CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 955012 ch
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
1000 Second Avenue
Suite 2200
Seattle, Washington 98104
Re: Internal Advice 69/93; classification of a drawstring
textile bag.
Dear Sir:
This is in response to request for Internal Advice number
69/93, dated August 3, 1993. In that correspondence, you
requested tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) for a textile
drawstring bag imported into the United States by Milton Bradley
Company. A sample was provided to this office for examination.
FACTS:
The submitted sample is a rayon drawstring bag measuring
approximately 8 inches by 6 inches. It is closed on three sides.
The open top features a drawstring closure. The bag is used to
store wooden tiles in conjunction with the board game Scrabble.
ISSUE:
Whether the instant drawstring bag is classifiable under
heading 4202, HTSUSA, which provides, inter alia, for travel
bags; or heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up
textile articles?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides for:
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, of leather or of composition
leather, of plastic sheeting, or textile materials, of
vulcanized fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly
covered with such materials or with paper.
Thus, the enumerated articles and containers similar thereto are
classified under this provision.
Heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other textile articles
not more specifically described elsewhere in the tariff schedule.
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 6307 state in pertinent
part, at pages 867, that the provision includes:
(5) Domestic laundry or shoe bags, stocking,
handkerchief or slipper sachets, pyjama or
nightdress cases and similar articles.
(6) Garment bags (portable wardrobes) other than
those of heading 42.02.
In addition, the EN to heading 6307, at page 868, state that the
heading excludes "travel goods (suit-cases, rucksacks, etc.),
shopping-bags, toilet-cases, etc., and all similar containers of
heading 42.02."
The foregoing EN indicate that travel containers of heading
4202, HTSUSA, are excluded from heading 6307. Moreover, the
exemplars cited as examples of bags classifiable within heading
6307 suggest that certain storage containers are excluded from
heading 4202. In practice, this distinction is difficult to
apply as garment bags, shoe bags and similar bags may be
principally used for either storage or travel depending upon
their construction or design.
Furthermore, heading 4202 is not limited to containers used
for travel purposes. For example, jewelry boxes are classifiable
under heading 4202, despite the fact that they are principally
used to store and/or display their contents. Other containers of
heading 4202, including cutlery cases, cigarette cases and
similar cases, may principally be used for storage purposes,
depending upon their construction.
In this case, the drawstring pouch is used to store wooden
tiles for the game Scrabble, and is not used for travel purposes.
It follows that this item is classifiable under heading 4202 only
if it is similar to the containers used for storage found in that
heading. In the past, we have concluded that drawstring pouches
of insubstantial construction, which are not specially shaped or
fitted to contain specific merchandise, are not similar to the
containers enumerated in heading 4202. See Headquarters Ruling
Letter (HRL) 953177, dated April 7, 1993; HRL 953176, dated March
16, 1993; HRL 088411, dated April 23, 1991; HRL 086852, dated May
10, 1990.
The instant pouch is not used as a travel bag and is not
specially shaped or fitted to hold specific merchandise.
Therefore, we conclude that it is not a container of heading
4202. As the drawstring pouch is composed of textile materials
and is not more specifically described elsewhere in the tariff
schedule, it shall be classified as a made up textile article of
heading 6307.
HOLDING:
The subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading
6307.90.9986, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles,
including dress patterns: other: other: other: other: other.
The applicable rate of duty is percent 7 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division