CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 956205 SK
Eleanore Kelly-Kobayashi
Rode & Qualey
295 Madison Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017
RE: Classification of a men's upper body garment; jacket v. shirt; 100% cotton flannel; full
frontal heavy-duty zipper; back tabs; shirt collar; Textile Category Guidelines, CIE 13/88;
6211.42.0054; jacket.
Dear Ms. Kelly-Kobayashi:
This is in response to your letter of March 2, 1994, requesting a binding ruling on
behalf of your client, Shah Safari, Inc., regarding the classification of a men's upper body
garment. A sample was submitted to this office for examination.
FACTS:
The garment at issue, identified as style number Y0383894, is a men's woven cotton
flannel upper body garment. It has long sleeves with cuffs, two diagonal pockets at the waist,
a hemmed straight bottom with back tabs and a shirt-type collar. The garment features a full
frontal opening with a zipper closure; the teeth of the zipper, in their closed condition,
measure approximately 6 mm in width. You submit that the fabric weight of the garment is
7.7 ounces per square yard.
You have provided this office with three black and white, enlarged photographs of
male models wearing the subject garment in a Shah Safari advertisement.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject merchandise is properly classifiable as a men's jacket under
heading 6201 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA),
as a men's shirt-jacket of heading 6211, HTSUSA, or as a men's shirt under heading 6205,
HTSUSA?
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LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in accordance with the General
Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Merchandise
that cannot be classified in accordance with GRI 1 is to be classified in accordance with
subsequent GRI's.
The issue in the instant case is whether the submitted sample is properly classifiable as
a men's shirt or jacket. A physical examination of the garment reveals that it possesses
features traditionally associated with both jackets and shirts and therefore potentially lends
itself to classification as either a coat or jacket under headings 6201 or 6211, HTSUSA, or as a
shirt under heading 6205, HTSUSA.
In circumstances such as these, where the identity of a garment is ambiguous for
classification purposes, reference to The Guidelines for the Reporting of Imported Products in
Various Textile and Apparel Categories, CIE 13/88, (Guidelines) is appropriate. The
Guidelines were developed and revised in accordance with the HTSUSA to ensure uniformity,
to facilitate statistical classification, and to assist in the determination of the appropriate textile
categories established for the administration of the Arrangement Regarding International Trade
in Textiles.
The Guidelines, at pages 5 and 6, offer the following with regard to the classification
of shirt-jackets:
"Category designation: Other coats, men's and boys':
Three-quarter length or longer garments commonly known as coats, and other
garments such as... waist length jackets fall within this category... A coat is an outerwear
garment which covers either the upper part of the body or both the upper and
lower parts of the body. It is normally worn over another garment, the presence of
which is sufficient for the wearer to be considered modestly and conventionally
dressed for appearance in public, either indoors or outdoors or both.
Shirt-jackets have full or partial front openings and sleeves, and at the
least cover the upper body from the neck area to the waist... The following criteria may be
used in determining whether a shirt-jacket is designed for use over
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another garment, the presence of which is sufficient for its wearer to be
considered modestly and conventionally dressed
for appearance in public, either indoors or outdoors or both:
(1) fabric weight equal to or exceeding 10 ounces per square yard;
(2) a full or partial lining;
(3) pockets at or below the waist;
(4) back vents or pleats. Also side vents in combination with back seams;
(5) Eisenhower styling;
(6) a belt or simulated belt or elasticized waist on hip length or longer shirt-jackets;
(7) large jacket/coat style buttons, toggles or snaps, a heavy-duty zipper;
(8) lapels;
(9) long sleeves without cuffs;
(10) elasticized or rib knit cuffs;
(11) drawstring, elastic or rib knit waistband.
Garments having features of both jackets and shirts
will be categorized as coats if they possess at least
three of the above-listed features and if the result
is not unreasonable... Garments not possessing at least three of the listed
features will be considered on an individual basis."
In your submission to this office, you state that style Y0383894 possesses three of the
Guidelines jacket features enumerated supra. Specifically, you mention the garment's (1)
pockets located below the waist; (2) heavy-duty zipper; and (3) back tabs which you state to be
akin to back vents or pleats. You also state that the 7.7 ounce per square yard fabric used in
the manufacture of this garment is 25 percent heavier than similar fabric used in the
manufacture of shirts.
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A physical examination of the garment at issue reveals that it possesses only two of the
Guidelines jacket criteria: the garment has pockets at or below the waist and features a heavier
gauge zipper than is usually found on shirts. We do not agree that back tabs are a jacket
feature, as no mention of back tabs
are made in the Guidelines. The Guidelines specifically cite back vents and pleats as jacket
features and we do not agree that back tabs are akin to back vents or pleats in either a
utilitarian or a decorative sense. In fact, there are several styles of shirts which incorporate
back tabs into their design and therefore this feature cannot be deemed a jacket feature.
In further support of your contention that the garment at issue is a jacket, you cite
Headquarters Ruling Letters (HRL's) 954607, dated October 12, 1993, and 952270, dated
February 1, 1993. In the first case, Customs determined that a garment possessing only two
of the Guidelines jacket features was nevertheless classifiable as a jacket inasmuch as the
garment was designed to be worn over other outerwear and provided "the overall impression
of a jacket." In HRL 952270, this office classified a men's hybrid garment as a jacket under
heading 6211, HTSUSA. This determination was based on a finding that the garment
possessed three Guidelines jacket features and created the overall impression of a jacket.
We note that the garments classified in both HRL 954607 and 952270 are significantly
different from style Y0383894. The garment classified in HRL 954607 was a women's jacket
featuring two Guidelines jacket features: long sleeves without cuffs and lapels. As the
garment possessed only two Guidelines jacket features, classification was based on the
garment's individual characteristics and the overall impression they created. In the instant
case, style Y0383894 also has two Guidelines jacket features, but they are different from those
found on the garment classified in HRL 954607 and no analogy can be drawn between the two
garments. Similarly, the garment classified in HRL 954607 is different from style Y0383894
in that that garment was constructed with four panels and possessed three jacket features.
You submitted three large black and white photographs to this office in which style
Y0383894 is depicted being worn in a "grunge" layered look; the garment is shown worn tied
around the waist and being worn layered atop several other shirts. This photograph is not
persuasive evidence of the garment's status as a jacket inasmuch as sweaters, shirts, jackets
and pullovers are
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equally capable of being worn tied around the waist, and shirts may also be worn over other
shirts.
Customs recognizes that the garment at issue is a hybrid garment, possessing features
of both shirts and jackets. Although the garment possesses only two of the Guidelines jacket
features, this office is of the opinion that style Y0383894 creates the overall impression of a
jacket. This determination rests primarily on the presence of the full frontal heavy-duty
zipper, the teeth of which measure approximately 6 mm in width. Although full frontal
zippers are relatively uncommon in shirts, it is the heavy gauge of the zipper which serves to
create the impression of a jacket, rather than a shirt.
The next issue is whether the garment at issue is classifiable as an anorak, wind-breaker
or similar article of heading 6201, HTSUSA, or as a shirt-jacket of heading 6211, HTSUSA.
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 6101, which apply mutatis mutandis to the articles of
heading 6201, HTSUSA, state:
"[T]his heading covers ... garments for men or boys, characterised by the
fact that that they are generally
worn over all other clothing for protection against the weather."
It is this office's opinion that the shirting fabric used in the construction of style
Y0383894 is not heavy enough to provide protection against the weather. Accordingly, style
Y0383894 is classifiable under subheading 6211.32.0075, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
Style Y0383894 is classifiable under subheading 6211.32.0075, HTSUSA, which
provides for "[T]rack suits, ski-suits and swimwear; other garments: other garments, men's or
boys': of cotton... jackets and jacket-type garments excluded from headings 6201...," dutiable
at a rate of 8.6 percent ad valorem. The applicable textile quota category is 334.
The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa
and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part
categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent
renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest that
your client check, close to the time of shipment, the Status Report on Current Import Quotas
(Restraint Levels), an
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internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated weekly and is available at
your local Customs office.
Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of
the classification), and the
restraint (quota/visa) categories, your client should contact its local Customs office prior to
importing the merchandise to determine the current applicability of any import restraints or
requirements.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division