only address the washing process; it is
assumed that the U.S.-origin components otherwise qualify for
subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, treatment. It is alleged that
the t-shirts will only be subjected to a washing process with
Vircoscour and Vircosoft to provide adequate shrinkage and to
remove light to medium oil and soil.
In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 557195 dated October
14, 1993, Customs considered trousers and shorts made from a
variety of fabrics that were washed with a detergent and
enzyme fabric softener to give the garments a softer,
smoother feel. It was found that the addition of an enzyme
in fabric softener did not alter the color of the fabric or
change its texture, and, therefore, was more analogous to
those cases which have held that washing in detergent and
fabric softener are operations incidental to assembly. See
also HRL 554599 dated June 8, 1987; 554497 dated March 18,
1987; and 554582 dated March 12, 1987. Accordingly, it was
held that washing the garments in hot water, detergent, and
an enzyme fabric softener were operations incidental to the
assembly process.
Similarly in this case, we have confirmed with the Office
of Laboratories and Scientific Services that Vircoscour FVH
and Vircosoft H-1 do not contain ingredients which cause
color change or abrasion. That office informs us that
Vircoscour FVH is a mild general purpose nonionic scouring
agent that is not intended for use on heavy soils, and that
Vircosoft H-1 is a cationic softener for synthetic and
natural fibers. The laboratory also did not observe any
significant fading or surface abrasion from the process, but
did observe that the t-shirts were softer and had shrunk.
Accordingly, it is our opinion that subjecting the t-shirts
to the washing process above constitutes an operation which
is incidental to the assembly process, pursuant to 19 CFR
10.16(b)(1).
HOLDING:
On the basis of the information submitted, it is our
opinion that the washing process above is incidental to the
assembly process, pursuant to 19 CFR 10.16(b)(1).
Therefore, the imported t-shirts may be entered under
subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, with allowances in duty for the
cost or value of the U.S. components incorporated therein,
upon compliance with the documentary requirements of 19 CFR
10.24.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals
Division