CLA-2-49:S:N:N8:234 805469
Mr. John W. Hause
Bondy Productions
625 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138-4555
RE: The tariff classification of printed advertising novelties
("Jumping Cubes") from Poland.
Dear Mr. Hause:
In your letter dated December 20, 1994, you requested a
tariff classification ruling.
Samples were submitted and will be retained for reference.
Each is a 5" x 5" x 3/8" paperboard box, designed to be sent
through the mail, containing two compressed paperboard cubes
which expand and are ejected when the box is opened. One of the
cubes is printed with an advertising message, while the other,
apparently intended only to help eject the other, is blank. You
explain that the compressed cubes have rubber bands inside them,
the tension of which propels the cubes out of the packet (box)
when opened by the recipient. This accounts for their
(registered trademark) name, "The Jumping Cubes."
Your firm will import these items and sell them to
organizations and companies in the United States for their use in
direct mail programs and offers. The printing will be customized
to fit the needs of individual customers. You indicate that
companies utilizing "Jumping Cubes" can expect to enjoy a higher
than usual response rate (leads, inquiries, sales, trials,
redemptions, etc.) due to the high-impact, three-dimensional
presentation, as compared with flat printed paper in an envelope.
Although this merchandise is somewhat different and more
elaborate than what is ordinarily regarded as "printed matter,"
we find that its printed content is what determines its essential
nature and use.
Accordingly, the applicable subheading for the custom
printed "Jumping Cubes" will be 4911.10.0080, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other
(than certain enumerated) printed trade advertising material,
commercial catalogs and the like. The rate of duty will be free.
We note that all components of the samples are marked "Made
in Poland," but not on the same side or surface as your firm's
address, which also appears in two places. When imported, only
the mailing packet (5" x 5" box holding the cubes) is required to
be marked with the country of origin, but if, like the samples,
it bears a U.S. address, the "Made in Poland" marking must
appear, in lettering of at least a comparable size, on the same
side or surface displaying that address. The cubes themselves
need not be marked unless there are references to U.S. addresses
on them, in which case any such references must also be
accompanied by "Made in Poland," on the same surface(s) or
side(s). These marking requirements are necessitated by Section
134.46 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), the intent of
which is to prevent misleading or confusing the recipient as to
the actual origin of the item.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section
177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
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,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport