CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 950496 CC
Armin Korst
President
ICC/Aquata
P.O. Box 3755
Newport, RI 02840
RE: Classification of a buoyancy vest; classifiable in Heading
6307
Dear Mr. Korst:
This letter is in response to your inquiry of October 3,
1991, requesting the tariff classification of a "buoyancy vest."
A sample was submitted for examination.
FACTS:
The submitted merchandise is a sleeveless, waist-length
jacket made of a woven nylon fabric. It has two airtight
sections which are filled with closed-cell, foam panels
approximately -inch thick. The jacket has a front closure
consisting of Velcro-like straps and buckle. A buckle closure on
the back of the vest permits the vest to be attached to a harness
used by a windsurfer.
You state that this article is a lightweight personal
flotation vest designed primarily for windsurfers. A warning
label indicates that the vest should not be considered a safety
vest or life preserver and should not be worn by anyone who
cannot swim since the buoyancy factor is not sufficient to float
a conscious or unconscious person in a "face out of water
position." Despite this warning, the vest is capable of
providing a degree of buoyancy sufficient to keep a person who
has fallen in a body of water afloat.
ISSUE:
Whether the submitted merchandise is classifiable in Heading
6211 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), 6217, 6307, or 9506, HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes.
Heading 9506, HTSUSA, provides for, among other articles,
articles and equipment for gymnastics, athletics and other
sports. Note 1(e) to Chapter 95, HTSUSA, excludes sports
clothing of textiles of chapter 61 or 62 from classification in
Chapter 95. The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation
of the HTSUSA at the international level, state at EN 95.06(B)
that Heading 9506 covers requisites for other sports and outdoor
games, e.g.:
...
(2) Water-skis, surf-boards, sailboards and other
water-sport equipment, such as diving stages
(platforms), chutes, divers' flippers and
respiratory masks of a kind used without oxygen or
compressed air bottles, and simple underwater
breathing tubes (generally known as "snorkels") for
swimmers or divers.
...
Although the Explanatory Notes contain a long list of
articles that are classifiable in Heading 9506, life jackets or
buoyancy vests are not specifically included, nor do they appear
to be similar to the listed articles. Consequently, the
submitted merchandise is not classifiable in Heading 9506.
Heading 6211, HTSUSA, provides for other garments. In
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 088807, dated August 9, 1991, we
stated the following concerning whether an article is
classifiable as a garment:
... However, wearing apparel, which we believe to
be synonymous with garments, has been defined by the
courts to be articles worn by human beings for reasons
of comfort, decency, or adornment, Antonio Pompeo v.
United States, 40 Cust. Ct. 362, C.D. 2006 (1958), and
includes "articles worn for protection against the
elements and those worn for protection against more
localized conditions prevailing in the environment of
the home, workplace, school, or restaurant." Admiral
Craft Equipment Corp. v. United States, 82 Cust. Ct.
162, C.D. 4796 (1979).
The submitted merchandise is not worn for comfort, decency,
adornment, or protection. This merchandise, therefore, cannot be
considered a garment and is not classifiable in Heading 6211.
Heading 6217, HTSUSA, provides for other made up clothing
accessories. The Explanatory Notes state that Heading 6217
covers the following articles: dress shields; shoulder or other
pads; belts of all kinds (including bandoliers) and sashes;
muffs; sleeve protectors; sailors' collars; epaulettes,
brassards, etc.; labels, badges, emblems, "flashes" and the
like; frogs, lanyards, etc.; separately presented removable
linings for raincoats and similar garments; pockets, sleeves,
collars, collarettes, wimples, fallals of various kinds, bodice-
fronts, jabots, cuffs, yokes, lapels and similar articles; and
stockings, socks,and sockettes. The submitted merchandise is not
specifically included with the listed articles, nor does it
appear to be similar to any of them. The buoyancy vest is not a
clothing accessory and, therefore, is not classifiable in
Heading 6217.
Heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other made up articles.
The Explanatory Notes state that Heading 6307 covers made up
articles of any textile material which are not included more
specifically in other headings of Section XI or elsewhere in the
Nomenclature and includes life-jackets and life-belts (emphasis
added).
The submitted merchandise is a made up article of textile
material not more specifically provided for elsewhere in the
Nomenclature; consequently, it is classifiable in Heading 6307.
At the international level, subheading 6307.20 provides for
lifejackets and lifebelts. The Random House Dictionary of the
English Language, the Unabridged Edition (1983) defines the term
"life jacket" as "a sleeveless jacket of buoyant or inflatable
construction, for supporting the wearer in deep water and
preventing him from drowning." The submitted jacket is capable
of providing a degree of buoyancy sufficient to keep a person
afloat. Although it does not meet the U.S. Coast Guard standards
for life preservers, floating a conscious or unconscious person
in a face out-of-water position, we find that the submitted
merchandise meets the commonly accepted definition of a life
jacket, and is therefore within the scope of the subheading at
the international (6-digit) level of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule. Consequently for tariff classification purposes, the
submitted merchandise is provided for under subheading 6307.20,
HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The submitted merchandise is classified under subheading
6307.20.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles,
lifejackets and lifebelts. The rate of duty is 9 percent ad
valorem. No textile category is currently assigned to
merchandise classified under this subheading.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division