HQ 082579
April 10 1989
CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 082579 JLJ
Mr. Denton Sherry
President
NEPA Pallet & Container Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 399
Snohomish, Washington 98290
RE: American Manufacturer's Petition Concerning the Tariff
Classification of Wooden Pallet Bins
Dear Mr. Sherry:
You asked several questions regarding the American
manufacturer's petition filed under 19 U.S.C. 1516 concerning
wooden pallet bins imported from Canada.
You asked the definitions of the terms "harvesting" and
"designed for use in the harvesting of fruits."
In House Report No. 342, at pages 7 to 8, dated May 12,
1965, the Committee on Ways and Means discussed item 204.27,
Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), and stated that
it would restore duty-free status to certain harvesting
containers. The Committee described these containers as
follows:
The harvesting containers here involved are
containers wholly or in chief value of wood
designed for use in the harvesting of fruits
and vegetables. One type which is imported is
the so-called harvesting bin. Harvesting bins
are made of plywood and lumber and usually have
an integral pallet that allows forklift handling.
Their primary use is by fruit growers, to secure
the advantages of mechanical handling in the
harvesting of their crops. Typically, the bins
are filled in the orchard by pickers and are
moved by tractors with forklift attachments
either directly to the packing house, or to
other conveyances which bring the bins to the
- 2-
packing house, where they are unloaded on arrival
or after incidental storage. Sometime harvesting
containers are imported in "knock-down" condition
and are assembled in the United States.
In C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 32 Cust. Ct. 54,
C.D. 1579 (1954), the Customs Court defined the term
"harvesting" to include the actual collection of fruit in the
field and transportation to processing plants.
You asked whether the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA), required the "designed
package" concept of the TSUS. In a telephone conversation with
Ms. Johnson of this office, you explained that item 204.27,
TSUS, covers complete packing boxes, cases and crates; you
wondered whether the HTSUSA required that complete packages of
unassembled pallet bins be imported together.
The Explanatory Notes for Chapter 44, HTSUSA, state with
regard to such merchandise, at page 634:
These containers may be presented without
a lid ("open" containers such as cases,
crates, etc.). They may be unassembled or
partly assembled, provided the wood is in sets
of the parts necessary to make a complete con-
tainer or an incomplete container having the
essential character of a complete container.
Where the wood is not in such sets, it is to
be classified as sawn or planed wood, plywood,
etc., as the case may be.
Finally, you requested that your American manufacturer's
petition be amended to include the applicable HTSUSA numbers.
You believe that subheading 4415.20.8000, HTSUSA, which covers
other pallets, box-pallets and other load boards, other, should
apply to the instant wooden pallet bins, while subheading
4415.10.6000, HTSUSA, covers cases, boxes, crates, drums, and
similar packing, containers designed for use in the harvesting
of fruits and vegetables. Actually, subheading 4415.20.4000,
HTSUSA, which covers pallets, box-pallets and other load
boards, will cover the instant merchandise.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Branch
joan jackson library
6cc: Area Director, NY Seaport (NIS-230)
1cc: John Durant
JJohnson:jaj:4/5/89