CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 961827 GGD
Paula M. Connelly, Esquire
Middleton & Shrull
44 Mall Road, Suite 208
Burlington, Massachusetts 01803-4530
RE: Reconsideration of Port Ruling Letter (PD) C84151; Travel Document Holder
Dear Ms. Connelly:
This letter is in response to your request of March 23, 1998, on behalf of your client, The GEM Group, Inc., for reconsideration of Port Ruling Letter (PD) C84151, issued February 26, 1998, concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) of an article identified as a travel document holder that is made in China. A sample was submitted with the request. Subsequent to your original request and submission, an additional written submission, dated March 3, 1999, was received and considered.
FACTS:
In PD C84151, Customs classified the article at issue in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, which provides for “Trunks... attache cases, briefcases...handbags...wallets...map cases...and similar containers...: Other: With outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials: Travel, sports and similar bags: Other.”
The article at issue, described in PD C84151 as a “travel document case,” and identified by style number 8400, is described in advertising/marketing literature as a “Document Holder.” The
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article consists of a jacket or case which is zippered on 3 sides and which measures approximately 10-1/4 inches in height by 5-1/4 inches in width by 1 inch in depth (in the closed position). The case is black in color and has an outer layer composed of a woven textile fabric that has been coated, covered, or laminated with a cellular plastic identified as polyurethane (PU). The plastic surface of the layer faces outward. There is a flat, open, full-height pocket on the article’s exterior front and a wrist strap attached to the zipper pull. Plastic foam and paperboard are sealed between the outer and inner surfaces of the article.
The interior surfaces of the case are also constructed of fabric-backed PU plastic. The case has a flat, open-top pocket which extends the full height and width of the case. Overlying that pocket, on the right interior side, are two flat, full-height pockets (one on top of the other). One of these pockets has a zippered closure while the other is sleeve-like and open on the left. The interior left side of the case features two flat, full-height pockets (again, one on top of the other and both stacked over the largest pocket noted above). Attached on top of these pockets are eight slots for business or credit cards and one flat pocket with a transparent plastic window for an identification card. There also is a pen holder attached to the spine of the case. The article is imported without contents.
ISSUE:
Whether the article is classified under heading 4820, HTSUSA, which covers, among other goods, articles of stationery including cover boards and book jackets; under heading 3926, HTSUSA, which covers other articles of plastics; or under heading 4202, HTSUSA, which covers, in part, attache cases, handbags, wallets, map cases, and similar containers.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUSA is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the
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official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI.
Among other merchandise, chapter 48, HTSUSA, covers articles of paper or of paperboard. Among the items covered by heading 4820, are notebooks, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles; binders (looseleaf or other), folders, and other articles of stationery, including cover boards and book jackets. The EN to heading 4820 indicate that the heading covers various articles of stationery including (in addition to the examples noted above) notebooks of all kinds, file covers, files (other than box files), and portfolios. The EN also suggest that the goods of the heading may be bound with materials other than paper (e.g., leather, plastics or textile material) and have reinforcements or fittings of metal, plastics, etc. Although the document holder’s primary purpose is apparently related to the organization of documents, cards, and papers, the item is not an article of stationery and is imported without stationery or any other contents. The case is not classifiable under heading 4820.
Among other goods, chapter 42, HTSUSA, covers travel goods, handbags and similar containers. Heading 4202 provides for “attache cases...handbags...wallets...map cases...and similar containers....” The exemplars named in heading 4202 have in common the purpose of organizing, storing, protecting, and carrying various items. EN (c) to heading 4202 indicates that the heading does not cover articles which, although they may have the character of containers, are not similar to those enumerated in the heading, for example, book covers and reading jackets, file-covers, document-jackets, and which are wholly or mainly covered with leather, sheeting of plastics, etc. Such articles fall in heading 4205 if made of (or covered with) leather or composition leather, and in other chapters if made of (or covered with) other materials.
Among other merchandise, chapter 39, HTSUSA, covers plastics and articles thereof. In pertinent part, note 2(ij) to chapter 39, HTSUSA, states that “[t]his chapter does not cover...trunks, suitcases, handbags or other containers of heading 4202.” Heading 3926, HTSUSA, covers “Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914.” The EN to heading 3926 indicate that the articles covered by the heading include protective bags, file-covers, document-jackets, and similar protective goods made by sewing or glueing together sheets of plastics.
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If the document holder is prima facie classifiable under heading 4202, HTSUSA, it may not be classified under heading 3926. The specific exemplars and language set forth in heading 4202 are clearly more precise than the term “[o]ther articles of plastics....” contained in heading 3926. It must be determined, however, whether the subject article’s primary purpose is to organize, store, protect, and carry various items, or merely has the character of 4202 containers, functioning mainly as a document jacket or file cover. Although the travel document holder is only one inch in depth and is not designed to carry objects that would normally be carried in an attache case or briefcase, the article does possess the physical attributes of articles classifiable in heading 4202, HTSUSA, and is most similar to map cases, wallets, and small handbags. It is designed and marketed to organize, store, protect, and carry documents, cards, currency, a pen, and other small personal effects during travel. Like many of the travel goods of heading 4202, the travel document holder also features a carrying strap, which file covers and document jackets classifiable under heading 3926 generally do not. We find that the article is classifiable under heading 4202. As such, it is precluded from classification under heading 3926 by note 2(ij) to chapter 39, HTSUSA. The travel document holder is classified in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA. See also PD B84558, issued May 19, 1997, and New York Ruling Letter (NY) A84038, issued June 20, 1996, with respect to the classification of similar document cases.
HOLDING:
The travel document holder identified by style no. 8400, is classified in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, the provision for “Trunks...handbags...wallets...map cases...and similar containers...: Other: With outer surface of sheeting of plastic...: Travel, sports and similar bags: Other.” The general column one duty rate is 20 percent ad valorem.
PD C84151, issued February 26, 1998, is hereby affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division