CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H111922 EGJ
RE: Revocation of NY N078995 and NY N087912; Classification of Porcelain Travel Coffee Cup
Ms. Amy Morgan
Costco Wholesale Corporation
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, WA 98027
Dear Ms. Morgan:
This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) N078995, dated October 14, 2009, issued to you concerning the tariff classification of the Eco Cup™ porcelain travel coffee cup under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the subject article in subheading 6911.10.80, HTSUS, which provides for other tableware and kitchenware. We have reviewed NY N078995 and find it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N078995 and one other ruling with substantially similar merchandise: NY N087912, dated January 5, 2010, which was issued to Smart Innovations, Inc.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice of the proposed revocation was published on November 30, 2011, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 45, No. 49. CBP received no comments in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The “Eco Cup™” was described in NY N078995 and NY N087912 as designed to resemble a traditional paper coffee cup. The cup is made of porcelain with a double wall construction to keep drinks warm. It holds approximately 12 ounces of beverage and comes with a silicone lid and sleeve. Including the lid and sleeve, the cup measures roughly 5.75" in height x 3.50" in diameter. The base of the cup is narrower than the top of the cup. The cup does not have a handle. It is dishwasher and microwave safe.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject merchandise is classified in subheading 6911.10.80, HTSUS, which provides for, in pertinent part, “[t]ableware and kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of porcelain or china: tableware kitchenware: other: other . . .”, or in subheading 6911.10.41, HTSUS, which provides for “[t]ableware and kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of porcelain or china: tableware and kitchenware: other: . . . tumblers . . .”?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration in this case are as follows:
6911 Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of porcelain or china:
6911.10 Tableware and kitchenware:
Other…
6911.10.41 Steins with permanently attached pewter lids, candy boxes, decanters, punch bowls, pretzel dishes, tidbit dishes, tiered servers, bonbon dishes, egg cups, spoons and spoon rests, oil and vinegar sets, tumblers and salt and pepper shaker sets
* * *
6911.10.80 Other . . .
* * *
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a “tumbler” as “a drinking cup, originally having a rounded or pointed bottom, so that it could not be set down until emptied; often of silver or gold; now, a tapering cylindrical, or barrel-shaped, glass cup without a handle or foot, having a heavy flat bottom.” (See www.oed.com ). Under GRI 1, the porcelain travel coffee cup is a tumbler because the cup has a tapering cylindrical shape. Therefore, the porcelain travel coffee cup is properly classified under subheading 6911.10.41, HTSUS which provides for porcelain tumblers.
The cup’s silicone lid and sleeve are also properly classified under subheading 6911.10.41, HTSUS. Additional U.S. Note (7) to Chapter 69, HTSUS states that “For the purposes of headings 6911, 6912 and 6913, those provisions which classify merchandise according to the value of each "article," an article is a single tariff entity which may consist of more than one piece. For example, a vegetable dish and its cover, or a beverage pot and its lid, imported in the same shipment, constitute an article.” Thus, the silicone lid and sleeve form part of the article classified under subheading 6911.10.41, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the subject “Eco Cup™” porcelain travel coffee cup is classified in heading 6911, HTSUS, and is specifically provided for in subheading 6911.10.41, HTSUS, which provides for, in pertinent part: “[t]ableware and kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of porcelain or china: tableware and kitchenware: other . . . tumblers . . .”. The general, column one 2012 rate of duty is 6.3 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N078995, dated October 14, 2009, and NY N087912, dated January 5, 2010, are hereby revoked.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division