CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 082052 LS 825543
8205.59.5560; 8204.11.0060; 3506.10.5000;
8301.10.2000; 9026.20.8000; 7318.22.0000;
7315.19.0000
Michael O'Neill
O'Neill & Whitaker, Inc.
1809 Baltimore Avenue
Kansas City, Missouri 64108
RE: Tariff classification of bicycle combination kit
Dear Mr. O'Neill:
Your inquiry, dated September 28, 1987, addressed to our
New York office concerning the tariff classification of a bicycle
combination kit under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA), was referred to this office for
a direct reply to you. The request was submitted on behalf of
Western Auto Supply Company of Kansas City, Missouri. A sample
was submitted for our examination.
FACTS:
The sample submitted is a bicycle combination kit in a
blister pack retail package (stock number 33-7660-5) which
contains the following items: a combination bicycle lock with
integral chain, a tube of cement, connecting chain links, a tire
gauge, rubber patches, a dumbbell wrench, a safety washer, cable
clips, a spoke wrench, valve caps, and a scraper. You state that
the kit, which is to be imported from Taiwan, is designed to
assist the bicycle user with the most common tire repair and
safety concerns associated with bicycle operation.
ISSUE:
What is the applicable tariff classification provision for
this bicycle combination kit?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of products under the HTSUSA is governed by
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's).
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GRI 3(b) provides for the classification of goods put up in
sets for retail sale. The rule states in pertinent part:
[G]oods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be
classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if
they consisted of the material or component which gives
them their essential character, insofar as this criterion
is applicable.
The Explanatory Notes, which constitute the official
interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, state in
Note X to Rule 3(b) that the term "goods put up in sets for
retail sale" means goods which:
(a) consist of at least two different articles which are,
prima facie, classifiable in different headings;
(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet
a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and
(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to
users without repacking.
This bicycle combination kit meets criteria (a) and (c),
but does not meet criterion (b). The items included in the kit
are used for divergent purposes: maintenance, tire repair,
security, and safety. Most of the items appear to be related to
the function of tire repair. The combination bicycle lock with
integral chain is clearly related to a security function. Since
the items in the kit are put together to carry out several
different activities or to meet several different needs they do
not satisfy criterion (b) in Explanatory Note X to Rule 3(b).
Since the combination bicycle kit fails as a set, we return
to GRI 1 to classify each item of the combination kit separately.
HOLDING:
In view of the foregoing, the individual items in the
bicycle combination kit are classifiable as follows: the plastic
clips in subheading 3926.90.9050, as other articles of plastics
and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914,
dutiable at the rate of 5.3 percent ad valorem; the valve caps in
subheading 3923.50.0000, as stoppers, lids, caps and other
closures of plastics, which are free of duty; the rubber patches
in subheading 4016.99.5050, as other articles of vulcanized
rubber other than hard rubber, which are free of duty; the
scraper in subheading 8205.59.5560, as other hand tools, dutiable
at the rate of 5.3 percent ad valorem; the dumbbell wrench and
the spoke wrench in subheading 8204.11.0060, as nonadjustable
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hand-operated wrenches, dutiable at the rate of 9 percent ad
valorem; the glue in subheading 3506.10.5000, as other prepared
glue, which is free of duty; the combination lock in subheading
8301.10.2000, as padlocks of base metal, dutiable at the rate of
2.3 percent ad valorem; the tire gauge, in subheading
9026.20.8000, as an instrument for measuring or checking
pressure, which is free of duty; the washer in subheading
7318.22.0000, as other washers, which is free of duty; and the
connecting chain links in subheading 7315.19.0000, as articulated
link chains of iron or steel, which are free of duty. The valve
caps, the rubber patches, the glue, the tire gauge, and the
connecting chain links, as products of Taiwan, are entitled to
duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences.
The classification under the HTSUSA, effective January 1, 1989,
is subject to changes made in the HTSUSA prior to the effective
date.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division