CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 082572 WAW
Scott A. Cohn, Esq.
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz & Silverman
12 East 49th Street
New York, N.Y. 10017
RE: Combination floor lamp with lamp shade, end table and
magazine rack
Dear Mr. Cohn:
This is in response to your letter of May 6, 1988,
requesting a classification ruling on behalf of your client,
Zayre Corp., for a combination floor lamp with lamp shade, end
table and magazine rack, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
FACTS:
The sample product is comprised of three distinct
components: a magazine rack, an end table and a floor lamp unit.
The magazine rack is made of wood and sits at the base of the end
table. The end table is also made of wood, it has two legs and
a large surface designed to be utilized as a table top. The lamp
consists of a brass stand, a bulb socket and a lamp shade. The
subject merchandise will be imported unassembled, and will be
manufactured in, and imported from Taiwan.
ISSUE:
(1) Whether the merchandise at issue is classifiable as a
composite good for tariff purposes?
(2) If considered a composite good, which item provides the
essential character for classification purposes; and if not
considered a composite good, how are the items properly
classified?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) set forth the
manner in which merchandise is to be classified under the HTSUSA.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according
to the terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative
section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required,
according to the remaining GRI's, taken in order.
In the instant case, the first issue to be considered is
whether the end table, the magazine rack and the floor lamp are
all included under one heading in the Nomenclature. The relevant
subheadings at issue in this case are set forth below. Both the
end table and the magazine rack are classifiable under subheading
9403.60.8080, HTSUSA, which provides for other wooden furniture.
The floor lamp alone is properly classifiable under subheading
9405.20.4010, HTSUSA, which provides for electric table, desk,
bedside or floor-standing lamps: of brass.
Since no heading, by itself, covers the subject merchandise,
classification cannot be determined by applying GRI 1.
Therefore, reference to the subsequent GRI's is necessary. GRI 2
is not applicable here because the item in question is not an
incomplete or unfinished article and is not a mixture or
combination of goods.
GRI 3, however, is applicable in this situation. It
provides in pertinent part:
When, by application of Rule 2(b) or for any other
reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two
or more headings, classification shall be effected as
follows:
(a) The heading which provides the most
specific description shall be preferred to
headings providing a more general
description. However, when two or more
headings each refer to part only of the
materials or substances contained in mixed or
composite goods or to part only of the items
in a set put up for retail sale, those
headings are to be regarded as equally
specific in relation to those goods, even if
one of them gives a more complete or precise
description of the goods.
In the instant case, there is no one heading which provides an
adequate description of the subject merchandise. Since the end
table, magazine rack and floor lamp fall under two separate
headings in the HTSUSA, the headings are to be regarded as
equally specific under GRI 3(a). Therefore, GRI 3(a) fails in
establishing classification, and GRI 3(b) becomes applicable.
Explanatory Note GRI 3(b) provides:
(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of
different materials or made up of different
components, and goods 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.
Explanatory Note IX to GRI 3(b) to the HTSUSA, which
constitutes the official interpretation of the tariff at the
international level, provides, in part:
(IX) For the purposes of this Rule, composite goods
made up of different components shall be taken to mean
not only those in which the components are attached to
each other to form a practically inseparable whole but
also those with separable components, provided these
components are adapted one to the other and are
mutually complementary and that together they form a
whole which would not normally be offered for sale in
separate parts.
In the instant case, the floor lamp unit, the end table and
the magazine rack qualify as composite goods as defined in GRI
3(b). The three components are attached to each other to form a
practically inseparable whole. The legs of the end table are
connected to the upper portion of the magazine rack, and together
the two pieces of furniture constitute the base of the lamp.
Furthermore, all three components as a whole would not normally
be sold in separate parts. Since the subject merchandise cannot
be classified by reference to GRI 3(a), we must determine which
component, if any, imparts the essential character of the item
pursuant to the factors set out in the applicable Explanatory
Note.
Explanatory Note VIII to GRI 3(b) states the following:
(VIII) The factor which determines essential character
will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may,
for example, be determined by the nature of the
material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or
value, or by the role of a constituent material in
relation to the use of the goods.
In this case, the article at issue falls within the
definition of "floor-standing lamp" as set forth in heading 9405,
HTSUSA. The floor lamp is the article that imparts the essential
character of the subject merchandise. The end table and magazine
rack merely enhance the use of the article as a floor lamp.
Although the end table and magazine rack impart the greatest bulk
and weight of the composite article, the subject merchandise is
marketed for sale and will be purchased primarily as a floor
lamp with accompanying furniture. Thus, it is Customs position
that the article is properly classifiable under subheading
9405.20.4010, HTSUSA, which provides for electric table, desk,
bedside or floor-standing lamps: other; other.
HOLDING:
The submitted combination floor lamp unit, end table and
magazine rack is classifiable under subheading 9405.20.4010,
HTSUSA. The applicable rate of duty is 3.7 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division