CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 082829 HP
Ms. Carol A. Garrity
Sales Administrator
Garrett-Hewitt International, Inc.
901 N. Broadway, Suite 16
North White Plains, NY 10603
RE: Plastic Tote Tubes are not articles of plastic sheeting, but
articles for packing or conveyance.
Dear Ms. Garrity:
This is in reply to your letter of August 9, 1988,
concerning
the tariff classification of Beach Safe/Tote Tubes, produced in
Taiwan, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA).
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue consists of a molded plastic tote
tube. The article is designed to house money, keys, etc., during
sporting events when lugging a wallet or purse would be incon
venient. The main body of the article consists of a cylindrical
lower portion, a screw-on top portion, with a rubber-like seal in
the middle. The top portion has attached to it a woven textile
cord with a coating of plastics visible to the naked eye. The
cord
runs through a small plastic clip to avoid entanglements. The
lower portion has the words "TOTE-TUBE" written on the front, and
the words "MADE IN TAIWAN R.O.C." in raised letters on the bottom
.
ISSUE:
Whether the merchandise has an outer surface of plastic
sheeting; if not, whether the merchandise is an article for
conveyance or packing of goods under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule
of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia, containers
similar to traveling bags, purses, sports bags, etc., of plastic
sheeting. The Explanatory Notes to the HTSUSA constitute the
official interpretation of the tariff at the international level.
Explanatory Note 42.02 states, in pertinent part:
[t]he articles covered by the second part of the heading
must ... be only of the materials specified therein or
must be wholly or mainly covered with such materials ....
Classification must lie, therefore, in the definition of "plastic
sheeting." Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the
English Language, Unabridged (1986) defines sheet and sheeting as:
sheet 5: A broad thinly expanded portion of
metal or other substance.
sheeting 1: a material in the form of sheets
* * * b: material (as a plastic) in the form
of continuous film * * *.
See also Sekisui Products, Inc. v. United States, 63 Cust. Ct. 123,
C.D. 3885 (1969) (citing the Webster's definition of "sheets" with
approval).
It is our opinion that the above cited definition requires a
finding that an article which is made directly from a mass of
plastic, which never becomes a "sheet" or "sheeting" and which
never has a "sheet" or "sheeting" applied to its surface, cannot
be classified under the provision for articles with an outer
surface of plastic sheeting in heading 4202, HTSUSA.
Heading 3923, HTSUSA, provides for articles for the conveyance
or packing of goods, of plastics. Explanatory Note 39.23 states
that this heading covers all articles of plastic commonly used for
packing or conveyance of all kinds of products. Inasmuch as the
instant tube is a case used to convey personal articles when a
wallet or purse would be inconvenient, the instant merchandise is
considered an article for conveyance.
HOLDING:
For the foregoing reasons, the merchandise is classified under
subheading 3923.10.0000, HTSUSA, as articles for the conveyance or
packing of goods, of plastics; stoppers, lids, caps and other
closures, of plastics, boxes, cases, crates and similar articles.
The applicable rate of duty is 3 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division