CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 963807 AM
Mr. Edward J. DeMarco, Jr.
Mestrov Gelman Jaffe Cramer & Jamieson, LLP
1735 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7598
RE: New York ruling letter E87511; terrariums
Dear Mr. DeMarco:
This is our decision regarding your letter, dated January 31, 2000, addressed to the Director, National Commodity Specialist Division, on behalf of your client, Hen-Feathers Corporation, requesting reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) E87511, dated October 7, 1999, regarding the tariff classification, pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of miniature glass terrariums imported from Taiwan and China. Your letter was forwarded to this office for reply. We regret the delay.
FACTS:
The products at issue are three miniature glass terrariums identified in your client's catalogue as "Garden House Miniatures™." The text further states: ". . . make any nook or cranny a place green and growing. Chase away those winter blues." The edges and sides of each terrarium are framed with pewter channeling. The first item (style T0039) is a mini pyramid-shaped glass terrarium that measures approximately four inches square by seven and one-quarter inches in height. The second item (style T0036) is a mini house-shaped glass terrarium that measures approximately three and one-half inches in length by four and one-half inches in width by seven and one-quarter inches in height. The last item (style T0038) is a mini gazebo-shaped glass terrarium that measures approximately four and one-quarter inches square by seven and one-half inches in height. You also state that the value of each article is $2.39.
In NY E87511, the goods were classified in subheading 7013.99.50, HTSUS, which provides for "[G]lassware of a kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes (other than that of heading 7010 or 7018): [O]ther: [V]alued over $0.30 but not over $3 each."
ISSUE:
Whether miniature terrariums, valued at $2.39 each, are classified in subheading 7013.99.50, HTSUS, the provision for "[G]lassware of a kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes (other than that of heading 7010 or 7018): [O]ther: [V]alued over $0.30 but not over $3 each," or in subheading 7020.00.60, HTSUS, the provision for "[O]ther articles of glass: [O]ther."
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff
classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The HTSUS headings and subheadings under consideration are as follows:
7013 Glassware of a kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes (other than that of heading 7010 or 7018):
Other:
7013.99.50 Valued over $0.30 but not over $3 each
* * * * *
7020.00 Other articles of glass:
7020.00.60 Other [than Quartz reactor tubes and holders designed for insertion into diffusion and oxidation furnaces for production of semiconductor wafers]
The ENs to heading 7013.99, HTSUS, state, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading covers the following types of articles, most of which are obtained by pressing or blowing in moulds :
* * * * * *
(4) Glassware for indoor decoration and other glassware (including that for churches and the like), such as vases, ornamental fruit bowls, statuettes, fancy articles (animals, flowers, foliage, fruit, etc.), table-centers (other than those of heading 70.09), aquaria, incense burners, etc., and souvenirs bearing views.
The ENs to heading 7020, HTSUS, state, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading covers glass articles (including glass parts of articles) not covered by other headings of this Chapter or of other Chapters of the Nomenclature.
These articles remain here even if combined with materials other than glass, provided they retain the essential character of glass articles. The heading includes :
* * * * * *
(2) Articles for husbandry (tanks, troughs, etc.) and horticultural appliances (cloches, etc.).
Applying GRI 1, the product is more specifically described in heading 7013, HTSUS, which includes glassware used for indoor decoration. The catalog page you submitted shows the glass terrariums decorating an indoor space either hanging by a window or resting on a table. You do not dispute that the terrariums are glassware. Nor do you dispute that the terrariums are used to decorate indoor spaces. The EN to subheading 7013.99 includes the similar article, aquariums, in its listing of specifically included articles. There is nothing in the language of the heading, subheading, chapter notes or ENs that supports classification of the article in the residual heading for other articles of glass.
Moreover, the EN to heading 7020, HTSUS, specifically includes "horticulture appliances" such as cloches. An appliance is defined as " . . . (2)(a) a piece of equipment for adapting a tool or machine to a special purpose: Attachment; (b) an instrument or device designed for a particular use . . . ." Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 97 (Merriam-Webster Inc. 1990). A cloche is "a transparent plant cover used outdoors esp. for protection against cold." Id. at 249. Clearly, with respect to glass articles used in the cultivation of plants, those included in subheading 7020.00, HTSUS, serve an adaptive or prophylactic purpose other than decoration, such as protection from the elements. These miniature terrariums, used indoors, do not protect the plants they house from frost. They merely serve to provide a decorative medium in which things grow. Therefore, the terrariums at issue are not of the class or kind of good classified in subheading 7020.00, HTSUS. Rather, they are completely and specifically provided for in heading 7013, HTSUS, as glassware for indoor decoration.
You state that your client had been importing other, more expensive, terrariums under subheading 7013.99, HTSUS. But for these, less expensive terrariums, classification in heading 7013.99.50, HTSUS, due to the corresponding duty rate of 30% ad valorem, is not economically feasible and will prevent your client from importing this product. While we appreciate these comments, they are not relevant considerations in the tariff classification of imported articles. Congress empowered Customs to administer tariff provisions in a revenue-neutral manner based on the mandates of the GRIs. Congress establishes duty rates, and we are thus unable to address your economic concern.
HOLDING:
At GRI 1, the product is classified in subheading 7013.99.50, HTSUS, the provision for "[G]lassware of a kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes (other than that of heading 7010 or 7018): [O]ther: [V]alued over $0.30 but not over $3 each." NY E87511 is affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division