MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 733716 GRV
Mr. Fernando Velez
President
Panamerican Marketing Co., Inc.
6922 N.W. 46th Street
Miami, FL 33166
RE: Country of origin marking of disposable plastic bottles
and vials imported empty to be filled by pharmacists
with medicines and pills. 19 CFR 134.22; 19 CFR 134.23;
19 CFR 134.24(b) and (c); C.S.D.88-28; 734027; 732823
Dear Mr. Velez:
This is in reply to your letters of August 8 and 20, 1990,
requesting a ruling regarding the country of origin marking
requirements applicable to plastic bottles imported empty that
will be filled by various pharmacists with medicines or pills.
Samples of a plastic bottle and vial were submitted for
examination. In a telephone conversation with a member of my
staff on May 29, 1991, you added and clarified certain
information which was considered in this ruling.
FACTS:
Your company will manufacture different size plastic bottles
and vials in Venezuela and import them empty in bulk (approxi-
mately 130-700/box, depending on the size of the individual
containers) into the U.S. In the U.S., the empty bottles/vials
subsequently will be sold in the same imported containers to
pharmacists, who will in turn fill them with medicines or pills.
Regarding the two samples submitted for examination, we note that
both are brown in color, transparent, and plain in nature. On
one of the bottles, measurements for cc. and oz. are indicated by
raised markings created during the manufacturing process.
You inquire if the packaging of the plastic bottles and
vials can be marked with the country of origin in lieu of the
individual bottles/vials.
ISSUE:
Whether the empty plastic bottles and vials, imported into
the U.S. to be filled in turn by pharmacists with medicines and
pills, must be individually marked with their country of origin
or will marking the outermost container meet the marking
requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.24.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The marking statute, section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted,
every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into
the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly,
indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its
container) will permit in such a manner as to indicate to the
ultimate purchaser the English name of the country of origin of
the article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134),
implements the country of origin marking requirements and
exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
The primary purpose of the country of origin marking statute
is to "mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ulti-
mate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be
able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influ-
ence his will." United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 CCPA
297, 302, C.A.D. 104 (1940). The "ultimate purchaser" is defined
generally as the last person in the U.S. who will receive the
article in the form in which it was imported. 19 CFR 134.1(d).
Where the articles imported constitute containers, 19 CFR
Subpart C is applicable, and section 134.22(b) of this subpart
provides generally that:
[c]ontainers or holders for imported merchandise which are
subject to treatment as imported articles under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C.
1202), shall be marked to indicate clearly the country of
their own origin in addition to any marking which may be
required to show the country of origin of their contents.
However, the country of origin marking requirements applicable to
imported containers also depend, in part, on whether the
containers are reusable or disposable in nature. 19 CFR 134.23
and 134.24. Disposable containers to be filled by the importer
are not required to be individually marked. 19 CFR 134.22(d)(3)
and 134.24(c).
Section 134.23 provides that reusable containers, i.e.,
containers or holders designed for or capable of reuse after the
contents have been consumed, must be individually marked to
indicate the country of their own origin, whether imported empty
or full. Illustrative examples of such reusable containers
include mustard jars reusable as beer mugs; shaving soap
containers reusable as shaving mugs; fancy cologne bottles
reusable as flower vases, and other containers which have a
lasting or decorative effect. In contrast to this section,
section 134.24 provides that disposable containers, i.e., con-
tainers or holders which are the usual ordinary types of contain-
ers or holders that are ordinarily discarded after the contents
have been consumed, may or may not have to be individually
marked to indicate the country of their own origin, depending on
who the ultimate purchaser is and whether the conditions for the
subsequent disposition of the imported merchandise warrant the
applicability of other marking exceptions. See, 19 CFR 134.24(b)
and (c). Illustrative examples of such disposable containers
include cans, bottles, paper or polyethylene bags, paperboard
boxes, and similar containers or holders ordinarily discarded
after the contents have been consumed.
As the bottles and vials in this case are made of plastic
and do not appear to have a lasting value or decorative use, and
further appear to be the usual ordinary type of container for the
packaging of pills and medicine, we find that they constitute
disposable containers within the meaning of 19 CFR 134.24. This
determination is in accord with C.S.D. 88-28, 22 Cust.Bull. 389
(1988), where vinyl cases imported in bulk (approximately 100
pieces in a polybag) to be filled in the U.S. with packets of
pills were found to constitute disposable containers since they
were the ordinary type of packaging which in most cases would be
discarded after the pills were consumed.
Further, as the imported merchandise here is not repackaged
or otherwise manipulated and, therefore, is sold in multiple
units, section 134.24(b) provides that such merchandise can
ordinarily meet the marking requirements by marking the outer-
most container which reaches the ultimate purchaser. When dis-
posable containers are imported by persons or firms who fill them
with various products they sell, these persons or firms are the
ultimate purchasers for these containers and they may be excepted
from individual marking pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) and
19 CFR 134.32(d). Customs has ruled that this provision is not
limited solely to an importer filler, but also to other parties
who fill disposable bottles. See, Headquarters Ruling Letters
(HRLs) 734027 dated May 21, 1991 and 732823 dated January 19,
1990. In this case, the ultimate purchaser is the pharmacist who
fills the bottles with medicines and pills. Accordingly, if the
boxes in which this merchandise is imported in are marked to
indicate the country of origin of the disposable plastic bottles
and vials, then subject to the provisos below the individual
plastic units need not be marked. Again, this accords with our
determination in C.S.D. 88-28.
HOLDING:
Based on the information and samples submitted, the plastic
bottles and vials, imported into the U.S. empty and subsequently
sold in multiple units to be filled by pharmacists with medicines
and pills, are disposable and need not be individually marked, as
marking the outer boxes meets the marking requirements of 19
U.S.C. 1304, 19 CFR 134.24(b) and (c). This ruling is applicable
if the bottles and vials are imported in a marked box and the
district director at the port of entry is satisfied that the
ultimate purchaser, the pharmacist, will receive them in this
condition.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division